Can't talk with Hurriyat provocation, Pakistan told

New Delhi India declared on Friday that unilateral imposition of new conditions and distortion of the agreed agenda cannot be the basis for going forward with the NSA level talks with Pakistan but stopped short of calling off the dialogueIn a stronglyworded statement India questioned Pakistans insistence that national security adviser Sartaj Aziz would meet Kashmiri separatists calling it a complete departure from the agreement reached between Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi at Ufa Russia India has always held the position that there are only two stakeholders in our relationship not three the external affairs ministry said in the statement alluding to the two factions of the Hurriyat Conference invited to meet Aziz in New Delhi ahead of his meeting with Ajit DovalThe wording of the Indian statement indicated that the talks were being called off But soon after the statement was reported Indian officials clarified that New Delhi had not called off the August 2324 talks But it was clear that the talks would be in jeopardy if Pakistan insisted on going ahead with the AzizHurriyat meeting It is understood that Indias statement has been conveyed diplomatically to Pakistan There has been no response as yet from IslamabadIt is also understood that India has conveyed that it is ready for the Ufa spirit of the talks to be implemented on the ground and has asked Pakistan not to give a distorted interpretation India maintained that at Ufa both sides agreed on a limited engagement which included the NSA talks on terrorismrelated issues talks on ceasefire violations and on humanitarian issues It said it wanted to progress step by step and the NSA talks was the first stepIt also contended Pakistans assertions that all issues would be discussed at the NSA meeting The Pakistan foreign office in a statement Friday night said that it was deeply disappointed at the Indian statement putting forth preconditions for the NSA talksIt said that it was the second time that India has chosen to go back on a decision mutually agreed upon by their prime ministers to engage in a comprehensive dialogue by coming up with frivolous pretexts and accused India of reneging on agreements agreed at between heads of governmentEarlier making things more difficult the Pakistani foreign office said that the Hurriyat leaders are true representatives of the Kashmiri people Pakistan regards them as genuine stakeholders in the efforts to find a lasting solution of the Kashmir disputeMeanwhile the Indian statement in a tacit reference to the Pakistani militaryintelligence establishment said The people of both countries can legitimately ask what is the force that compels Pakistan to disregard the agreements reached by two elected leaders and sabotage their implementationIndia remains committed to discussing issues with Pakistan peacefully and bilaterally In fact we took the initiative to engage at Ufa But unilateral imposition of new conditions and distortion of the agreed agenda cannot be the basis for going forward The Indian reaction came after Islamabad conveyed to New Delhi that Aziz would indeed meet Hurriyat leaders at a reception to be hosted by Pakistans High Commissioner in New Delhi Abdul BasitThe external affairs ministry statement said that the stance does not come as a surprise There has been a pattern to Pakistans actions after the Ufa summit and todays position is a culmination of that approach At Ufa the two prime ministers agreed on a meeting of the NSAs to discuss all issues connected to terrorism as well as ensure peace and tranquility on the borderInstead we saw a sharp increase in unprovoked firings from the Pakistani side and some serious crossborder terrorist incidents the last one at Udhampur resulted in the capture of a Pakistani national a matter that would have naturally come up in the NSA talks on terrorism to Pakistans discomfortIn so far as those talks are concerned Pakistan took 22 days to respond to the Indian proposal to meet in New Delhi It then proposed an agenda that was at complete variance with what the two prime ministers had agreed upon in Ufa Together these two actions indicated its reluctance to go forward with sincerity on the agreed processEven more significantly without confirming either the programme or the agenda the Pakistan high commissioner invited Hurriyat representatives to consult with the visiting NSA This provocative action was completely in consonance with Pakistans desire to evade its commitment at Ufa to engage in a substantive discussion on terrorism the Indian statement saidEarlier on Friday Pakistan rejected Indias request made on Thursday that Aziz should not meet the Hurriyat leaders ahead of meeting Doval The decision was taken at a meeting in Islamabad chaired by Nawaz Sharif and attended by army chief General Raheel Sharif Separately Aziz also met Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar chief of the InterServices Intelligence ISI agencyA spokesman for hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani who favours Jammu and Kashmirs merger with Pakistan told IANS that he would meet Aziz separately India called off foreign secretary talks with Pakistan in August last year after the Pakistani envoy invited the Hurriyat leaders for a dialogue ahead of the talks