 "Indo-Pak NSA talks in soup")
India and Pakistan persisted on Friday with their brinkmanship over whether to call off their National Security Adviser (NSA) level talks or not, but the assessment of key decision makers in the government as well as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was that Islamabad was likely to blink first to pave the way for the talks.
New Delhi insisted that no third party, that is the Kashmiri separatist leaders, was welcome to the table before the talks between NSAs Ajit Kumar Doval of India and Sartaj Aziz of Pakistan. Government as well BJP sources said the focus of the talks was the issue of 'terror' and not 'Kashmir', and there was no reason for Aziz to meet Hurriyat leaders before the talks scheduled for Sunday.
"We are committed to the talks. Now it is up to them (Pakistan)," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup said. He said New Delhi has conveyed to Islamabad that hosting of Kashmiri separatist leader will be contrary to the spirit of the Ufa understanding. "We have conveyed our position on their reported agenda," Swarup said.
While India put the ball Pakistan's court, its neighbour threw it right back. Pakistan government sources said it will not take "dictation" from India and the talks cannot be based on preconditions. They said the meeting of Aziz with Hurriyat leaders was on. The Pakistan High Commission has invited Hurriyat leaders to meet Aziz at a reception on Sunday.
A top BJP leader said the dinner meeting of the Hurriyat leaders with Aziz was merely "recreation" which can take place later. The leader indicated that the house arrest of Kashmiri separatist leaders on Thursday was symbolic and a message to them. The leader didn't elaborate but his suggestion was that these leaders were likely to be arrested if they tried meeting Aziz before the talks.
It is likely that talks might take place if Pakistan agrees that Hurriyat leaders will meet Aziz once the talks are over, and that too not for any exclusive consultations.