Deep divisions over NSA talks

August 08, 2015 03:28 am | Updated November 16, 2021 05:23 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

India maintains that only ‘front channel, not backchannel’ talks will take place between Ajit Doval(right) and Sartaj Aziz.

India maintains that only ‘front channel, not backchannel’ talks will take place between Ajit Doval(right) and Sartaj Aziz.

The Union government has made it clear it plans to go ahead with talks between Indian and Pakistani National Security Advisers despite the terror attacks in Gurdaspur and Udhampur, and the latest Pakistani snub on the Commonwealth Parliamentary Union.

But the process is hitting several roadblocks, both over the date of the meeting as well as the agenda. More than a week after India proposed a schedule, Pakistan has yet to accept the dates of August 23 and 24. Reports in Islamabad say Pakistani NSA Sartaj Aziz may have “prior commitments” and may need new dates. On the issue of the agenda too, sharp differences have emerged.

A statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, met in Ufa said the two NSAs were to meet in Delhi to “discuss all issues connected to terrorism”. While Indian officials maintain that it means Mr. Doval and Mr. Aziz will only speak about terror-related issues, Pakistani officials say many other issues are on the agenda.

Terror evidence As The Hindu reported last week, India is preparing to hand over “forensic and electronic evidence” of Pakistan’s support to terrorists operating against India. The evidence include those on the banned organisations Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM); cross-border infiltration; harbouring of fugitives like underworld don Dawood Ibrahim; terror financing networks; pumping of fake Indian currency into India; and the 26/11 trial.

The dossiers will now include testimonies of Mohammad Naved, the militant captured in Udhampur. Leads from the Gurdaspur attack, including GPS data, weapons and clothes of the dead militants, will be handed over, along with details of terror financing. “There will be nothing but terror on our agenda,” a senior Indian official told The Hindu .

Pakistan has its own dossiers related to its allegations of “an Indian hand” in attacks in Balochistan and support to the Pakistan Taliban, say officials. But a senior Pakistani official said other issues would be discussed during the talks. The official said the NSAs would discuss the setting up of a back-channel, meetings of the Commerce Ministers in the upcoming months, and an extended mechanism to deal with border and LoC firing which would include the Directors-General of Military Operations and External Affairs Ministry officials.

“When the PMs met in Ufa, they discussed a number of ways to take the talks process forward,” a diplomatic official said. “The idea is to lead up to the visit by PM Modi to Islamabad for the SAARC summit.”

The back-channel idea was disclosed by Mr. Aziz shortly after he returned to Islamabad from Ufa, when he faced a barrage of criticism over the exclusion of any mention of Jammu and Kashmir from the joint media statement. Mr. Aziz said the issues of Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek would all be discussed on the back-channel, or through appointed interlocutors. Indian government sources have denied that too, saying only “front-channel, not back-channel talks” would take place with Mr. Doval and Mr. Aziz.

The differences indicate both sides are headed into stormy weather, with tensions over continuing ceasefire violations, the terror attacks as well as Pakistan’s decision not to invite the Jammu and Kashmir Speaker to its CPU conference, indicating a hard line on Kashmir, as more evidence of the strain. Asked what was the chance of the talks happening, as proposed on August 23, an official said, “Chances are fifty-fifty. A decision has not yet been taken.”

(With additional reporting from Vijaita Singh)

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.