US President Donald Trump once again on Thursday raked up the Kashmir issue saying that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan PM Imran Khan want “someone to intervene in the decades-old dispute, he was ready to assist them”.

Donald Trump was referring to his last week’s meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, wherein he offered to help to resolve the Kashmir issue.

“If I can, if they wanted me to, I would certainly intervene,” Trump said.

However, India had rejected the offer making it clear that there was no question of third-party intervention in the matter.

On India rejecting the US’ mediation offer for Kashmir, he said, “It is really up to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi (to accept the offer of mediation)”.

“Have they accepted the offer or not?”, Trump sought clarification when asked about India’s rejection of his mediation offer.

“I think they are fantastic people – (Imran) Khan and (Narendra) Modi – I mean, I would imagine they could get along very well, but if they wanted somebody to intervene, to help them…. and I spoke with Pakistan about that and I spoke frankly in (sic) India about it,” Donald Trump said.

He said that the issue of Kashmir had been going on for a long time.

Last week in a stunning claim, Donald Trump had said that he was requested by Modi to act as a mediator in the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan.

Speaking to reporters before his meeting in the White House with Khan, Trump asserted that during his meeting with Modi in Osaka, “We talked about the subject, (and) he actually said, ‘Would you like to mediate or arbitrate?’ I said, ‘Where,?’ (and he said) ‘Kashmir’.”

India quickly rejected the claim saying that Modi never sought Trump’s help in the issue during their meeting at the G20 Summit in Osaka.

Imran Khan, however, welcomed these remarks.

Under the 1972 Simla Agreement, India has time and again maintained that it will not have a third party involvement in the Kashmir issue, which it sees as a bilateral matter with Pakistan.

The claim by the US President saw the Opposition parties demanding the Prime Minister’s explanation.

In a bid to contain the damage created by President Trump, the US Acting Assistant Secretary Alice Wells earlier clarified that the Trump administration welcomes India and Pakistan sitting down to resolve the issue and the “US stands ready to assist”.