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In a late night development Pakistan's foreign ministry stated that the proposed NSA-level talks will "not serve any purpose" even if it is held as scheduled even as India refused to climb down from its position to not let Hurriyat leaders meet Pakistan's NSA Sartaj Aziz on the eve of the talks.
"We have come to the conclusion that the proposed NSA level talks between the two countries would not serve any purpose, if conducted on the basis of the two conditions laid down by the (external affairs) Minister," Pakistan's foreign ministry stated.
While Pakistan said there is a need to discuss all outstanding issues through a sustained dialogue process, started in 1998 as Composite Dialogue and renamed as Resumed Dialogue in 2011, external affairs minister Sushma Swarajya said the agenda will be restricted to only two items: creating an atmosphere free from terrorism and tranquility on the LoC.
"It is equally important to recall that terrorism was always a part of the eight point composite dialogue ... It is not reasonable for India to now assume the right to decide unilaterally that from now onwards, other issues will be discussed after terrorism has been discussed and eliminated," Pakistan said.
Pakistan suggested the two sides should also discuss modalities and if possible a time schedule, for discussions on all outstanding issues including Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek, in keeping with the understanding reached between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Russia.
"The EAM’s attempt to draw a distinction between preambular and operative paragraphs in the Ufa statement appears to be an after-thought to justify a position that is counterproductive in terms of the ultimate objective of reducing tensions and improving trust," said Pakistan government.
