A senior Indian official said on Saturday that talks between the national security advisers (NSA) of India and Pakistan will take place as per schedule despite tensions on the border. “The NSA-level talks between India and Pakistan will take place as expected later this month,” Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday said amid questions whether the meeting should be held in the wake of recent incidents on border. I don’t know what is going on in the mind of the Pakistan establishment. Certainly, the government of India’s position is very clear that NSA-level talks will continue,” Sitharaman told reporters at the BJP headquarters when asked if recent incidents would affect the talks. The NSA-level talks are expected to take place in New Delhi later this month, as a follow up to the decisions taken at a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Premier Nawaz Sharif in the Ufa city of Russia, last month. Despite green signal for talks India has once again begun shelling at the Line of Control and Working Boundary. Why does it feel the need to posture for talks and continue provoking diplomatically as well as at the border? Also, what is its latest position on Hurriyat? Nobody – not even his detractors – can accuse Nawaz of not reaching out to India. And it was out of goodwill that he departed from the norm of meeting Hurriyat leaders in Delhi; when he went for Modi’s inauguration. But New Delhi has since then required a permanent detachment as the bare minimum for serious talks. This is a clear departure from the previous position, even under BJP government.
Then, of course, there is the matter of the ‘core issues’. Surely the Indian government does not believe any manner of serious talks can take place without Kashmir, Sir Creek, etc, on the agenda. By putting so many roadblocks in place, New Delhi only betrays a strong desire to keep real talks at a distance. The foreign office, therefore, must indicate, at least, that Islamabad requires clarity on some of the most serious issues. So far it seems there is little chance of meaningful progress so long as the present BJP government is in power in New Delhi.
pk.shafaqna.com
