Detention and Release of Separatists a Message to Pak, Say Government Sources

New Delhi(Agency) : In a move that telegraphed confusion on a crucial issue, Kashmiri separatists invited to meet Pakistan's Sartaj Aziz on Sunday were placed under house arrest and then freed around two hours later on Thursday. The separatists, Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, have been invited to a reception in Delhi for Sartaj Aziz, who will arrive on Sunday for talks on terror with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.Last July, India called off talks after Pakistan consulted Kashmiri separatists before a meeting of Foreign Secretaries. A year later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif met on the



sidelines of a conference in Ufa, Russia, and agreed to restart talks as part of several breakthrough announcements.Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah criticised the government in a series of tweets. "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," he commented.But the two-hour arrest set off speculation. Sources in the central government say orders for the arrest and release were sent from Delhi.  In Kashmir, sources said it was Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's daughter, Mehbooba Mufti, who asked for the house arrest to be revoked.