Pak1stani
Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
Behind Modi-Sharif meeting: An eight-minute phone call, an Iftar invite to Hurriyat on hold
came to South Block around 5 pm. They had a half-hour discussion on “how to take things forward”. Since the NSA-level dialogue mechanism had been proposed a year ago, it was discussed between New Delhi and Islamabad at various levels over the next two weeks. While Jaishankar kept his line of communication open with Basit, the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad T C A Raghavan was in touch with Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary.
Basit was also in touch with NSA Ajit Doval and Raghavan kept his channels open with Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz. While Pakistan wanted the NSA-level dialogue to take up “critical” issues “crucial” to the relationship, a suggestion was made if Kashmir could also be brought under the ambit. But the Indian side made it clear that the Indian NSA was best placed to discuss subjects like “counter-terrorism” — since all intelligence and security establishment report to him — and the Kashmir issue was being dealt by the foreign secretaries in the dialogue process.
“It was felt that if Pakistan needs to be engaged on counter-terrorism, NSA was the best person to lead the talks,” a government source said. So far, the home secretaries have spoken on counter-terrorism under the rubric of the composite dialogue process. When it was settled that the NSAs will talk only on “counter-terrorism”, a protocol issue came up. That was of the disparity in rank of the two NSAs. While Sartaj Aziz — who is advisor to the PM on national security and foreign affairs — enjoys a cabinet minister’s rank, Doval is a secretary-rank official.
In that sense, Aziz is both Pakistan’s Foreign Minister as well as its NSA, and therefore outranks Doval. The Pakistan side, which was keen on the dialogue mechanism to be instituted, conveyed that they were willing to overlook this protocol issue, and the two NSAs could meet without glitches. They are now expected to meet in a month’s time.
Parallel to this conversation, the Indian side — through its intelligence agencies in Kashmir — learnt that Basit had invited Hurriyat leaders for an Iftar dinner on July 4, an annual feature where the Pakistan envoy invites notables from the Muslim community. Since this could become an issue before a meeting between the two prime ministers, the Pakistan High Commission told the invitees, including the Hurriyat leaders, on June 25 that the Iftar has been “postponed” as there had been deaths in Karachi and it would not be proper to hold an Iftar party.
Since this could become an issue before a meeting between the two prime ministers, the Pakistan High Commission told the invitees, including the Hurriyat leaders, on June 25 that the Iftar has been “postponed” as there had been deaths in Karachi and it would not be proper to hold an Iftar party. The Indian side moved in with a proposal for a meeting between the two prime ministers — Raghavan approached the Pakistan Foreign Ministry on July 3.
The Indian side conveyed that Lakhvi was a thorny issue, and the fact that he was “out on bail” made it difficult for the Indian political leadership to engage Pakistan. To assuage concerns, Islamabad told New Delhi that while he may be out of jail, Lakhvi has not been seen or heard in public. -
http://indianexpress.com/article/in...e-call-an-iftar-invite-to-hurriyat-on-hold/2/
came to South Block around 5 pm. They had a half-hour discussion on “how to take things forward”. Since the NSA-level dialogue mechanism had been proposed a year ago, it was discussed between New Delhi and Islamabad at various levels over the next two weeks. While Jaishankar kept his line of communication open with Basit, the Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad T C A Raghavan was in touch with Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhary.
Basit was also in touch with NSA Ajit Doval and Raghavan kept his channels open with Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz. While Pakistan wanted the NSA-level dialogue to take up “critical” issues “crucial” to the relationship, a suggestion was made if Kashmir could also be brought under the ambit. But the Indian side made it clear that the Indian NSA was best placed to discuss subjects like “counter-terrorism” — since all intelligence and security establishment report to him — and the Kashmir issue was being dealt by the foreign secretaries in the dialogue process.
“It was felt that if Pakistan needs to be engaged on counter-terrorism, NSA was the best person to lead the talks,” a government source said. So far, the home secretaries have spoken on counter-terrorism under the rubric of the composite dialogue process. When it was settled that the NSAs will talk only on “counter-terrorism”, a protocol issue came up. That was of the disparity in rank of the two NSAs. While Sartaj Aziz — who is advisor to the PM on national security and foreign affairs — enjoys a cabinet minister’s rank, Doval is a secretary-rank official.
In that sense, Aziz is both Pakistan’s Foreign Minister as well as its NSA, and therefore outranks Doval. The Pakistan side, which was keen on the dialogue mechanism to be instituted, conveyed that they were willing to overlook this protocol issue, and the two NSAs could meet without glitches. They are now expected to meet in a month’s time.
Parallel to this conversation, the Indian side — through its intelligence agencies in Kashmir — learnt that Basit had invited Hurriyat leaders for an Iftar dinner on July 4, an annual feature where the Pakistan envoy invites notables from the Muslim community. Since this could become an issue before a meeting between the two prime ministers, the Pakistan High Commission told the invitees, including the Hurriyat leaders, on June 25 that the Iftar has been “postponed” as there had been deaths in Karachi and it would not be proper to hold an Iftar party.
Since this could become an issue before a meeting between the two prime ministers, the Pakistan High Commission told the invitees, including the Hurriyat leaders, on June 25 that the Iftar has been “postponed” as there had been deaths in Karachi and it would not be proper to hold an Iftar party. The Indian side moved in with a proposal for a meeting between the two prime ministers — Raghavan approached the Pakistan Foreign Ministry on July 3.
The Indian side conveyed that Lakhvi was a thorny issue, and the fact that he was “out on bail” made it difficult for the Indian political leadership to engage Pakistan. To assuage concerns, Islamabad told New Delhi that while he may be out of jail, Lakhvi has not been seen or heard in public. -
http://indianexpress.com/article/in...e-call-an-iftar-invite-to-hurriyat-on-hold/2/
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