New Delhi: As India and Pakistan prepare to resume a long-stalled formal dialogue, Pakistani High Commissioner Abdul Basit met a delegation of separatists today in a move that risks aggravating New Delhi.
The meeting in Delhi came as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Parliament said that dialogue between India and Pakistan was based on trust. "When we have decided there will be no third party mediation, we will need to talk to each other," she said in Lok Sabha.
In the past, meetings of separatists and Pakistani officials have thrown off talks between the two countries on more than one occasion and hurt already strained-ties.
A statement issued by Hurriyat after the one-on-one meeting which went on for over an hour said External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's recent visit to Islamabad was among the agenda along with Pakistan's Kashmir policy.
The two-member delegation held discussions with Mr Basit and other officials of the Pakistani Mission and pushed for a "firm stand on Kashmir", a Hurriyat spokesperson said.
"The Hurriyat delegation handed them a message from (Syed Ali Shah) Geelani that Pakistan should continue to maintain consistency and firmness over its Kashmir policy and play an active role in highlighting the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir at international forums," the spokesperson said. He added that the delegation also apprised the Pakistan High Commissioner about the present situation in Kashmir.
In the first signs of a thaw after a recent spate of wrangles, PM Modi had met with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Paris last month.
Their meeting was soon followed by National Security Advisor-level talks in Bangkok and Sushma Swaraj's visit to Islamabad to attend the 'Heart of Asia' conference where she held talks with her Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz and also Mr Sharif.
PM Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had agreed to resume dialogue in Ufa, Russia on the sidelines of a regional summit in August last year. Pakistan later cancelled the scheduled NSA-level talks after India said that it will not accept Mr Aziz's meeting with the separatists.
The meeting in Delhi came as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in Parliament said that dialogue between India and Pakistan was based on trust. "When we have decided there will be no third party mediation, we will need to talk to each other," she said in Lok Sabha.
In the past, meetings of separatists and Pakistani officials have thrown off talks between the two countries on more than one occasion and hurt already strained-ties.
The two-member delegation held discussions with Mr Basit and other officials of the Pakistani Mission and pushed for a "firm stand on Kashmir", a Hurriyat spokesperson said.
Advertisement
In the first signs of a thaw after a recent spate of wrangles, PM Modi had met with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Paris last month.
Advertisement
PM Modi and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had agreed to resume dialogue in Ufa, Russia on the sidelines of a regional summit in August last year. Pakistan later cancelled the scheduled NSA-level talks after India said that it will not accept Mr Aziz's meeting with the separatists.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
Amid Champions Trophy Row, Harbhajan Singh's Old Video Schooling Pakistan Reporter Goes Viral Harbhajan Singh, Suresh Raina Blasted By Para-Badminton Star Manasi Joshi For 'Mocking Disabilities' Amid Champions Trophy 2025 Row, Pakistan's "Has To Be In Writing" Mandate For BCCI "Someone Must Have Doubted...": Doctor On Trainee IAS Officer's Disability Claim Trump's Vice President Pick Reveals How His Hindu Wife Helped Him Trainee IAS Officer Puja Khedkar Called Cops Home, Spoke For 2 Hours Jaro Education Works Closely With Senior Executives From Corporates To Build Future Leaders "He'll Never Come Home": Captain Thapa, Killed In J&K Encounter, Remembered Engineer Stole NEET Question Paper From Exam Bodys Trunk, Arrested By CBI Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.