JOIN USA fresh move by New Delhi to arrange a meeting between the National Security Advisers of India and Pakistan on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month fell flat, as Islamabad insisted on including Kashmir on the agenda.
India proposed a meeting between National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistan counterpart Sartaj Aziz to discuss all issues connected to terrorism. Pakistan, however, insisted that it would agree only if another meeting was arranged between Aziz and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to discuss resumption of dialogue on all other outstanding issues, including the issue of Kashmir, sources said in New Delhi.
The move, according to the sources, was finally aborted as New Delhi was not ready to discuss Kashmir and other outstanding issues, without having a “credible and effective” outcome from the NSAs’ parleys on the issue of anti-India terrorism emanating from Pakistan and territories under its control.
New Delhi’s proposal to Islamabad for the meeting was intended to return to the roadmap of engagement the prime ministers of the two countries had agreed upon at Ufa in Russia on July 10.
“Yes…There was an issue of sequencing (the meetings),” said MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup when asked about India’s proposal.
He added that New Delhi remained committed to the understanding reached between the two prime ministers.
“We are ready for dialogue between the NSAs on all issues connected to terrorism. Pakistan walked out of it last time,” he said, pointing out that a meeting between Aziz and Swaraj were not in Ufa.
As agreed by Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif at Ufa, Doval and Aziz were scheduled to meet in New Delhi on August 24 and discuss issues related to terrorism. But the meeting was called off after India asked Pakistan to drop its insistence on including the issue of Kashmir in the agenda and on consulting the Hurriyat Conference and other separatist organisations before the parleys.