Ready for talks but without any pre-conditions: Pak NSA Sartaj Aziz

Pakistan said on Saturday it is prepared to go ahead with crucial talks with India but Kashmir will have to be part of the agenda because it is the “most important outstanding issue” between the two countries. Sartaj Aziz, advisor to the Prime Minister on national security and foreign affairs, said Pakistan believes Kashmir has to be part of the agenda for any talks even though it is not implicitly mentioned in the joint statement issued after the meeting between Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif in Russia last month. “The K word is very much in the statement because we agreed to discuss all outstanding issues and everyone knows what is the most important outstanding issue...Kashmir is indirectly there in the statement,” he told a news briefing at the Foreign Office.   HT