NSA-level talks: Want to strengthen India, Pak dialogue process, says Mirwaiz

Hurriyat leaders Yasin Malik, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani are said to be in house arrest.

Meanwhile, Sartaj Aziz is scheduled to fly here for talks with India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on August 23.

India had called off the foreign secretary-level talks on August 25 last year after the Pakistani envoy met the Kashmiri separatists ahead of the meeting, despite India requesting him not to do so and warning that it would adversely impact the talks.

Earlier Indian governments had grudgingly tolerated meetings between Pakistan and Kashmiri separatists, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, elected last year, signalled he would not. The reports quoted Indian government sources as saying that Pakistan High Commission has invited leaders of Occupied Kashmir and that it is a move towards provocation. “I expect that they probably will”, Lavoy said and quickly added that there has been no change on America’s position on Kashmir. His close aides said that he wants the top military leadership on board before embarking on mending ways with rival India.

Pakistan has however insisted that it has always consulted with Kashmiri leaders before any meetings with India.

J&K government has asked the Centre to take up with Pakistan at the upcoming NSA-level talks the issue of formalising the banking channel instead of barter, given the annual cross-border trader of about Rs 800 crore between the two countries.

The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Sartaj Aziz and Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi.

The divided Himalayan region of Kashmir has long been a serious point of contention in the bitter relationship between India and Pakistan. They said Sir Creek, Siachen and Kashmir issues should be discussed on give-and-take basis. He said Pakistan wishes to maintain good relations with all its neighbouring countries which requires peaceful atmosphere.

Shahid-ul-Islam, the political advisor of Mirwaiz, said police raided houses of several moderate Hurriyat leaders Thursday morning during which Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Moulana Abbas Ansari were placed under house arrest. The main aim of the Indian strategy is not to allow Pakistan to divert and deflect from the core agenda agreed to at Ufa.