Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said on Wednesday that no meeting was scheduled between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session opening in New York from September 16.
Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs regarding Pakistan-India relations following cancellation of the two countries foreign secretaries' talks last month, Aziz said that Pakistan remained committed to a meaningful dialogue process despite cancellation of foreign secretary-level talks.
He told the committee with Haji Mohammad Adeel in the chair that at present there was no back channel diplomacy with India after the Modi government called off the foreign secretary-level talks in protest of the Pakistan High Commissioner's meeting with the Kashmiri leadership in New Delhi. He said that the Indian government over reacted on the meeting of the High Commissioner of Pakistan with the Kashmiri leadership which is a routine activity before the start of Pakistan-India dialogue process to have consultation with them being an important stakeholder.
To a question by committee members, Aziz said the Indian government did not request Pakistan not to hold any meeting with the Kashmiri leadership prior to the resumption of the dialogue process. However, he said that Kashmir issue was very important for Pakistan and it would raise it at the highest international forum, including the upcoming UN General Assembly session. He said Prime Minister Modi has visited the Indian-held Kashmir thrice in last 100 days due to his party's particular stance on the Kashmir issue.
To another question by committee member Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed about the abrupt tension along the Line of Control (LoC), Aziz said that India has committed 93 LoC violations in a year that resulted in seven casualties and 97 injuries. However, he said that the two sides had revised the set mechanism which helped in reducing the tension. Earlier, the Director General of Asia Desk, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohmmad Nafees Zakriya, briefed the committee on Pakistan's relations with India in the wake of new Indian government. Provisions of the Indus water treaty with India were also discussed due to the prevailing conditions. The committee was informed that the two countries had also interacted through letters to ascertain the reasons behind the recent floods and suggestions to prevent the natural calamities.
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