Pakistan will continue to meet Kashmiri leaders: Aziz

*PM’s national security adviser says it is up to India to resume Indo-Pak foreign secy-level talks as India had called off the talks

Days after conceding that the timing of Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit’s meeting with Hurriyat leaders was “perhaps not right,” Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz has said Pakistan would continue to meet Kashmiri leaders.

Talking to an India news outfit over the telephone, Aziz referred to Hurriyat leaders as “important stakeholders”.

“We will always meet them each time we are holding talks on the issue of Kashmir. Any solution to Kashmir has to be acceptable to the people of Kashmir,” Aziz reportedly said.

Asked why he thought the meeting between Basit and the Hurriyat leader was “ill-timed”, Aziz said that the Indian media had reported his statement partially.

“I used the word probably because the two foreign secretaries were meeting to see how to take the dialogue forward. They were not slated to have any substantive talks on the issue of Kashmir.”

Aziz reiterated that it was up to India to resume the Foreign Secretary-level dialogue between India and Pakistan because “it was India who called off the talks”.

Asked if there was pressure from the United States on Pakistan for resuming talks with India, Aziz said, “Many in New York said they would like to see the dialogue being resumed but our position is clear – we did not call off the talks, India did.”