Sergio Gor, the US special envoy for South and Central Asia and ambassador to India, is touring India-administered Kashmir, where he is set to meet the disputed region's top officials, Indian media have reported.
Gor is expected to arrive in capital Srinagar on Wednesday afternoon, hold meetings with Manoj Sinha, New Delhi's top administrator in Kashmir and chief minister Omar Abdullah, and then travel to Ladakh region on Thursday, local media reported on Tuesday.
The US Embassy in New Delhi has not provided details regarding Gore's travel plans to the disputed region — a continuous source of tension between Pakistan and India since 1947 — over which US President Donald Trump mediated a ceasefire in May 2025 following four days of deadly fighting between the armed forces of the two nuclear-armed rivals.
It is the first such high-level US ambassadorial visit to the region since 2019, when India annexed the region, revoked its special status within the Indian constitution, cancelled its limited autonomy, and split it into two federally administered territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
The decision — which largely resonated in India and among right-wing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi supporters — was mostly opposed in Muslim-majority Kashmir as an assault on its identity and autonomy aimed at demographic changes in the region and beginning of settler colonialism.
India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir, but both claim the territory in its entirety. The nuclear-armed rivals have fought two of their three wars over the territory since they gained independence from British colonial rule in 1947. China also administers a portion of Kashmir, known as Aksai Chin, following the 1962 Sino-Indian War — making the Himalayan region the world's only nuclear tri-junction.
Rebels in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir have been fighting New Delhi's rule since 1989. Many Kashmiri Muslims support deciding the future of the region through a UN-mandated plebiscite.
India claims the Kashmir revolt is funded by Pakistan. Islamabad denies the charge, and many Kashmiris consider it a legitimate freedom struggle. Tens of thousands of civilians, rebels and Indian troops have been killed in the conflict.
India has deployed more than 500,000 troops to the region, making it one of the planet's most militarised zones.
US efforts in May 2025 conflict
Kashmir came close to a major war in April 2025 following the killing of 26 predominantly Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
New Delhi immediately blamed Pakistan for the attack, without any evidence. Islamabad denied the allegation and sought an independent investigation.
Both sides downgraded diplomatic and trade ties, closed their main land border crossing and revoked visas for each other's nationals.
New Delhi rejected Islamabad's calls for independent probe and began attacking Pakistan, triggering one of the sharpest deteriorations in relations between the nuclear-armed rivals in decades.
Pakistan retaliated against Indian attacks, downing several aircraft and targeting Indian military bases in May before a ceasefire was announced by US President Trump and his administration officials.
India initially denied that any of its aircraft had been downed, but later admitted to the losses. It also denied that any soldiers had been killed at the time, but recently admitted to the loss of at least six soldiers.
The US, which mediated the truce, believes approximately 11 aircraft were shot down, while Pakistan says it shot down seven or eight Indian aircraft, including Rafale fighter jets.
Relations between India and Pakistan have remained frozen since despite US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcement on May 10, 2025 that both sides have "agreed to an immediate ceasefire and to start talks on a broad set of issues at a neutral site."
India says US played no role in truce, but Pakistan has hailed President Trump's efforts and nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump has said that millions of people in South Asia could have died in the conflict had he not intervened immediately.
Long unresolved conflict
Meanwhile, Kashmir's pro-freedom leader and chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq welcomed Gor's planned visit, expressing hope that the US special envoy would engage with a broad cross-section of people to understand the concerns and aspirations of Kashmiris.
"Good to know that the US Ambassador is visiting Kashmir. Hope he avails this opportunity to engage with a broad cross-section of people, not just state selected invitees and understand first-hand the hard realities, concerns and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and the place where lakhs of (Indian) forces are stationed," Farooq said.
He said he has long "advocated meaningful engagement and dialogue as the means for addressing concerns and aspirations of the people of J&K and the long unresolved conflict over it."
