ISLAMABAD — Just two days ahead of the National Security Advisors level talks between Pakistan and India, almsot all important Kashmiri leaders have either been arrested or put under house arrest by the Indian authorities. Late reports say that some Kashmiri leaders were released but wanted not to attend the meeting with Pakistani officials. Some Pakistani experts had been urging to postpone talks until Kashmiris are released by India.
It was not clear if some foreign powers had intervened to save talks from a total break up before it could start. The move was apparently aimed a derailing if not cancelling the proposed talks during which Pakistan is supposed to present evidences of Indian alleged role in terrorism inside Pakistan.
Pakistani High Commission in India had invited all the prominent separatist leaders to New Delhi for a meeting with Pakistani NSA Sartaj Aziz to brief them about peace talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval.
But now that a;ll the Kashmiris leaders including Syed Ali Geelani, Mir Waiz Omar Farooq and Shabir Shah have been either arrested or put under hosue-arrest, the prospect of a positive result of talks have dimmed.
Kashmiri leaders have confirmed that ”The government has placed Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and other leaders of Hurriyat Conference under arrest. They are deliberately doing it to scuttle the meeting of Hurriyat leaders with Sartaj Aziz.”
Later on Thursday (August 20, 20-15) the Indian security forces also arrested the leader of Indian Kashmiri women, Mas. Asyia Andrabi who is also the head of Dukhtartan-e-Millat of Kashmir.
Although Indian move is considered as a provocation aimed at forcing Pakistan to cancel the meet but Pakistani officials say that it would go along with the planned meeting.
Last July, India called off talks after Pakistani High Commissioner met with Kashmiri leaders before a planned meeting of Foreign Secretaries. Under international pressure India reversed its decision following a meeting in Ufa, Russia, in July between Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif and his Indian coutnerpart Narendra Modi and agreed to restart talks.
One Indian report claimed that Syed Ali Gilani was later released but advised not to meet Pakistanis in New Delhi.