Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed on Sunday expressed disappointment over the cancellation of National Security Advisor talks between India and Pakistan and hoped that “the break in talks would be temporary”.
The chief minister had a veiled advice for Pakistan and separatists too in his reaction after Pakistan called off the talks late on Saturday night, saying “It is neither warranted nor desirable to insist upon all-inclusive participation, directly or indirectly, in each and every bilateral meeting, like that between the two NSAs.”
He said he was disappointed over abrupt cancellation of bilateral meeting between National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan but hoped that break in talks would be “temporary and the thaw achieved at Ufa (Russia), where prime ministers of the two countries met and exhibited great camaraderie, will not be allowed to go waste.”
Hoping that India and Pakistan will “re-engage soon in a meaningful dialogue” and steps taken by New Delhi to remove impediments in normalisation of relations will be reciprocated by Islamabad, Sayeed said he wants to see both the countries “walk the bridge of trust together”.
For a sensitive border state like Jammu and Kashmir, peace and stability on both, the internal and the external fronts, “are of critical significance to normalcy, stability and development”, the chief minister said.
“From this perspective, last-minute cancellation of the NSA-level bilateral meeting between our country and Pakistan is a great disappointment. Escalation of firing along the Line of Control, coupled with incidents of terrorism, are matters of serious concern to us here, as much as they are in the rest of the country,” he said.
Observing that Indo-Pak ties over the years have become multi-dimensional and multi-lateral with each sphere dealing with specified issues like trade, travel, CBMs, diplomatic and political matters, Sayeed urged Pakistan to respond to India’s warm gesture to engage in a meaningful dialogue so that hopes and expectations of the larger constituency of peace are addressed.
“We wish that the hostilities between the two countries end so that people, who have suffered due to prolonged confrontation, live together as peaceful neighbours,” the chief minister said while describing dialogue as the only way forward to restore peace and stability in the region.
He said Jammu and Kashmir was a “major loser” and the “worst casualty” due to Indo-Pak freeze, continued confrontation and terrorism.
Meanwhile, Farooq Abdullah termed the cancellation of talks as unfortunate and blamed separatist leaders for the breakdown.
“These self-claimed champions of Kashmiris should have shown some courage and backed off themselves. What was the hurry? The Hurriyat and other separatists receive funds from Pakistan. Their viewpoint is already reflected by Pakistan,” he said.
“What point does it serve them to show their presence at reception? They could have easily avoided that,” he added.
Omar told PTI, “(I am) very disappointed at the turn of events.” He said he was worried about this from the time when foreign secretary level talks were cancelled last year on the same issue.
While this was expected seeing the turn of events, nevertheless that “doesn’t make the sense of disappointment any less acute”, he added.
Moderate Hurriyat Conference leader Mirwaiz Umer Farooq said calling off of the talks was unfortunate.
“Yet another opportunity lost by both the countries to engage with each other. The last nail in the coffin was put by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj when she made it clear that there will not be any talks on Kashmir. Instead of moving forward, we are only moving backwards,” he said.
He regretted that the Bharatiya Janata Party had assured, along with its ally Peoples Democratic Party, that they would talk to all shades of opinion. “I think there is a lot of difference in what they say and what they do,” the Hurriyat leader said.
He hoped a better sense will prevail and the government will discuss Kashmir with Kashmiris.
Another separatist leader Shabir Shah, who continues to be under house arrest at the guest house in South Delhi, said he was disappointed that the talks had been cancelled.
“I wish the government had not put any conditions to Pakistan ahead of talks,” he said.
Hardline Hurriyat Conference, headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, also termed the cancellation of NSA talks as unfortunate but said “at the end of the day, it is a diplomatic victory for us as well as Pakistan”.
Ayaz Akbar, the spokesman for the hardline group, said, “A message has gone to the world that Kashmir issue is not a bilateral territorial dispute between India and Pakistan and that people of Jammu and Kashmir are the principal party to it. The fanatic approach adopted by government is not practicable. How long will New Delhi pursue this policy?”
