JAMMU, Aug. 19 -- In a significant diplomatic statement during his maiden visit to the Valley, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor on Wednesday unequivocally affirmed that Jammu and Kashmir is "an important part of India" - a remark that comes even as Washington signalled it may soon ease its long-standing travel advisory for the region.
Gor's assertion, delivered on the ground in Srinagar, carries weight precisely because of where and when it was made: on his first-ever trip to the Union Territory, fresh out of a meeting with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and against the backdrop of a security landscape he described as vastly improved.
"It is an important part of India. And so I'm here visiting for the first time. It is an incredibly beaut...