Regional Stability: ‘Resolution of Kashmir dispute is key’

ISLAMABAD: “Kashmir is key to stability in the region,” said Philip Barton, deputy head of mission at the British embassy in Washington. Barton visited the Virginia University to speak to Associate Politics Professor John Echeverri Gent’s “Politics in India and Pakistan” class. Barton discussed relations between Pakistan and India and the necessity of America’s and Britain’s involvement in the conflict. He said negotiations had failed in the past because efforts had been bilateral rather than multilateral. “India and Pakistan continue to fight about the ownership of Kashmir, and both countries are unwilling to allow the US, UK and the UN to mediate,” he said, adding, “We can’t shove them together, but we can push them together to make them more likely to reach a solution,” he added.



Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2011.