Indo-Pak Track II dialogue: Scepticism rules narrative

After months of tough posturing, India and Pakistan renewed Track II diplomacy when an Indian delegation held talks with a Pakistani team in Islamabad on April 28-30.
Indo-Pak Track II dialogue: Scepticism rules narrative

NEW DELHI: After months of tough posturing, India and Pakistan renewed Track II diplomacy when an Indian delegation held talks with a Pakistani team in Islamabad on April 28-30. While officially insisting that such informal talks did not signify any watering down of India’s position that terror and talks can’t go together, a senior bureaucrat privately admitted that such a dialogue would not be possible “without the blessings, or at least a wink or a nod, from the government”.

The revival of the so-called Neemrana Dialogue, named after the fort in Rajasthan where it was first held in October 1991, was shrugged off by the Indian side, with Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar saying that “...functional exchanges between the two sides have continued and is actually a part of normal process between the two countries. So there is nothing new which we see in this dialogue”.

A former Pakistani politician and MNA, who requested anonymity given the “sensitivity” of the subject, said the talks were “probably part of an exploratory probe by Hindustan to see whether a formal dialogue can be resumed, probably after the elections in Pakistan in July. But much depends on what happens between now and then, and the reports that each side submits to their respective governments after the meeting last month. The ceasefire offered by the Indian side in Kashmir for Ramzan should be seen in that context.”

While both sides remained tightlipped about the composition of their delegations for this meeting in Islamabad, media reports said the Indian delegation was led by former diplomat Vivek Katju while the Pakistani side was headed by former foreign minister Inam-ul-Haq. Professor Rakesh Dutta of Department of Defence and National Security Studies, Panjab University, who was part of the delegation, however, said the nine-member Indian side was led by former Cabinet Secretary Surinder Singh and comprised, apart from him, Katju, Rakesh Sood, Lt-Gen (retd) Aditya Singh, Women Political Watch President Veena Nayar, former NCERT director Jagmohan Rajput, Director of the Energy and Research Institute Vibha Dhawan and coordinator Suresh Mathur.

The Pakistani side, led by former foreign minister Inamul Haq, included former high commissioner to India and foreign secretary Salman Bashir, Lt-Gen Asif Yasin Malik, former law minister Barrister Shahida Jamil, National Defence University Dean Perviaz Iqbal Cheema, former I&B Minister Javed Jabbar, former State Bank of Pakistan governor Ishrat Hussain, Islamabad Policy Research Institute Fellow Muhammad Munir and a few others.

An Indian diplomat who has served in Pakistan expressed “deep skepticism” over the possibility of formal talks resuming anytime soon. “You see, as long as Pakistan keeps harping on Kashmir and we keep stressing on terrorism, there is really no common ground. So what’s there to really talk about?” 

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