Pak calls off NSA-level talks with India
24 Aug 2015 5:11 AM IST
“Pakistan reiterates that the scheduled NSA-level talks cannot be held on the basis of the preconditions set by India,” a statement by the Pakistani Foreign Office said. Pakistan’s announcement brought to an end the battle of attrition as to who would blink first.
That the talks was a non-starter was evident in the last two days in view of the acrimonious exchanges between the two sides but the last straw appeared to be External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s virtual ultimatum to Pakistan to give a clear commitment by midnight that it would not go ahead with meeting the separatists.
With less than 24 hours to go for Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz’s arrival here, Swaraj told a press conference that Pakistan had only till tonight (Saturday) to give a categorical assurance on these
two issues.
“There will be no talks,” Swaraj declared when asked what would happen if Pakistan did not accept the position outlined by her on separatists and Kashmir.
India is ready to discuss only terrorism-related issues at the talks and “no third party” should be involved, Swaraj said, referring to the separatist leaders.
She repeatedly emphasised that she was not laying down any pre-condition for the talks between Aziz and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval scheduled for Monday. She further added that she was only invoking the Shimla spirit under which two countries are committed to resolving issues bilaterally and the recent agreement in Ufa where Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif had agreed that the NSAs would meet only to discuss terror.
Earlier, Aziz said in Islamabad he was disappointed that India had “virtually cancelled” the scheduled talks.
The prospects of the much-awaited talks, set between Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Russia last month, had also been clouded in recent weeks by a series of militant attacks and border skirmishes. Swaraj said there had been 91 ceasefire violations since the meeting between the premiers.
The divergence of talking points has also been a stumbling block: Indian official sources had said they wanted to provide proof that militants were getting support from over its western border, while Pakistan wanted the talks to be broader and include issues on Kashmir.
Lone, Shabir Shah detained at Delhi Airport
As uncertainty loomed large over Indo-Pak NSA talks, moderate Hurriyat Conference leader Bilal Lone and Shabir Shah were among four separatist leaders detained on Saturday at Delhi airport to prevent them from meeting Pakistan’s NSA Sartaj Aziz in the event of his arrival here. All the four separatist leaders were put under house arrest in the Capital, official sources said.
Lone, who is the executive member of moderate faction of Hurriyat led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, was stopped at the ladder of the aircraft as he deplaned and was informed that he was under detention and would remain confined to his rented accommodation in South Delhi, the sources said. Lone is the fourth separatist leader from Kashmir who was detained at the Delhi airport. Earlier, Shabir Shah, who broke away from Hurriyat last year and formed his Democratic Freedom Party, was detained along with two senior members of his party.
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