Pakistan feels India hasn't created right environment for talks

NEW DELHI: Pakistan has not yet responded to India's proposal for NSA-level talks later this month as Islamabad believes India has not created an "enabling environment'' for these talks, diplomatic sources here said.

According to Pakistan, there is resentment in the neighbouring country that India is yet to even release Pakistani fishermen as the two countries had decided during PM Narendra Modi's meeting with his counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Ufa last month. Pakistan on Monday released 164 Indian fishermen.

India had proposed late last week that the NSA-level talks on terrorism be held on August 23-24 here. Pakistan has sought more time to confirm the dates for the talks as it believes that the elected government there needs to convince its people that it is right in engaging an "aggressive'' India.

The Ufa 'thaw' took no time in dissipating with incidents of ceasefire violations leading to acrimonious exchanges between the two countries. The Gurdaspur terror attack further queered the pitch with India announcing that the terrorists came from Pakistan and Islamabad responding by saying that India's contention was dangerous for peace and security in the region. The Modi government though still felt that it was important to go ahead with the talks and, as the host nation, proposed dates.

Pakistan is not likely to respond to India's proposal until the second week of this month though. Indian government sources here said India will strongly take up the Gurdaspur terror attack with visiting Pakistan NSA Sartaj Aziz when he comes here for talks with his counterpart Ajit Doval. India is said to be preparing a watertight case on the attack and will present soil samples recovered from the shoes of the attackers as evidence. The bail to LeT commander Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi in the Mumbai trial is another issue Doval will confront Aziz with. Aziz is also foreign affairs adviser to Sharif and effectively Pakistan's foreign minister.

Aziz will also come here armed with a dossier on India's alleged role in supporting insurgency in Islamabad. Indian officials here said they were also aware of the fact that Pakistan was going to blame Indian agencies for the Peshawar massacre of 132 school kids and that the government was prepared to tackle such "outrageous claims'' by Islamabad.