Pakistan rejects India's advice over 'meeting' with Kashmiri separatists

"Responding to the "advice" of Government of India, conveyed by their High Commissioner that Mr. Sartaj Aziz may not meet the Hurriyat leaders during his forthcoming visit to India, the Foreign Secretary conveyed to the Indian High Commissioner that it would not be possible for Pakistan to accept this advice," Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

"Kashmir is a disputed territory as per the UN Security Council resolutions which remain unimplemented. Pakistani leadership has always interacted with the Kashmir/Hurriyat leadership, during their visits to India. Pakistan sees no reason to depart from this established past practice. The Hurriyat leaders are true representatives of the Kashmiri people of the Indian occupied Kashmir. Pakistan regards them as genuine stakeholders in the efforts to find a lasting solution of the Kashmir Dispute," read the statement.

"Pakistan has proposed and conveyed to India a comprehensive agenda reflecting the broad understanding reached between the leaders in Ufa, that all outstanding issues, including Kashmir and other disputes, as well as, terrorism issues and other CBMs will be discussed between the two countries," it said.

"India's insistence to introduce conditionalities and restrict the agenda for the dialogue, demonstrates a lack of seriousness on India's part to meaningfully engage with Pakistan.  For its part, Pakistan remains willing to attend the NSAs meeting without any pre-conditions," read the statement issued by the Ministry.

Ahead of Sunday's NSA-level talks that is preceded by a growing tension India and Pakistan have exchanged hard talks in keeping with their firm stand over Kashmiri separatists being invited for a meeting with Pakistan's Sartaz Aziz, reports said.

India said it has advised Pakistan that it would not be appropriate for Sartaz Aziz to meet with the Kashmiri separatists.

MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted: "India has advised Pakistan yesterday that it would not be appropriate for Mr. Sartaz Aziz to meet with Hurriyat representatives in India."

"Such a meeting would not be in keeping with the spirit and intent of the Ufa understanding to jointly work to combat terrorism.We have also sought confirmn of our proposed agenda for the NSA level talks that was conveyed to  the Pakistani side on 18 Aug 2015," he said.

On Thursday morning, three Kashmiri separatists were placed under house arrest in Srinagar but were released within two hours.

The separatists, Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, have been invited to a reception in Delhi for PakistanNational Security Adviser Sartaz Aziz, who will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.

India called off talks last July after Pakistan consulted Kashmiri separatists before a meeting of Foreign Secretaries.

However, the thaw was broken a year later when  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif met on the sidelines of a conference in Ufa, Russia, and agreed to restart dialogues.