Many South Asian watchers look at US ambassador Segio Gor’s recent visit to Kashmir as vindication of US acceptance of changing realities in Kashmir. They refer to long US involvement in the region and its role in acting openly or behind the curtain in conflict management process. As students of political Science, we were always taught that in international politics there are no permanent friends nor permanent enemies. There are always permanent interests. The US role in Kashmir has always been guided by prevalent considerations and more importantly by internal power dynamics in Washington. The visit of the ambassador is first after 2019 constitutional changes in J&K and it is not clear whether his visit reflects the US state department’s position. It is pertinent to examine the context and issues surrounding US ambassador’s visit. 

Local Reactions Segio Gor, 38-year ambassador and special envoy of president Donald Triumph for South and central Asia visited Kashmir on August 19 and had a meeting with Chief minister Omer Abdullah. He visited Kashmir within days of a meeting with national security advisor Ajit Doval. Mr Gor described J&K as an “important part of India” and added that security has incredibly improved and Americans could enjoy visiting Kashmir. He added that his meeting with Chief Minister also focussed on economic cooperation. On his part the Chief Minister Omer Abdullah stated that during our meeting the two sides had discussed India-USA relations with specific focus on what Washington could do for Jammu and Kashmir. The Chief minister hastened to add that solution to our problems will not come from Washington. Our problems have to be resolved by our central government. Mr Abdullah added that there are obviously some legacy issues that over time we will be working to resolve and we look forward to take the conversation further.

The high-profile visit by an American officer after 2019 constitutional changes did invite reactions from different quarters. The former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti reacted “that foreign visits are now curated” and criticised Chief Minister for remaining silent on people’s issues. The congress party state president Mr Tariq Karra said........

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