Amid the invitation extended by Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit to Kashmiri separatist leaders to meet Pakistan National Security advisor Sataj Aziz, India has warned the neighbouring country that the NSA level talks between the two countries may be scrapped if they meet the separatist leaders.
Tweeting over the issue, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swaroop on Friday said, "India has advised Pakistan yesterday that it would not be appropriate for Mr Sartaz Aziz to meet with Hurriyat representatives in India. Such a meeting would not be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Ufa understanding to jointly work to combat terrorism."
He also added that India has sought a confirmation from Pakistan over the proposed agenda for the NSA level talks that it has conveyed to Pakistani on 18 Aug 2015.
Meanwhile, Pakistan government sources claim that Sartjaz Aziz will raise the Kashmir issue in talks even though it is not part of the agenda.
Sources say that the Indian government is in a fix. Though the separatist leaders were briefly detained on Thursday, the government is unlikely to detain them further. According to sources, Peoples Democratic party leader and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister's daughter Mehbooba Mufti stepped in and forced the release of the separatists on Thursday.
Keeping the situation in mind, the government either has the option of stopping them at the airport or trying to persuade the separatists to not attend the meeting.
Reacting to the latest development, former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah said that he was hopeful about the talks. "I am sorry if the talks do not start, I was very optimistic that talks would happen. This is a wise decision by the government of India. The talks should take place, Hurriyat should be on the sidelines," he said.
The two NSAs are scheduled to meet in New Delhi for talks on terrorism-related issues for the first time on August 23, as decided in a meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif in Ufa in July.
The invitation by the Pakistan High Commission to Geelani and other separatist leaders including Umar Farooq on Sunday to meet Aziz has upset New Delhi but Pakistan has stuck to the line that such meetings were "routine".
Pakistan Foreign office had said in Islamabad that consultations with Hurriyat leaders were a "routine matter" and a "long standing practice". The Pakistani invitation, which is seen as yet another "provocation" by Indian side, comes after persistent ceasefire violations as well as two terror attacks in recent weeks in Gurdaspur and Udhampur which many observers see as Pakistan army's opposition to any discussions with India.
India had in 2014 unilaterally called off Foreign Secretary-level talks after the Pakistan High Commissioner in India had held "consultations" with the Kashmiri separatist leaders on the eve of the FS-level meeting in Islamabad.
Significantly, Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit had last week said his country will not "abandon" the Kashmiris' "legitimate struggle for freedom", stressing that to have normal and cooperative relationship with India it was necessary to settle the decades-old dispute.
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