Srinagar:  After nearly two weeks of consultations with its leaders, the People's Democratic Party is likely to begin structured talks with the BJP on government formation next week.
 
Sources told NDTV that both parties will constitute high-level teams to initiate talks around Tuesday. But the PDP has certain demands on which it wants assurance, and these might be difficult for the BJP to accept, the sources said.
 
These include initiation of dialogues with Pakistan, revocation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and assurance on talks with separatist leaders, sources said. The first is expected to prove the biggest challenge for the BJP, since foreign policy issues cannot be dictated by coalition compulsions, they said.

The BJP says good governance and development could be the common ground and all the contentious issues should be put on backburner.

But a senior PDP leader said, "Alliance will not be decided on the basis of allocation of ministries and the chief minister, it will be decided on the ability of government to deliver on the agenda."

Underscoring all options BJP in Jammu and Kashmir, party president Amit Shah today said,  "I am hoping that a decision will come in this regard any time".
 
Former chief minister Omar Abdullah took a jibe at the PDP for hoping for talks with Pakistan, given the repeated ceasefire violations at the border.
 
"If Mufti's BJP alliance hinges on an early resumption of the Indo-Pak dialogue the sound you hear are his dreams crashing to the floor," Mr Abdullah tweeted.

The PDP has also made it clear that Article 370 of the Constitution, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, should be made non-negotiable. The BJP has so far remained silent on the issue.
 
Though the PDP earlier claimed it was not averse to a spell of President's Rule, friendly signals also came, with party leader Mehbooba Mufti invoking former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's vision and saying PM Modi Modi has a "big responsibility" towards the state.
 
The PDP won 28 seats in the 87-member assembly, well short of the majority mark of 44, after a deeply fractured verdict. The BJP won 25 seats and the National Conference is placed third at 15. The Congress won 12 seats.