Jammu and Kashmir is an important part of India and the United States will consider revising its travel warning for the region, ANI quoted US Ambassador Sergio Gor as saying on Wednesday.

He said that Washington would re-evaluate the safety advisory as the Union government and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah had taken steps to make the region safer.

The US advisory has consistently urged its citizens travelling to India to exercise “increased caution” due to incidents of terrorism and crime, adding that certain parts of the country have heightened risks. It advises against travelling to Jammu and Kashmir, except for the eastern Ladakh region and its capital Leh, citing “terrorism and civil unrest”.

“Violence happens sporadically in this area and is common along the Line of Control [LoC] between India and Pakistan,” the current advisory states. “Violence also occurs in tourist spots in the Kashmir Valley: Srinagar, Gulmarg and Pahalgam.”

Gor’s remarks came after he met Abdullah in Srinagar during a visit to Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. He is scheduled to travel to Leh on Thursday.

The US’ long-standing position on Kashmir has been that the territory’s status should be settled through negotiations between India and Pakistan “while taking into consideration the wishes of the Kashmiri people”.

Speaking with reporters alongside Gor, Abdullah said that they discussed matters concerning Jammu and Kashmir, including what the US could do for the region, PTI reported.

“This is a conversation that will take place both with Ambassador Gor and Washington and with me and the Government of India in Delhi,” the news agency quoted the chief minister as saying.

“We are very hopeful and optimistic that the engagement between the United States of America and Jammu and Kashmir will both widen and deepen in the years ahead,” he added.

Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.

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