Who is pressurising Modi to talk to Pakistan?

New Delhi: Congress leader Manish Tewari on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he wa to hold the India-Pakistan NSA-level talks on August 23 and 24.

"Mr. Prime Minister you need to tell the nation, are you under international pressure to talk to Pakistan. If you are under pressure, who is pressurizing you to talk to Pakistan. It is very obvious that Pakistan does not want to to talk to you, because they have not taken a single step in Ufa in order to create an environment which could be considered conducive for talks," asked Tewari.

Tewari maintained that the central government was making an absolute joke of itself with regard to its engagement with Pakistan.

"The government is making an absolute joke of itself with regard to its engagement with Pakistan. The manner in which Mr. Sartaj Aziz in Pakistan has been conducting himself, they are sending a very clear message that they are not interested in a conversation. In fact Sartaj Aziz has not even sent his itinerary as to what does he intend to do while he is India for a day," Manish Tewari told ANI.

So far, Pakistan has invited separatist Hurriyat leaders to meet with Sartaj Aziz, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Adviser on Foreign Affairs and National Security, in Delhi on Sunday.

It may be recalled that last year, the Indian Government had cancelled foreign secretary-level talks for the same reason.