ISLAMABAD, June 9: Former Indian foreign minister Yashwant Sinha on Friday said there was no place for Kashmiris in Pakistan-India talks and asked Islamabad to take care of Indian security concerns to make the peace process a success through quiet diplomacy.

“There is no place for a third chair on that table whether it is an outside power or any section of society in the two countries. I think if the two countries can talk, there is more likelihood of a better outcome,” said the visiting leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party while talking to journalists on Friday.

Asked if he thought Kashmiris should be included in talks for an early solution of the issue, he replied: “I don’t agree with this.”

In 2004, he recalled, the joint statement signed between Pakistan and India clearly stated that the two countries would discuss their issues bilaterally. “Dialogue must continue in an atmosphere free of violence and hatred.”

Mr Sinha, however, said that being the largest country in the region, India would have to give more and expect less from other countries to provide them with maximum comfort and confidence.

He said there was no difference between the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance as far as the peace process was concerned and both parties had the same foreign policy.

He said the two countries should give quiet diplomacy a chance as a lot of work had been done by quiet diplomacy. “There is no need to outmanoeuvre each other. We should bring integrity to dialogue and talk honestly, only then progress will be possible,” stressed.

He said some people complained about the slow process of talks and added that the process should be speeded up without fixing deadlines because if nothing could be achieved by the set deadline it would only bring disappointment.

The former foreign minister did not agree that Kashmir was the core issue, saying there was no document (signed between the two countries) where Jammu and Kashmir had been described as the core issue.

He said the core issue mindset would not allow the peace process to succeed and would be counter-productive because that meant the line that unless the core issue was resolved no progress could be made on other fronts and asked: “Suppose we reach an agreement on Siachen, should we say we do not implement it unless the core issue is resolved?”

He, however, said it was not the case of India that Jammu and Kashmir issue should be put on the back burner. “This is not our intention. We say we should talk on all issues, including Kashmir.”