In a decisive and unambiguous assertion of India’s foreign policy doctrine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated to US President Donald Trump that New Delhi “has never accepted, does not accept, and will never accept” any form of third-party mediation in the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan. The statement was made during a 35-minute telephone call on June 18, initiated by the United States following President Trump’s early departure from the G7 summit in Canada.

India’s stance on the matter is not new. However, Modi’s latest reaffirmation is being seen as a pointed response to recent developments, including the US president’s repeated claims of having helped broker a ceasefire between India and Pakistan in May. According to Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, the prime minister made it “absolutely clear” during the conversation that Kashmir remains a bilateral issue and will continue to be addressed strictly between New Delhi and Islamabad.

“There is complete political unanimity in India on this,” Misri emphasized at a press briefing held in New Delhi on June 18. “No Indian government has ever accepted the idea of third-party mediation in Kashmir, and that position is non-negotiable.”

Tensions between India and Pakistan flared up once again in May after India carried out airstrikes on suspected militant infrastructure in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The strikes came in response to a terror attack in the Indian........

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