India and Pakistan are set to have their first ever “hotline” or direct communication between the home secretaries shortly. The hotline, which will be non-encrypted, will be used to share real-time information with regard to terror threats, movement of militants — thus reiterating the commitment of both sides to fight terrorism. All efforts are on from the Indian side to finalise the modalities for the hotline ahead of Union home secretary, R.K. Singh’s visit to Islamabad for the forthcoming home secretary-level talks. India is expecting a response from Pakistan anytime now to finalise the dates for the talks later this month. If implemented, this would be one of the most crucial decisions implemented, taken during the last home secretary-level talks.
The director-general of military operations (DGMOs) of the two countries already have a hotline. This hotline was activated in 2011 when an Indian Army copter inadvertently landed in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) in bad weather. The DGMOs of both countries activated their hotline resulting in swift release of the copter by Pakistan the same evening.
With cross-border terror activities remaining the prime concern, the home ministry is hopeful that the fresh channel of communication between the two sides would bridge the trust deficit and go a long way in enabling Pakistan to act more swiftly to address India’s concerns.
“As of now, any immediate communication from the MHA to Pakistan’s interior ministry have to be routed through diplomatic channels,” a government functionary said.
The MHA has decided to have a non-encrypted line with their Pakistani counterpart following precedents available with other countries. New Delhi has hotlines with Beijing and Moscow which are non-encrypted.