ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and India are engaged in intense back channel diplomacy for the success of the forthcoming meeting of the foreign secretaries of the two countries early next month, which could pave the way for the revival of the stalled peace process.
The peace process between the two rivals came to a halt after the Mumbai attacks in November 2008 as New Delhi charged Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayyaba for the attacks.
“Since the Mumbai attacks, the US, UK and other important nations, having close ties with both Islamabad and New Delhi, have been urging the nuclear neighbours to resume the composite dialogue process for the resolution of Kashmir and other bilateral disputes,” a senior official said on Friday.
He said the pressure by the US and other states have forced the South Asian nuclear nations to resort to “of and on” back channel diplomacy during all those months in the wake of the Mumbai attacks but the secret diplomatic efforts had been intensified after the two countries’ recent agreement on holding the crucial talks at foreign secretaries-level in Bhutan on February 6-7 on the sidelines of the SAARC Standing Committee’s meeting.
“The ongoing back channel talks are aimed at making the foreign secretaries’ meeting fruitful as in that case the top diplomats from the two nations will devise a mutually acceptable strategy for the revival of stalled peace process and also chalk out schedule for Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s visit to New Delhi on the invitation of his Indian counterpart SM Krishna,” the official said
An official in the Foreign Office declined to confirm or deny the ongoing back channel diplomacy.
However, he said the Foreign Office was engaged in consultations with the Interior Ministry and other relevant official quarters for the agenda of Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir’s meeting with his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao in Thimphu next month.
