Indian police have detained a top Kashmiri separatist leader after he landed at New Delhi’s airport ahead of talks between Indian and Pakistani security advisers.
Kashmiri leader Zameer Ahmed said Shabbir Ahmed Shah flew in from Indian-held Kashmir on Saturday for a meeting with Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz, who was scheduled to arrive in the Indian capital on Sunday.
Shah and two colleagues were driven away from the airport by the New Delhi police, said Ahmed, who is also detained by the police.
Shah heads the Democratic Freedom Party in the Occupied Kashmir. The group demands the right of self-determination for Kashmiri people.
India opposes Pakistani leaders meeting with Kashmiri separatist leaders in New Delhi.
The police in India-held Kashmir confirmed Shah’s detention in New Delhi.
Several other separatist leaders ─ Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Showkat Bakshi, Ghulam Rasool Eidi and Syed Ali Geelani, also plan to fly to New Delhi to meet with Aziz.
Farooq said on Saturday that the separatist leaders always have supported talks between India and Pakistan. “It’s very sad that New Delhi is stubborn and hegemonic about our meeting with Sartaj Aziz,” he said. “This clearly shows that India is not serious at all about talks.”