In an important breakthrough on Sunday, the National Security Advisers (NSA) of the Pakistan and India met for a lengthy meeting in Bangkok.
Advertisement
The reactions came a day after it was revealed that the National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan had held a secret meeting in Bangkok on Sunday and discussed a range of issues, including peace and security, terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir. “They have been guided by the vision and prescient of the two leaders for a non violent, stable and wealthy South Asia”. “Modi government has, however, neither spelled out the specifics nor the framework for engagement with Pakistan or taken Parliament or political parties into confidence”, Congress leader R. S. Surjewala said in a statement.
“BJP all along has been saying that terror and talks can’t go together…Terrorist attacks are going on throughout and India itself says tht Pakistan is behind them”.
Pakistani High Commissioner to India, Abdul Basit, center, returns from the Indian External Affairs Ministry in New Delhi, India.
The talks could also lay the groundwork for visit of Indian PM to Islamabad to attend SAARC Summit next year, the sources said and added the NSAs would also meet again.
Talking to the newsmen after attending a conference in Islamabad, he said that Indo-Pakistan delegations talked on Heart of Asia Conference during the Paris visit however, no discussion on the issue of cricket series took place in Paris. “Good to see India and Pakistan resume the dialogue process”, Abdullah tweeted.
The government had for a while thought about sending MoS for external affairs V K Singh to Pakistan but after the Modi-Sharif handshake in Paris made a decision to send Swaraj instead.
After Ufa, the Pakistani military brass had stated that all further dialogue with India would have to cover the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, where a separatist campaign since 1989 has claimed thousands of lives. What makes the Bangkok meeting even more significant is the fact the two countries’ foreign secretaries were also present at the meeting.
Swaraj’s trip, after a meeting between Modi and Sharif last month, and an unannounced interaction between the national security advisers of the two nations in Bangkok over the weekend, signals a thaw in relations between the nuclear-armed rivals.
Advertisement
The Hindustan Times has the details from New Delhi. There were disagreements about the agenda of the meeting too – with Pakistan pushing for an “open agenda” and India maintaining the talks should be confined to terrorism.
