Congress blames separatists for failure of NSA-level meet

The Congress Party on Sunday blamed the separatists for the calling- off of NSA-level talks between India and Pakistan, saying they are solely responsible for the failure of this meet.

"Kashmir became centre stage. While Kashmir was not to be the issue according to the Ufa settlement but ultimately it became the issue. Thanks to the nurtured separatists of Jammu and Kashmir who have been responsible in completely ruining the dialogue," Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan told ANI.

"The BJP is equally responsible to have jointly formed the government with the PDP who are today nurturing the separatists. I would blame the separatists for being solely responsible for the failure of this meet," he added.

In a late night decision on Saturday, Pakistan called off the NSA-level talks proposed for Sunday and Monday after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asked Islamabad to give a commitment that it would not go ahead with meeting separatists at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi.

Pakistan said that it could not go ahead with the talks based on preconditions set by India.

India maintained that the joint statement inked in Ufa had very clearly stated that the NSA talks would be focused on the issue of terror and violence, and ways to end it. It also said that the Ufa statement had also agreed to a meeting between the border chiefs and the director generals of military operations of the two countries on the issue of cease-fire violations and infiltration of militants.

India also insisted that Pakistan must understand the difference between a composite dialogue and a bilateral discussion.