Mapusa (Goa) [India], August 20 (ANI): Former Union Minister MJ Akbar on Thursday welcomed US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor's statement that the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is 'an important part of India', calling the remarks 'most welcome' and 'perhaps long overdue.'

Speaking to ANI, Akbar said he hoped Gor's remarks would reflect a broader shift in US policy towards the region and called for the same position to be reiterated by the US Ambassador in Pakistan.

Akbar said, 'Sergio Gor's statement on the status of Jammu and Kashmir is most welcome and perhaps long overdue. I hope this is not another exercise in giving India President Trump's crumbs while the main meal is being served elsewhere.'

'If the American ambassador in Islamabad repeats it, then it will raise more confidence in India about the long-lasting implications of such a position,' he added.

Akbar said he also hoped 'that this will also end the rather American habit of seeing this region with cross-ties because of its alliance with Pakistan.'

Referring to Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), Akbar said the people there were facing poverty and persecution, alleging that Pakistan had treated the region as a colony.

'Perhaps Pakistan's most dependable ally has also seen the reality of what is happening today in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, where the people are suffering from poverty and persecution, because Pakistan has always treated POK as a colony,' he said.

On US foreign policy towards India and Pakistan under President Donald Trump, Akbar said, 'The most important development in American policy under President Trump for this region is the delinking of India from the stability and security architecture of the Indian Ocean and of West Asia.'

Akbar pointed to Trump's use of the term 'Indo-Pacific', saying the US President had 'quite consciously' dropped 'Indo' from the phrase.

He said, 'This was evident when President Trump quite consciously dropped 'Indo' from the Indo-Pacific. The American ambassador in Delhi could not adequately explain why this had happened, but we understood the implications of this significant shift in American policy.'

His remarks came as earlier on Wednesday, as the US Ambassador Sergio Gor called the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir an 'important part of India' after meeting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in Srinagar during the first standalone visit by the US envoy to the UT since the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and the Pakistan-backed terror attack in Pahalgam in 2025.

Speaking to the media after the meeting, Gor commended the security efforts made by the union territory administration and the Centre to make Jammu and Kashmir safer, and signalled a potential shift in Washington's stance by indicating that the US may re-evaluate and 'downgrade' its highest-level travel warning for the UT.

Akbar also raised questions over the direction of the Mecca Pact (Signed on August 7) after Trump referred to it as a 'big bold, and important first step.'

He said, 'President Trump has also described the recent Mecca Pact, and he did so perhaps in the last 24 or 48 hours, as a big, bold, and important first step. The question is, what is the second step? The question is, where is this pact heading? What is the third step?'

He also questioned whether the pact could eventually lead to an 'Islamic NATO' and sought clarity on the alliance's objectives. Akbar said, 'Is this pact heading towards the much-wanted, if slightly illusory, Islamic NATO? We need clarification on that.'

'A military pact must be based on a clear definition of the enemy. Who is the enemy of the three countries?' he said. He added, 'It is very important that America, which clearly has sponsored this alliance or endorsed this alliance, gives us the clarity that is very urgently required.'

Earlier on Sunday (local time), US President Donald Trump welcomed the recently signed Mecca Joint Defence Agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan, describing the trilateral security arrangement as a major move towards enhanced security and self-reliance in the region.

In a post on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump stated that he was 'very happy' to see Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan had 'recently, and finally' signed the agreement.

Commenting on the shift in regional defence dynamics, the US President noted that 'It shows how the Middle East is coming together, and how Countries will finally be able to defend themselves in a more meaningful way', while calling the pact a 'Big, Bold, Important First Step.' (ANI)