Talks with Pakistan will only be on terrorism, says Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj

NEW DELHI – Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has admitted that Kashmir is part of the composite dialogues between India and Pakistan, 92 News reported. Addressing a press conference on Saturday, she said that every talk with Pakistan cannot be called dialogue. She said that there were eight points of the 1998 composite dialogues. “We have been holding dialogues on all issues with Pakistan till 1999 and the process stopped after the Mumbai attacks,” she said. The Indian minister was of the view that Sartaj Aziz had talked about the Kashmir issue separately. “The composite dialogues have not been restored after the Nawaz-Modi meeting in Ufa. It was decided in Ufa that talks will be held on the LoC and terrorism. No decision on resumption of the composite dialogues was made in Ufa,” she said. Sushma Swaraj said that Pakistan had not given a date for a meeting of DGMs. “However, a meeting between Rangers and the BSF will be held in September,” she said. She said that only terrorism will be discussed in the NSA talks. “We welcome Sartaj Aziz to come to India and request him to not involve Hurriyat or any third party and only talk on terrorism.” The Indian minister said: “If they are waiting for my press conference, I have only a two-point message for them: Please respect the Simla agreement and do not involve any third party; second, as agreed in Ufa, the talks should only be on terror. Pakistan has only till tonight to give an assurance that the talks will only will be on terror. If Pakistan does not agree, the talks will not happen.”