Both India and Pakistan keen to sabotage talks, says Omar Abdullah

Srinagar: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday hit out at the Centre as well as the state government for the crackdown on separatist leaders ahead of their planned meet with Pakistan's National Security Advisor Sartaz Aziz.

The National Conference leader slammed the state Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, for acting on the orders of the Centre and placing under house arrest top Hurriyat leaders.

The J&K Police this morning placed under house arrest Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Abbas Ansari. While Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chairman Yasin Malik was arrested, a police raid was conducted at separatist leader Asiya Andrabi's residence in Srinagar.

Omar tweeted that never before state governments in Jammu and Kashmir had detained Hurriyat leaders to prevent them from visiting the Pakistani High Commission in Delhi.

The Pak High Commission had invited separatist leaders to Delhi to meet Pakistani envoy Abdul Basit and NSA Sartaz Aziz, who is coming for talks with his Indian counterpart in the national capital on Sunday (August 23).

Omar tweeted:

Shame on Mufti Syed for arresting on demand. He had no business following his masters orders & detaining the Hurriyat leaders like this. — Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) August 20, 2015

J&K State governments in the past have NEVER detained the APHC leaders so as to prevent them from visiting the Pak High Commission. — Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) August 20, 2015

If the centre was so keen to prevent the Hurriyat leaders from meeting Sartaj Aziz they should've been told to detain them themselves. — Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) August 20, 2015

The former CM said both the countries appear to be keen to sabotage the Indo-Pak dialogue and are “competing to give reasons to call off the talks”.

I've never seen an Indo-Pak dialogue where both sides are so keen to sabotage it. India & Pak competing to give reasons to call off talks. — Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) August 20, 2015

Shelling, Infiltration, terror attacks & now Hurriyat arrests, clearly no side wants to talk & yet neither side has the guts to call it off. — Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) August 20, 2015

It's so obvious that Ufa & now these planned NSA talks are under international pressure with both Ind & Pak hoping the other will pull out. — Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) August 20, 2015