In a sudden turn of events, National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan held talks in Bangkok on Sunday, discussing a wide range of bilateral issues including terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir. The two NSAs also agreed to take forward the “constructive” engagement during the talks. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Janjua also discussed peace and security and other issues including tranquility along the Line of Control (LoC).
A joint statement issued later said the Foreign Secretaries of both countries accompanied the NSAs. The two sides issued a collective press statement which said, “Pursuant to the meeting of the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Paris, the NSAs, accompanied by the Foreign Secretaries, met in Bangkok on Sunday. Discussions were held in a candid, cordial and constructive atmosphere. They were guided by the vision of the two leaders for a peaceful stable and prosperous South Asia. Discussions covered peace and security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, and other issues, including tranquility along the LoC. It was agreed to carry forward the constructive engagement.”
This meeting was agreed on by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif when they met in Paris last week. Bangkok was chosen as it was a convenient location for both sides. The meeting is also seen as a major breakthrough given that the two sides had engaged in mutual blame game earlier in September this year resulting in cancellation of the NSA-level talks and stalling the interaction process as was agreed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in July in Russian city of Ufa.
The two Prime Ministers had a brief but close chat on November 30 in Paris where they had gone to attend the climate summit. The Bangkok meeting also paves the way for a visit by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to Islamabad this week to attend a multilateral conference on Afghanistan. The Sunday meeting between the two NSAs comes ahead of Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad for a “Heart of Asia” security conference this month. India earlier had blamed Pakistan for cancelling the meeting by calling Hurriyat leaders to Delhi, while Pakistan said that India’s pre-conditions were responsible for the cancellation.
Meanwhile, on Sunday former J&K CM Omar Abdullah welcomed the talks between National Security Advisors of India and Pakistan in Bangkok, stating that holding the dialogue away from media glare can lead to “quiet progress”. “Good to see India and Pakistan resume the dialogue process,” Omar wrote on microblogging site twitter. “Perhaps this is the way quiet progress will be made away from each other’s capitals and the glare of media driven expectations,” he tweeted.