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Journalism of Courage
A week after the National Security Advisor-level talks were cancelled as Pakistan wanted to discuss the Kashmir issue, the neighbouring country has now said that the NSAs were not supposed to discuss Kashmir. Instead, it has said, Islamabad wanted that the Foreign Secretaries discuss modalities to talk on all outstanding issues including Kashmir.
Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit made the statement at ABP News’ upcoming programme Press Conference, which will be aired on Saturday and Sunday. The interaction with Basit was recorded on Wednesday.
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“We didn’t want the NSAs to discuss Jammu and Kashmir, but we had proposed that the foreign secretaries can meet separately and discuss the modalities for talks on other outstanding issues including Kashmir,” he said. But, the Indian side didn’t agree to the proposal, he added.
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This is a shift from the earlier position, as spelt out by Pakistan PM’s advisor on national security and foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz, who had repeatedly said that Islamabad will discuss all outstanding issues with India during the NSA-level talks. India had said that Pakistan is trying to “broaden the agenda” from what was agreed in Ufa, where the two Prime Ministers had decided that the NSAs will discuss issues connected to terrorism.
Basit also said that the recent telephone bills of gangster Dawood Ibrahim, indicating that he was in Pakistan, were “fake”. “If he was in Pakistan, he would have been deported,” he said.
The Pakistan envoy also said that Jamaat-ud Dawa is a “charitable outfit”, whose work in Pakistan is well-known. On JuD founder Hafiz Saeed approaching the courts in Pakistan to seek ban on the release of a Bollywood film, he said the judiciary is “independent” in Pakistan and anybody can approach the courts.
He also said that the two Prime Ministers should talk and take the dialogue process forward. Expressing hope that the two PMs will meet in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Basit did not rule out an invitation either.
He also said that the language of war should not be used anymore and talks of “hot pursuit” and “surgical strikes” should be stopped.
