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Kashmir Must Be On The Agenda Of Any Dialogue: Pakistan

Kashmir Must Be On The Agenda Of Any Dialogue: Pakistan
Sartaj Aziz, Pakistani Foreign Affairs and National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is interviewed by AFP at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on December 19, 2014. A Taliban massacre at a school is 'Pakistan's 9/11', the country's top foreign policy official told AFP December 19, saying the assault that left 149 dead would change the country's approach to fighting terror. AFP PHOTO / Farooq NAEEM (Photo credit should read FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images)
FAROOQ NAEEM via Getty Images
Sartaj Aziz, Pakistani Foreign Affairs and National Security Advisor to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is interviewed by AFP at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad on December 19, 2014. A Taliban massacre at a school is 'Pakistan's 9/11', the country's top foreign policy official told AFP December 19, saying the assault that left 149 dead would change the country's approach to fighting terror. AFP PHOTO / Farooq NAEEM (Photo credit should read FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- The Bharatiya Janata Party's claim of the India-Pakistan bilateral talks being a "breakthrough," has been seriously called into question in the three days since Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of an international summit in Ufa, Russia.

On Monday, Sartaj Aziz, Sharif's national security advisor, categorically stated that any dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad must have Kashmir on the agenda. "I can assure you no dialogue will take place unless Kashmir is on the agenda," he said at a televised press conference in Islamabad.

Foreign policy experts have pointed out that Aziz's remarks are in response to the criticism levelled against Sharif in Pakistan for not pressing Modi about Kashmir during their hour-long discussion on Friday.

Aziz also said that India has to provide Pakistan with more evidence against alleged 26/11 mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who was released from prison in April after the Lahore High Court quashed his detention order.

A joint statement issued after the bilateral talks, said, "Both sides agreed to discuss ways and means to expedite the Mumbai case trial including additional information like providing voice samples."

Over the weekend, however, Chaudhry Azhar, who is in-charge of Pakistan's prosecution case, said that the government will not file a fresh petition to obtain the LeT commander's voice samples.

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