Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday called on the international community to take notice of India’s running away from National Security Advisor (NSA) Level meeting on flimsy grounds.
During a media briefing, Prime Minister’s Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs and National Security, Sartaj Aziz said he was still willing to make his scheduled visit on August 23 and 24 if India doesn’t put forth pre-conditions.
He told journalists that he expects that global think tanks and foreign policy experts will carefully ponder over whether it is conceivable that a country like India will cancel the first ministerial interaction between the two countries since Modi came to power on such flimsy grounds, especially when the main purpose of the meeting was to reduce tensions on the LoC and restore trust by addressing each other’s concern regarding terrorist activities sitting across the table rather than through the media.
“Pakistan has not put forth any pre-conditions for talks, and meeting with Kashmiri leaders in New Delhi is a tradition of past two decades,” said he while responding to India’s pretext to call off the NSA-level talks over Pakistan High Commission’s invite to Hurryat leaders to a ceremony that was secluded to take place in honor of the advisor.
“Even more ironic is their alibi that Pakistan was trying to distort the agenda agreed at Ufa and was imposing “new conditions” for the talks. Nothing could be farther from the truth,” he added.
He said the three point agenda proposed by Pakistan was fully in line with the Ufa statement. The first point called for discussion on all issues related to terrorism.
Sartaj Aziz said: “The second point calls for reviewing progress on actual decisions made at Ufa i.e. prompt release of fishermen, better arrangements for religious tourism, and activation of mechanisms for restoring peace across the LOC and the Working Boundary.”
He added that the third point was intended to explore the modalities for discussions on all other outstanding issues including Kashmir, Sir Creek and Siachen.
Waving dossiers containing evidence of India’s involvement in acts of terrorism, during the press conference, he said he would hand them over to his Indian counter-part during his visit to New York in the General Assembly meeting of the United Nations.
He, however, said the NSA talks have not yet been cancelled on official level.
“The entire world knows that Kashmir is a core issue between Pakistan and India. Kashmir is on agenda of talks, why does New Delhi object to meeting with Kashmiri leaders,” he said.
He said India was making its own interpretations of Ufa understanding reached between prime ministers of both the countries.
Aziz pointed out that the most important point of the summit held in Ufa, Russia, was that India and Pakistan share the collective responsibility to bring peace in the region.
