File Photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Ufa, Russia.
The National Security Adviser-level talks between India and Pakistan scheduled to be held later this month have a hit a cloud of uncertainty.
Pakistani officials have told NDTV that Islamabad has not yet decided on whether to accept India's invite that was sent nearly two weeks ago. Sources in Pakistan say they need a result oriented dialogue and that public opinion in the country is divided.
This is the clearest indication so far that the talks, which were proposed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif met in Russia's Ufa last month, may hit a roadblock.
There are indications that Mr Sharif's government is under huge pressure from the Army to back off.
Indian officials say the ball is in Pakistan's court. India had proposed August 23 and 24 for the talks which are supposed to focus on terror.
But since the Ufa meeting between the two Prime Ministers in July, terror attacks in Gurdaspur and Udhampur have cast a huge shadow.
Four policemen and three civilians were killed last month in Gurdaspur, less than 18 km from Punjab's border with Pakistan. The two terrorists were gunned down after 12-hour long operation.
Earlier this month, two terrorists attacked a Border Security Force bus in Jammu and Kashmir's Udhampur. One of the terrorists, Noman, was killed; the other, Mohammad Naveed, was captured alive by two civilians and handed over to the police. Authorities say Naveed is a Pakistani national and is currently being interrogated by the NIA.
Repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan along the border have also added to the tensions between the two countries.