Urging Jammu and Kashmir Government to remove curbs on ailing Huriyat Conference (G) Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the former Chief Interlocutor on Kashmir Dilip Padgaunkar Saturday said there is no need for back channel diplomacy on Kashmir as both the countries have agreed to talk directly on core issues including Kashmir.
Talking to Kashmir News Service (KNS) over phone from New Delhi, Padgonkar said, “It is unfortunate that the police is not allowing Geelani to offer prayers. Government should not curb his movements and should allow him to move freely and offer prayers.”
On statement of Sartaj Aziz,Pakistan adviser of Pakistan foreign affairs in which he stated that India and Pakistan have agreed to take up the Kashmir issue under the back-channel Track-II mechanism, Padgonkar said, “There is no need of back channel diplomacy on Kashmir. Both the countries should understand that things have already come on track-I after the meeting of two Prime Ministers in which they have agreed to talk directly on issues including revive the stalled dialogue process.”
“All issues were discussed between two prime ministers. I believe they have talked about Kashmir. First priority of both the countries should be to ensure peace on borders. We expect that both the countries will solve all the problems including Kashmir issue,” he said.
Asked if separatists should be taken on board before any dialogue on Kashmir, the former interlocutor said, “Government of India has already said that there will be no third party intervention on Kashmir.Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp ChannelI think government of India will not accept any third party intervention. But I feel that if any stake holder would like to talk on Kashmir issue under Indian constitution, government of India will not hastate to include that party.”
It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan has said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi have agreed in their meeting in Russia to address the issues of Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek through Track II diplomacy.
Pak PM’s adviser on national security and foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz on Friday said both leaders were of the opinion that for lasting peace the way forward was to address the outstanding issues like Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek. “The two sides also agreed to take up these issues under the back-channel Track-II mechanism for better understanding of each other's point of view,” the media quoted Aziz as saying.
On Friday both the countries decided to revive the stalled dialogue process at talks between Sharif and Modi.
Modi and Sharif, in their first bilateral talks in over a year, met for nearly one hour at Ufa’s Congress Hall on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit and decided that National Security Advisers Ajit Doval and Sartaj Aziz will meet in New Delhi either next month or in September.