Amid the chill in bilateral ties, India and Pakistan have taken a step forward by initiating back-channel talks. The special envoys of the two countries met in Dubai on Thursday.
The meeting also raises hopes of the Prime Ministers’ meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly as proposed in New York late next month. While New Delhi is yet to officially give its nod to the September 29, the initiation of track two diplomacy is being seen as a positive signal for the meeting between the two leaders even as Islamabad awaits an official response from New Delhi on it.
Sources in Delhi said the meeting between the two special envoys was proposed by Pakistan in the third week of August to which India agreed. Mr Khan, who was in London when the when the two sides decided to hold back-channel talks, then flew down to Islamabad where he met Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and foreign office officials before proceeding to Dubai.
In Islamabad, Pak foreign office spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said on Thursday, “Pakistan and India are engaged in track two diplomacy for the resolution of outstanding issues.” Asked if the meeting between the two PMs would take place, Mr Chaudhry indicated Islamabad’s eagerness to have the meeting. He said: “Should an opportunity arise, we believe that such a contact between the leadership of the two countries will be a useful occasion to discuss the steps required to improve relations between the two countries.”
Bilateral ties nose-dived just as the peace dialogue appeared to be heading towards resumption after five Indian Army soldiers were killed by Pak Army regulars on August 5 on the LoC.
Ever since, there have been several cross-border flare-ups while the governments of both the countries have sought to prevent its negative fallout on the political and diplomatic front.
Back-channel diplomacy has support in Pakistan across all its security establishments institutions and Thursday’s meeting was the second one since the Nawaz Sharif-led government came to power.
Islamabad has repeatedly called for the bilateral dialogue to remain on track while also strengthening the LoC monitoring mechanism to prevent recurring violations.