India’s foreign secretary voiced concerns on Wednesday about the Pakistani foreign minister’s decision to meet Kashmiri separatists a day before peace talks with her Indian counterpart.
Despite an upbeat assessment of the talks by Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said Tuesday’s meeting between Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and a hardline Kashmiri separatist leader illustrated the “divergence” between the two countries.
“We have a very different point of view from Pakistan on that particular event and we have expressed our concerns in a frank and candid manner to the Pakistan side,” Rao told journalists.
Khar, after arriving in New Delhi on Tuesday afternoon, met Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the hardline chairman of the separatist Hurriyat Conference, and other leaders of revolt-hit Indian Kashmir’s political separatist movement.
Kashmir sours Pakistan-India talks
