As they say that alls well that ends well, Pakistan backed out of the NSA talks scheduled for Sunday after the Indian fireworks earlier in the day.
“Pakistan has carefully analyzed the contents of the Press Conference of the Indian Minister for External Affairs, Mrs. Sushma Sawaraj this afternoon. We have come to the conclusion that the proposed NSA level talks between the two countries would not serve any purpose, if conducted on the basis of the two conditions laid down by the Minister.” A statement issued by the Pakistan Foreign Office said.
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had made it clear that terrorism issue lay at the centre of the talks and the Pakistan leader should not meet the Hurriyat leaders as India didn’t view them as a party in the dispute.
The cancellation of the talks ensures that the tax payers’ money is not going to be wasted in a futile exercise which would have not yielded to anything meaningful.
Even before the Indo-Pak NSA-level talks had begun the deadlock was in sight as the talks remained in limbo on Saturday with neither side willing to blink first on a day of acrimony of public exchanges with India making it clear that the talks would not take place if Pakistan insists on discussing Kashmir and ropes in separatists.
After a well thought out strategy charted under the Active guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his national security team External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Pakistan took 22 days to respond to India’s call for NSA talks and that if talks were to happen Pakistan should not involve any third party.
“Talks with terror cannot happen, but talks on terror are desirable,” Sushma Swaraj said adding, “If Pakistan does not agree to India’s position, there will be no talks.”
Sushma, who is leaving for Egypt on Sunday, said the meeting that has been agreed on in Ufa did not have Kashmir on the agenda. “If you’re willing to come, we welcome you (Aziz), but come to talk on terror as agreed in Ufa,” Sushma said.
“If they are waiting for my press conference, I have only a two-pointer message for them: Please respect the Simla agreement and do not involve any third party; second, as agreed in Ufa, the talks should only be on terror.”
“Pakistan has only to give an assurance that the talks will only will be on terror. If Pakistan does not agree, the talks will not happen.”
Addressing a press conference on Saturday afternoon, Swaraj said, “Not all the interactions with Pakistan are dialogues. There is a composite dialogue which is different and has eight points, issues or subjects. Each of these issues are handled by different ministries and officials of the two governments.”
Sources say India’s strategy is that it will not blink first but it will have talks on its own terms, where evidence of Pakistan’s terror factories will be shared.
The dossier prepared by the security agencies for the National Security Advisor Ajit Doval includes the confession made by Mohammed Naveed who was arrested by Indian security forces in Udhampur. Besides that it also includes recent intelligence inputs on whereabouts of Dawood Ibrahim.
Besides that India is scheduled to share the analysis of voice sample of Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
Sushma further said “That every dialogue or conversation has its own significance and value. In 1998, we had a composite dialogue. That composite dialogue can truly be called a dialogue between two parties. The rest are discussions and interactions, they cannot be described as a dialogue.”
Swaraj revealed, “Both Prime Ministers had reached an agreement, and that agreement was that let us talk about the issue of terror first. It was clearly agreed that there would be a clear delink between terror and talks.”
“It was agreed at Ufa that the talks in New Delhi on August 24 would focus on terror and how to maintain peace on the border,” she further stated.
India earlier said it will not tolerate Pakistan meeting with Kashmiri separatists or bringing up Kashmir in the NSA talks.
The Government attack also came following an assessment made internally that not going on an offensive will weaken the position of government both internally and externally.
On one hand Modi government would have lost the tough on terror tag which would have impacted Bihar elections as well, on the other cancelling talks outrightly would have earned flak from countries like the U.S. which have adviced India to stay engaged with Pakistan.
“This strategy was the best case scenario now we have a valid ground if Pakistan backs out that they were not interested in talks on substantive issues of terror which was agreed at Ufa,” a senior source told Sunday Guardian.
Pakistan puts the onus back on India
Earlier, putting the onus back on India, Pakistan on Saturday said it was prepared for NSA-level talks without any pre-conditions amid continuing signs that the meeting was unlikely to take place.
National Security Adviser Sartaj Aziz, who is scheduled to travel to New Delhi on Sunday for talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, told at a press conference in Islamabad that he is ready to travel to India as per schedule but without any pre-conditions.
He was sharply critical of the Indian government for its insistence that he should not meet Kashmiri separatist leaders while in New Delhi and said this was akin to controlling the guest list for a reception being held for him at the Pakistan High Commission on Sunday.
“Cancellation (of the talks) is yet to be confirmed from either side. Therefore, we are ready to go as per schedule without any pre-condition,” Aziz said.
Given that there is no likelihood of India changing its stand that separatist Hurriyat had no role in Indo-Pak talks, the possibility of NSAs meeting is remote.
Blaming India’s attitude for the ongoing tussle over his meeting with separatists, Aziz said that New Delhi had been refusing to recognise Kashmir as the most important issue since Prime Minister Narendra Modi coming into power.
“Pakistan wants to discuss modalities of Kashmir issues, it is a complex issue…We never expected any breakthrough in the meeting, but current issues could be resolved,” said Aziz.
He further said that Pakistan was worried about the arrest and detention of separatist leaders ahead of NSA-level talks.