Civilian, military leadership discuss upcoming Pak-India security talks

Sources in the federal government said the prime minister – who held hours long meeting with his aides on Monday to discuss the agenda of the upcoming NSA meeting in New Delhi – finalised the strategy by getting input from the military leadership. Underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and speedy trial in 26/11 Mumbai terror attack case are also some of the key issues to be raised by India at the NSA-level talks with Pakistan on August 23.

India abruptly suspended high level diplomatic talks with Pakistan in August last year after the Pakistani envoy in New Delhi met Kashmiri separatist leaders.

“The government is considering an appropriate response to the (separatists) invite”, NDTV has quoted its sources as saying.

Hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani is among the separatists invited by the Pakistani High Commission to meet with Mr Aziz.

The two terror attacks and Pakistan refusing to invite the Jammu and Kashmir assembly speaker for a Commonwealth parliamentary meeting in Islamabad added to tension in bilateral ties, with speculation that the talks may be called off. However, India stuck to the dates it has proposed.

Premier Nawaz meets Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif at the Prime Minister House.

“Although the security talks are not the revival of the Composite Dialogue, the meeting would be “ice-breaking” as we will hold discussions on some important issues”, Aziz said. He said the agenda had been finalised and was now being sent to New Delhi.

In a move that could upset the recent NSA talks as did in 2014 when India cancelled the Indo-Pak foriegn secretary level talks over Pakistan embassy’s invite to Hurriyat leaders. Earlier, Sharif was briefed about the points of agenda prepared by the Foreign Office.

One of the reasons why India accepted Pakistan’s proposal was that Doval himself was keen to engage Pakistan on terrorism. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came under severe criticism from opposition parties after the Ufa statement between him and Prime Minister Narendra Modi excluded the reference of Jammu and Kashmir.