Indian Ministry of External Affairs advises Pakistani NSA AZIZ not to meet

But Pakistan is unwilling to relent.

A deadlock over Kashmiri separatist leaders on Friday cast a cloud of uncertainty over the upcoming Indo-Pak NSA-level meeting after the two countries engaged in strong exchanges but neither side was willing to blink.

There was no immediate comment from New Delhi.

“The same Hurriyat is now (again) eager to talk to the Pakistan high commissioner”, Singhvi said. The meeting also discussed internal security situation and National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism.

He said Pakistan has already proposed a comprehensive agenda for the talks which includes all outstanding issues between the two countries, including Kashmir.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Aziz, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi and other officials were present during the meetings on both the days.

A spokes person from Indian External Affairs ministry Vikas swaroop posted multiple tweets about the issue.

In a departure from past statements on the subject, India drew a link between Pakistan and the terror attack in Udhampur and capture of Pakistani national Naved, saying that the issue “would have naturally come up in the NSA-level talks on terrorism, to Pakistan’s discomfort”. “But unilateral imposition of new conditions and distortion of the agreed agenda can not be the basis for going forward”, Swarup said. India is ready for talks. We are prepared to hold the talks.

He stated that that they had acquired details about timing of the assembly at 8 pm on Friday by way of a mail from the Pakistan High Commission. The manner in which Aziz and Pakistan are conducting themselves makes it clear that Pakistan is not interested in dialogue.

Pakistan has insisted on holding talks with the separatist leaders, a step New Delhi on Friday said would be unacceptable.

It said the Hurriyat leaders were the true representatives of the Kashmiri people, adding that Pakistan regarded them as genuine stakeholders in the efforts to find a lasting solution of Kashmir issue.

While India wants to focus on militancy and security, Pakistan has come under domestic pressure to push for a resolution for Kashmir – the disputed Himalayan region split between the two countries.

Pakistan said India’s refusal to engage in talks with Pakistan on this pretext was a repeat of what it did when it cancelled foreign secretary level talks in August previous year. India has maintained that it is committed to talk as per the Ufa agreement with terrorism as the top most agenda. Instead, we saw a sharp increase in unprovoked firings from the Pakistani side and some serious cross-border terrorist incidents.

However the invitation to the Hurriyat will also be seen in the context of a series of developments many inside the government sees as “provocations” from Pakistan ahead of the talks.

The bottom line, as far as the Modi government is concerned, is clear: it won’t allow Hurriyat leaders to meet Aziz.

The sudden house arrest of Hurriyat leaders introduced a new element into the talks scenario and prompted speculation about Pakistan reaction. “They have soured the mood”, said a senior foreign ministry official in New Delhi.

Spokesman of the Geelani-led faction Ayaz Akbar told PTI that “Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani was invited for the talks with Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz”.