Yashwant Sinha calls India, Pakistan NSA talks 'a dialogue of the deaf'

Yashwant Sinha calls India, Pakistan NSA talks 'a dialogue of the deaf'

New Delhi: While preparations are in full swing for the 'ice-breaking' NSA level talks between India and Pakistan, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha slammed the move and termed it as a 'dialogue of the deaf'.

Sinha, who held the External Affairs portfolio in the previous NDA government, said, “These talks will be the dialogue of the deaf, there will be no outcome and we will be back where we are..."

Speaking to a TV news channel, Sinha said that during former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's term, the NDA government had maintained that terror and talks cannot go together and the BJP criticised the Manmohan Singh regime for departing from above position during the ten year rule of the UPA government.

"It will be a waste of time" Sinha was also quoted as saying by the ANI on the upcoming Indo-Pak NSA level talks.

The BJP leader also termed that timing of the talks as most 'unsuitable'.

The reaction from Sinha comes at a time when both India and Pakistan are scheduled to hold the NSA level talks on August 23-24.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz had earlier confirmed that he would be visiting India on August 23 for talks with his counterpart Ajit Doval.

Aziz said the decision was taken after consultations.

The decision to hold NSA-level talks was taken when the prime ministers of the two countries met in Ufa, Russia last month on the sidelines of SCO summit.

Last week, Aziz had said that Pakistan is preparing the agenda for talks.

A Foreign Office official had said that Pakistan is aware of India's agenda to highlight the issue of terrorism and planning is being done to counter it.

The talks between NSAs of the two countries come in the backdrop of simmering tensions following two terror attacks in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.

India has claimed arresting a Pakistani national for launching attack on Indian forces in Kashmir though Islamabad has denied that the attacks were perpetrated by terrorists who had infiltrated from its territory.

Earlier, the two countries had exchanged a war of words over a "spy" drone which Pakistan alleged was being used by India for aerial photography near the Line of Control (LoC), a claim dismissed by New Delhi.

Aziz had recently said that Pakistan wants a constructive, sustained, unconditional and result-oriented dialogue with India on all issues of mutual concern including the core issue of Kashmir.