Omar Abdullah criticises govt for making Kashmiri separatist-Pak talks a 'big deal'

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on 21 August criticised the Centre for blowing out of proportion the matter of the Pakistan NSA's proposed meeting with separatists when he visits Delhi for talks with his Indian counterpart.

"Whose idea was it to make such a big deal of the Hurriyat -Pak chat?, Omar wrote on micro-blogging website twitter.

"These were such non-events before this Govt blew them out of proportion!" added the NC leader.

The NSA-level talks between India and Pakistan appeared to be on the verge of being aborted after India made it clear that a meeting between separatists and Pakistan's NSA Sartaz Aziz, who is scheduled to arrive in New Delhi on 23 August for talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, was unacceptable.

Omar had also questioned Pakistan's insistence on having a meeting with the separatists following what he charged was the leaving out of the Kashmir issue from the joint statement by the two countries at Ufa in Russia after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif.

"But isn't this the same Pakistan that forgot how to spell Kashmir in #Ufa?" he had tweeted on 20 August.

-PTI