DUBAI, 15 April, 2021 (TON): The Gulf state is mediating between India and Pakistan to help the decade-long rivals reach a healthy and functional relationship, the United Arab Emirates’ envoy to Washington confirmed.

While speaking at a virtual discussion with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution on Wednesday, Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba said, “The UAE played a role in bringing Kashmir escalation down and created a ceasefire, hopefully ultimately leading to restoring diplomats and getting the relationship back to a healthy level.”

“They might not sort of become best friends but at least we want to get it to a level where it’s functional, where it’s operational, where they are speaking to each other,” he said.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been frozen since a suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Kashmir in 2019 traced to Pakistan-based militants that led to India sending warplanes to Pakistan.

Later that year, India’s prime minister withdrew Indian-ruled Kashmir’s autonomy in order to tighten his grip over the territory, provoking outrage in Pakistan and the downgrading of diplomatic ties and suspension of bilateral trade.

However, Otaiba also stressed that Pakistan should play a helpful role in Afghanistan, where the United States plans to start withdrawing U.S. troops on 1 May to end America’s longest war.