Army chief, DG ISI call on PM ahead of India talks

Pakistan has included on the top of its agenda the issue of Indian interference in Pakistan, including that country's alleged support for terrorists activities in the upcoming talks with India that are scheduled to take place in New Delhi on August 23 and 24.

Following yesterday's indepth consultations between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his close aides, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Raheel Sharif and Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar called on the Premier on Tuesday at the Prime Minister House to discuss the upcoming visit of Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz to New Delhi.

The meeting was also attended by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Sartaj Aziz and Prime Minister's Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi.

During the meeting, the military leadership gave its input on the subject of alleged Indian interference and emphasised that Pakistan must present its view point on core issues during the talks in a forceful manner.

The meeting also decided to keep ' unprovoked' Indian firing at the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary and the killing of Pakistani civilians on the agenda of the upcoming meetings in New Delhi. Highlyplaced sources confirmed that Pakistan will stress on laying out a counter-terrorism mechanism between the two countries during next week's talks.