Published : 20 Aug 2026, 04:08 PM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:34 AM
Pakistan has lodged a diplomatic protest with the United States over remarks by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor during his visit to Indian-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry summoned the US charge d’affaires in Islamabad after Gor described Kashmir as “an important part of India” during his meeting with Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday, according to reports.
Gor, who is also the US special envoy for South and Central Asia, said Washington would recommend downgrading its travel advisory for the region, citing an improved security situation, The Economic Times reports.
“I cannot make any big announcement here,” Gor is quoted as saying by the Indian daily. “We will recommend that the travel warnings imposed and recommended by the US should be downgraded.”
The foreign ministry of Pakistan rejected the characterisation of Jammu and Kashmir as part of India, calling the territory an internationally recognised dispute awaiting settlement under relevant UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people, Turkish broadcaster TRT World said.
Islamabad also said Gor’s remarks contradicted the longstanding US position on the dispute and urged Washington to ensure its public statements remained consistent with Kashmir’s disputed status.
Pakistan welcomed US President Donald Trump’s previous offer to mediate between India and Pakistan over the dispute, the ministry said.
Gor's visit marks the first such high-level US ambassadorial trip to the region since 2019, when India revoked the region's special constitutional status, scrapped its limited autonomy and split it into two federally administered territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
India and Pakistan each administer part of Kashmir but claim the territory in full.
The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought two of their three wars over the region since gaining independence in 1947.
China also controls a portion of Kashmir, known as Aksai Chin, following the 1962 Sino-Indian war, making the Himalayan region the world's only nuclear tri-junction.
Kashmir came close to a full-scale war in April 2025 after 26 mostly Hindu tourists were killed in Indian-administered Kashmir.
New Delhi blamed Pakistan for the attack “without evidence”, a charge Islamabad denied while calling for an independent investigation.
The two countries downgraded diplomatic and trade ties, shut their main land border crossing and revoked visas for each other's citizens, before a four-day conflict broke out in May 2025.
A ceasefire was later announced by President Trump and US officials.
The US has said around 11 aircraft were shot down during the conflict, while Pakistan maintains it downed seven or eight Indian aircraft, including Rafale fighter jets.
India initially denied any losses before later confirming both aircraft and soldier casualties.
