Backchannel talks between India and Pakistan continue: Pakistan has increased its eagerness to engage India in a constructive manner

*Paromita Das
Backchannel talks between India and Pakistan at the security establishment level have been ongoing since November/December 2020. Both parties have met in a third country, occasionally in Europe and sometimes in West Asia. Last year, there was also such engagement, which was seen as a channel of communication between the two sides.

Both sides had a conversation in a third country earlier this year, according to reports. It is understood that Pakistan has increased its eagerness to engage India in a constructive manner. However, the Indian side has reportedly maintained a tough stance on terror and Kashmir.
This comes as Pakistan has announced the appointment of a trade minister at its high commission in Delhi, and a Pakistan delegation has visited India twice this month: once for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, SCO Regional Anti-Terror Structure or Rats meeting, and once for Indus water talks. The two-day Indus water talks in Delhi are still ongoing, with Pakistan’s Indus Water Commissioner Mehr Ali Shah meeting with India’s water commissioner AK Pal. The pilgrim route between the two sides has also been opened and is still active.

It is important to remember that the November/December 2020 talks played a key role in the February 2021 India-Pakistan joint statement, which reaffirmed the 2001 ceasefire pact’s continuation.
Last year, India and Pakistan agreed to lower the temperature along the line of control in “strict observance” of the 2003 ceasefire agreement, with both militaries issuing a rare joint statement. According to the Joint Statement, “both sides agreed for strict observance of all agreements, understandings, and cease firing along the Line of Control and all other sectors with effect from midnight 24/25 Feb 2021.”

Since the 2019 Pulwama terror attack, India-Pakistan relations have deteriorated. Jaish-e-Mohammed, based in Pakistan, carried out the attack that killed over 40 Indian paramilitary men. After India removed special status from the former state of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019, the situation deteriorated further, with Islamabad suspending people-to-people contact.