India, Pak NSAs hold 4-hr talks in Bangkok

In a sudden but significant development in the stalled India-Pakistan dialogue, the national security advisers of both countries, accompanied by the foreign secretaries, met quietly for over four hours in Bangkok on Sunday, and discussed terrorism, Jammu & Kashmir and other matters of bilateral interest, and agreed to take forward the “constructive” engagement.

India’s NSA Ajit Doval and Pakistan’s Nasir Janjua, along with foreign secretaries S. Jaishankar and Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, held their marathon meeting in the Thai capital just six days after Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif held a brief meeting in Paris, obviously with a view to revive the stalled dialogue process.

A joint statement issued after the meeting 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 today (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.”

“The 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,” the statement added.

The choice of a neutral third country venue for the NSAs’ meeting may have been prompted by a desire to avoid a repeat of events that led to the cancellation of a visit by Pakistan’s then NSA Sartaj Aziz to New Delhi for talks.

Pakistan called off the visit after New Delhi made it clear that Mr Aziz would not be allowed to meet Kashmiri separatist leaders in the Indian capital.

For the record, Indian sources said Bangkok was chosen because of the “convenience” of both sides. As foreign secretary Jaishankar was already in Tokyo over plans for Japanese PM Shinzo Abe’s forthcoming visit to India later this week, and the Pakistani side was also travelling, it was decided to meet in Bangkok due to the “convenience” of the two sides, a source said.

The Bangkok meeting also paves the way for external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Islamabad later this week, on December 8, to attend a multilateral conference on Afghanistan.

Sunday’s breakthrough clearly indicates the Modi-Sharif meeting in Paris was more than a sudden encounter and “exchange of courtesies” as had been claimed by the Indian side, although Mr Sharif had told the Pakistani media he had a “good meeting” and that the “doors of dialogue should open”.

The NSAs’ decision to take forward the “constructive” engagement also clearly suggests that they may have worked out a roadmap for resumption of the stalled bilateral dialogue, the details of which may emerge soon after Ms Swaraj’s coming trip to Pakistan.