India 'making excuses' to avoid NSA talks, says Pak information minister

Pakistan's Information Minister Senator Pervaiz Rashid has said that India is "making excuses" to avoid the NSA-level talks with Pakistan that are scheduled to take place on August 24.

According to the Frontier Post, Rashid also said that India has made excuses before and refused to talk.

Rashid alleged that the people of Kashmir claim that their human rights had been violated by India, and added that India is putting its weight behind what they are saying by not allowing Hurriyat leaders to attend to the Pakistan High Commissioner's invitation on August 23.

The information minister also laid emphasis on the inclusion of the international community on the issue, saying that it was time the complaints of the Kashmiri people be heard by the global fora.

On Friday, India and Pakistan sparred through verbal and written statements over Islamabad's determination and intention to meet with separatist leaders from Kashmir ahead of the proposed August 23 and 24 NSA talks.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement saying that the High Commissioner's invitation to the Kashmiri Hurriyat leadership on August 23 was very much in keeping with the practice and tradition of the past many years.

While India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) sent across a strong message to Pakistan, insisting that there are only two stakeholders in the talks between India and Pakistan and added that New Delhi is committed to discuss the issues peacefully and bilaterally.

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is scheduled to meet his Pakistani counterpart Sartaj Aziz for the talks in the national capital on Sunday.