US President Donald Trump is ready to mediate between India and Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir only if asked by both the countries, a senior administration official said on Thursday reiterating that the onus for peace talks lay on Islamabad by taking sustained and irreversible actions against terrorist groups.

President Trump obviously has expressed his concern over the level of tension between India and Pakistan. And he discussed Kashmir directly in his meetings with Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Imran Khan, a senior State Department official said.

“He certainly is prepared to play a mediation role, if both the countries ask. It has been India’s position not to seek outside mediation,” said the official in response to a question.

Requesting anonymity, the official said the US would continue to encourage an atmosphere that would allow for constructive dialogue that also included important steps that Pakistan would need to take to show there are irreversible and sustainable actions as one precluded the cross-border terrorism that had hijacked earlier efforts at constructive bilateral dialogue between the two countries.
If the President is asked to mediate by both countries, he had expressed his willingness and his interest to help facilitate a solution, the official told a group of reporters when pressed further.