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Pakistan rejects India's "advice" on avoiding meeting with Kashmir leaders

Xinhua, August 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Pakistan on Friday rejected an " advice" from Indian government that the top Pakistani security adviser should avoid meeting with the Kashmiri separatist leaders during his upcoming visit to New Delhi.

The National Security Adviser, Sartaj Aziz, is scheduled to travel to India on August 23 for two-day talks with his Indian counterpart on terrorism-related issues.

Pakistani High Commission in India has invited some Kashmiri leaders for a reception to be hosted in honor of Sartaj Aziz on August 23.

Responding to the "advice" of India, the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad conveyed to the Indian High Commissioner that it would not be possible for Pakistan to accept this advice.

"Kashmir is a disputed territory as per the UN Security Council resolutions which remain unimplemented. Pakistani leadership has always interacted with the Kashmir/Hurriyat leadership, during their visits to India," Pakistan's Foreign Secretary said.

India abruptly canceled high diplomatic talks with Pakistan in August last year after Pakistani High Commissioner met with Kashmiri leaders in New Delhi.

Pakistan has long been insisting that meeting with Kashmiris ahead of talks with India is a common practice, said the foreign secretary.

"Pakistan sees no reason to depart from this established past practice. The Hurriyat leaders are true representatives of the Kashmiri people of the Indian occupied Kashmir. Pakistan regards them as genuine stakeholders in the efforts to find a lasting solution of the Kashmir Dispute," the Pakistani diplomat said in a statement.

He said Pakistan has proposed and conveyed to India a comprehensive agenda reflecting the broad understanding reached between the leaders in Ufa, that all outstanding issues, including Kashmir and other disputes, as well as, terrorism issues and other Confidence Building Measures will be discussed between the two countries.

"India's insistence to introduce conditionalities and restrict the agenda for the dialogue, demonstrates a lack of seriousness on India's part to meaningfully engage with Pakistan," he said.

For its part, Pakistan remains willing to attend the National Security Advisers(NSAs) meeting without any pre-conditions, he said in a statement. Endi