Pakistan has officially summoned the top American diplomat in Islamabad to express its deep disapproval of recent comments made by the US Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti. During a visit to Srinagar, Garcetti referred to the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir as an “important part of India.” In a stern response, Pakistan’s foreign ministry issued a formal demarche, labeling the ambassador’s statement as factually inaccurate and emphasizing that the region remains an internationally recognized disputed territory at the heart of decades of regional tension.

The diplomatic fallout comes at a time of heightened volatility between the two nuclear-armed neighbors, whose rivalry over Kashmir dates back to the partition of 1947. Tensions have recently escalated beyond rhetoric, particularly following New Delhi’s decision to suspend its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty in the wake of a deadly April 2025 attack on tourists. With both sides having engaged in lethal cross-border skirmishes involving drones and artillery in recent months, the US diplomat's visit and subsequent comments have served to further inflame an already precarious diplomatic environment.