DIPLOMACY// Planned talks between the National Security Advisors (NSAs) of India and Pakistan collapsed under the weight of intense diplomatic acrimony, with New Delhi insisting the meeting must focus on terrorism, and Islamabad saying parleys with conditions would serve no purpose. It also marked the collapse of the framework agreed by the two prime ministers when they met in the Russian city of Ufa only last month. Both sides did not categorically state they were calling off the talks and blamed the collapse of the process on the other.

The final break was over two issues — the agenda of the talks, and the proposed meeting of Pakistan’s NSA Sartaj Aziz with the Hurriyat leadership. It was Aziz who made public his intentions known first through a press conference in Islamabad. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj responded with clear redlines in New Delhi. A formal Pakistani statement late at night announced the talks “would not serve any purpose” if conducted on the basis of conditions laid down by Swaraj; finally, India got back through the external affairs ministry spokesperson, calling the Pakistani decision “unfortunate” and emphasising there were no pre-conditions.

In the clearest articulation of Delhi’s policy yet, Swaraj said Aziz would be welcome in Delhi if Pakistan provided an assurance that he would not meet Hurriyat leaders and add a “third party” to the process, and accept that talks would only focus on terror.

“Keeping in mind the spirit of the (1972) Simla Agreement, don’t make Hurriyat a third party to the talks, and keeping the spirit of Ufa, don’t expand the subject of talks beyond terrorism,” Swaraj said. When asked what would happen if Pakistan did not accept the position outlined by her, she said categorically, “There will be no talks.”