Pakistan Protests After US Envoy To India Calls Kashmir 'Part Of India'

Pakistan moved fast. Within hours of the United States ambassador to India describing Jammu and Kashmir as an important part of India, Islamabad had summoned a senior American diplomat and lodged a formal protest over the remarks.

A First Visit In Six Years

The comments came from Sergio Gor, who took over as US ambassador to India earlier this year and also serves as President Trump's Special Envoy for South and Central Asia. Gor made the remarks while in Srinagar, marking the first visit by a sitting US ambassador to Jammu and Kashmir in six years. His trip to the region came at a sensitive moment, following heightened security tensions in the aftermath of last year's Pahalgam attack and India's subsequent military response.

Pakistan's Response

Pakistan's Foreign Ministry did not wait long to react. The Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Islamabad, Natalie Baker, was summoned and handed a strong protest. In its formal response, the Foreign Ministry said Pakistan strongly condemned and categorically rejected the characterisation of Jammu and Kashmir as a part of India, describing the territory instead as an internationally recognised disputed area awaiting final resolution in accordance with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

Why The Wording Matters

The protest hinged less on the visit itself than on the specific language used. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry argued that Gor's remarks negated Washington's long-standing official position, which has historically treated Kashmir as a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan rather than endorsing either side's claim outright. For Islamabad, having a senior American official publicly describe the territory as part of India, even informally during a regional visit, is read as a meaningful shift in tone from a country whose stated policy has been to stay neutral on the underlying dispute.

What Happens Next

Neither Washington nor the US Embassy in Islamabad had issued a public clarification on Gor's remarks at the time Pakistan's protest was lodged. How the State Department responds, whether with a clarification, a walk-back, or silence, will likely shape how much diplomatic weight this episode carries beyond a single news cycle. For now, it stands as a fresh flashpoint in a dispute that has simmered for decades, reigniting exactly the kind of language sensitivities that have derailed South Asian diplomacy before.