Pakistan envoy calls Hurriyat leaders for talks

The Hurriyat provocation comes amid a spurt in violations of the ceasefire along the Line of Control as well as the International Border, even as Pakistan once again rakes up the Kashmir issue, describing it as a "major source of tension".

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Pakistan envoy calls Hurriyat leaders for talks
PM Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif during the latter's visit to India in May.

Nawaz Sharif (left)and Narendra Modi
PM Narendra Modi (right) shakes hands with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif during the latter's visit to India in May.

The new-found warmth and bonhomie in India-Pakistan relations brought on by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's presence at his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi's swearing-in ceremony has not lasted even 100 days. Sharif consciously avoided meeting Kashmiri separatist leaders during his visit to Delhi in May, but the Pakistani envoy has invited leaders of all factions of the All Party Hurriyat Conference for consultations ahead of a crucial meeting of the Foreign Secretaries of the two nations in Islamabad on August 25.

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The Hurriyat provocation comes amid a spurt in violations of the ceasefire along the Line of Control as well as the International Border, even as Pakistan once again rakes up the Kashmir issue, describing it as a "major source of tension".

Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit will hold consultations in Delhi on Tuesday with moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the head of the amalgam's hardline faction, and senior separatist leader Shabir Ahmad Shah, who floated his own faction of the Hurriyat last year. Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik too has been invited for the consultations, leaders of his party said in Srinagar.

Shabir Ahmad Shah told Mail Today that the Hurriyat wants to convey its concerns and reservations to Pakistan ahead of the talks between the foreign secretaries. "We consider Kashmir the core issue between India and Pakistan, and we Kashmiris are a principal party to the dispute. We should convey to Pakistan, which supports us politically, diplomatically and morally, our reservations and expectations from the talks," he said.

Unreachable

The spokesman of the Pakistani High Commission and other officials could not be reached for comment on the planned meetings, which were criticised by both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress.

BJP spokesman M.J. Akbar said the Pakistani envoy's gesture marked a move back to the old tactics of finding things to disagree about rather than picking up on Prime Minister Modi's message that the common purpose of the two countries should be the elimination of poverty.

Imran khan
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan acknowledges his supporters in Islamabad on Sunday.

"It is most unfortunate that Pakistan chooses to dwell on creating impossible conditions when much more beneficial things can happen between the neighbours if they concentrate on the possible," Akbar said. The Congress said it was strange that the Pakistani envoy was feting Kashmiri separatists.

Violations
The separatists, meanwhile, rejected the criticism from political parties, claiming the Congress had facilitated such meetings when it was in power. "For the past 20 years, the Congress didn't object to such meetings. In fact Congress has been facilitating the process and how come they are now opposing it," said Yasin Malik. Pakistan sent out the invitation to the separatist leaders against the backdrop of a spurt in ceasefire violations along the LoC and international border in Kashmir. On Sunday, Pakistani troops twice violated the truce with heavy firing in Jammu and Poonch districts, forcing Indian troops to retaliate. There have been 11 ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops in August. The gun had fallen silent for the past two days after nearly a week of exchanges of fire along the border.

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Prime Minister Sharif 's not meeting Kashmiri separatists during his May visit had raised eyebrows all around as it has been customary in the past for visiting Pakistani leaders to hold talks with Hurriyat leaders in Delhi. Sharif 's aides had said at the time that no meetings were held with the separatists as the premier was on a ceremonial visit.

Though Sharif has spoken several times of his desire to improve ties with India, the two countries recently engaged in a verbal spat after Modi accused Pakistan of engaging in a proxy war of terrorism after losing the strength to fight a conventional war.

Modi's remarks were described by Pakistan as "baseless rhetoric" but India hit back by saying terrorism continues to be a "core concern" and a "real and present danger".

Just a day after the war of words, Sharif used his speech on the occasion of Pakistan's Independence Day to claim that Kashmir was a "major source of tension" between the two countries. Addressing a gathering that included Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif, the premier said: "We want a peaceful solution to the problem of Kashmir with all seriousness so that this major source of tension is removed and Pakistan and India can search for new paths in their relationship."

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Though India has signalled that it intends to go ahead with the talks between the foreign secretaries on August 25, the raking up of the Kashmir issue and the Pakistani envoy's planned meetings with Hurriyat leaders have cast a shadow over the upcoming parleys. The meeting is crucial as the top diplomats have been tasked by the two prime ministers to find ways to take bilateral ties forward. Talks between India and Pakistan were suspended in early 2013 after Pakistani troops beheaded an Indian soldier on the LoC.

Imran Khan
Imran Khan, chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.

The volatile domestic situation in Pakistan because to the simultaneous ongoing protests launched by Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan and cleric Tahir-ul-Qadri to oust Sharif has also raised questions about whether the foreign secretary-level talks will be held.

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Pak failure Besides the concerns about terrorism, India has also expressed its anxiety about Pakistan's failure to prosecute seven men, including Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, charged with involvement in the planning, financing and execution of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The latest downturn in India-Pakistan ties comes at a time when both sides have been asked to improve their relationship by the US, which is keen to focus on the withdrawal of its troops from war-torn Afghanistan.