The Foreign Secretary level talks between India and Pakistan have been called off. The talks were scheduled to be held in Islamabad on 25th of this month. MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said Indian Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh conveyed the decision to her Pakistani counterpart today. He said the Foreign Secretary told her counterpart that Pakistan's interference in India's internal affairs is not acceptable.

The decision came in the back drop of a meeting between Pakistan High Commissioner in India Abdul Basit and Kashmiri separatist leaders. Akbaruddin said that Pakistan High Commissioner's meeting with so-called separatist leaders undermines constructive diplomatic engagement initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The meeting between the separatist and Pakistan High Commissioner trigerred sharp political reaction with Congress terming it as unacceptable . The party criticized the government saying it showed that the Centre has no diplomatic plan in place. Party leader and former Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid accused BJP of not having a clear stand on Pakistan.