Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
India

Pakistan Invite To Hurriyat Aimed To Scuttle Talks: India

Darpan News Desk IANS, 19 Aug, 2015 10:43 AM
    Pakistan's invite to Kashmiri separatist leaders ahead of the NSA talks was "designed to scuttle" the August 23-24 parley, and follows a typical pattern the Pakistani military-intelligence establishment has been following since the Ufa talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif to heighten tension, sources said on Wednesday.
     
    The government was adopting a "wait and watch" mode and is keeping "all its options open" on the slated talks in New Delhi between India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz.
     
    The July 10 talks in Ufa, Russia, brought in a sense of bonhomie between the two neighbours, with a joint statement issued, which included the NSA talks in New Delhi to discuss the issue of terrorism.
     
    But immediately after that, tension was ratcheted up by Pakistan over the Ufa meeting, with cross border firings, in which mortar shells were used, then the Gurdaspur and Udhampur attacks followed, and the latest was the invite to the Hurriyat on August 23 to meet Aziz.
     
    "The game plan is very clear - to scuttle the talks from day one," said the sources, adding that they were watching to see how the situation evolves.
     
    "We are monitoring the situation, and will respond appropriately," the sources said, but declined to elaborate on what it means by "appropriately".
     
    Aziz also took "20 days" to confirm if he would attend the talks, adding to the atmosphere of uncertainty.
     
    Since Kashmir is not to be discussed between the two NSAs, inviting the Kashmiri separatists does not really make sense.
     
     
    While India maintains that talks and terror cannot go together, it was not shying from talks on terror, said the sources.
     
    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.
     
    But in this case, the meeting is yet to take place between Aziz and the separatists on August 23.
     
    Pakistan's ratcheting up of tension comes even it is on losing ground among countries in the region.
     
    Afghanistan has openly hit out at Pakistan for terror attacks, with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, in a series of tweets on August 10, asking Pakistan to refrain from launching terror attacks on his country.
     
    During Prime Minister Modi's visit, India and the United Arab Emirates, a former close friend of Pakistan, issued a joint statement on terror that in clear terms speaks against nations exporting terror in the name of religion and calls for the dismantling of terrorism infrastructure and bring perpetrators to justice.
     
    Separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday said the Pakistan envoy in Delhi invited them for talks with Sartaj Aziz before he holds talks with his Indian counterpart.
     
     
    Both the factions of the Hurriyat Conference headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other separatist leaders such as Yasin Malik and Naeem Khan have been invited by Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit for talks on August 23.

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Why Narendra Modi Must Bite The Bullet On Madrasa Reforms

    Why Narendra Modi Must Bite The Bullet On Madrasa Reforms
    The Maharashtra government's decision to tag students of traditional madrasas as 'out-of-school' has put madrasa reforms back on the national discourse. 

    Why Narendra Modi Must Bite The Bullet On Madrasa Reforms

    Pakistan Says Indian 'Spy Drone' Shot Down, India Denies

    Pakistan Says Indian 'Spy Drone' Shot Down, India Denies
    Pakistan on Wednesday said an "Indian spy drone" was shot down by its army along the Line of Control in Pakistan-administered Kashmir. India denied the claim, saying no such drone crashed or was shot down.

    Pakistan Says Indian 'Spy Drone' Shot Down, India Denies

    Two Minors Gang-raped In Bihar

    Two Minors Gang-raped In Bihar
    Two minors, who are cousins, were gang-raped by 15 youth when they were returning from a temple in Bihar's Rohtas district on Wednesday, police said, addding a search was on for the accused.

    Two Minors Gang-raped In Bihar

    'Witty' Parkash Singh Badal Snubs Son's Father-In-Law Satyajit Singh Majithia

    'Witty' Parkash Singh Badal Snubs Son's Father-In-Law Satyajit Singh Majithia
    In a virtual snub to his son's father-in-law, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday noted how much his family has benefited under his dispensation.

    'Witty' Parkash Singh Badal Snubs Son's Father-In-Law Satyajit Singh Majithia

    Syed Ali Geelani Spurns Pakistani Invite As 'Symbolic Protest'

    Syed Ali Geelani Spurns Pakistani Invite As 'Symbolic Protest'
    Hardline senior separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani on Tuesday said he would not attend the 'Eid Milan' function at the Pakistan High Commission on July 21 as a "symbolic protest".

    Syed Ali Geelani Spurns Pakistani Invite As 'Symbolic Protest'

    27 Hindu Pilgrims Die In Andhra Pradesh Stampede

    27 Hindu Pilgrims Die In Andhra Pradesh Stampede
    At least 27 pilgrims were killed and over 60 injured on Tuesday in a horrific stampede here at the start of the Godavari 'Maha Pushkaralu' -- the Kumbh Mela of the south, officials and witnesses said.

    27 Hindu Pilgrims Die In Andhra Pradesh Stampede