NEW DELHI, April 24 (UPI) -- India says that Kashmiri separatists do not have a veto to use at the second roundtable meeting to be held next month on the disputed territory.
New Delhi maintained that measures were being taken to compel separatist groups to recognize the validity and utility of participation in the May 25 meeting, which will be presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reports the Hindu newspaper.
"I don't think the success of the roundtable depends on the attendance of any group... In any case, I don't think the separatists have a veto on the success or otherwise (of the talks)," said M.K. Narayanan, India's national security advisor.
Responding to a question as to whether the separatist groups had indicated their participation and whether the meeting would be relevant if they did not attend, Narayanan said it made no difference.
"They (separatists) constitute a very small percentage," he said, adding, "We'd like them to attend."
India recently initiated talks with different Kashmiri separatist groups to find out a solution to the decades-long Kashmir impasse. Prime Minister Singh convened the first roundtable meeting on Feb. 25 in New Delhi.
Founder and member of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Hashim Querishi, was the only separatist leader in attendance.
