Describing the cancellation of next week’s Foreign Secretary-level talks as a “setback” to Indo-Pak ties, Pakistan on Monday defended its consultations with Kashmiri separatists, saying it was a “long-standing practice” to hold such meetings prior to bilateral parleys.
“The Indian decision is a setback to the efforts by our leadership to promote good neighbourly relations with India,” the Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson said in a statement. The statement came after India called off talks between Foreign Secretaries of the two countries scheduled to be held in Islamabad on August 25, telling Pakistan bluntly to choose between an Indo-Pak dialogue or hobnobbing with the separatists.