The NSA-level talks between India and Pakistan will take place despite Pakistani High Commission inviting Kashmiri separatist leaders to meet Sartaj Aziz. Aziz who is coming here to hold talks with his Indian counterpart National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on Sunday.
Indian media outlets quoting sources said, India would make its stand clear later on Wednesday in the backdrop of reports that hardline Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani will meet Aziz while other separatists leaders like Mirwaiz Umar Farooq were invited for the reception being held in Aziz’s honour by the Pakistan mission.
Spokesman of the Geelani-led faction Ayaz Akbar said that “Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani was invited for the talks with Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz. A decision on whether to accept the invitation will be taken at a meeting of the Hurriyat Conference.”
Akbar said the stand taken by Pakistan was welcome as “they have asserted that there will be no dialogue with India without inclusion of Kashmir issue”.
The moderate faction headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has also been invited to meet Aziz during his visit to India for talks with National Security Advisor A K Doval.
“We are meeting today to take a decision on the issue,” a spokesman of the Mirwaiz-led faction said.
Sources in the Mirwaiz-led Hurriyat said the meeting today was a formality, as “We believe in dialogue as a solution for the Kashmir issue”.
“We have met Pakistan officials in the past and nothing has changed in recent times to force a rethink,” the sources said.
India had last year cancelled Foreign Secretary-level talks with Pakistan after its High Commissioner invited separatist leaders for a meeting ahead of the talks.
Doval is scheduled to meet Aziz here for talks on terrorism-related issues for the first time on August 23 in New Delhi, as decided in a meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif last month in Ufa in Russia.
Both Pakistan and India are expected to present evidences about each country’s intervention in other’s internal matters. Pakistan would give hard proofs of Indian RAW’s support to separatists in Balochistan and acts of terrorism in Karachi and FATA.
India is expected to present its view point regarding attacks in Gurdaspur in Punjab and near Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir.
