ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said on Thursday no backchannel diplomacy had taken place between Pakistan and India since the current government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif came into power last April.
The two arch-rival nuclear powers have fought three wars since independence from British rule in 1947. Two of the wars were over Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan region, which both the nations claim. Each controls half of the region.
The two neighbours came close to war again in 2019, when India launched an air strike inside Pakistan to target what New Delhi said was a militant training facility. Tensions were again inflamed when India unilaterally revoked the autonomous status of its part of Kashmir later in 2019, prompting Pakistan to cut diplomatic and trade ties.
"Ever since this government has come into power, there has been no backchannel diplomacy, untold to the rest of the world, which I believe was happening during a certain government's time," Khar said on the floor of the upper house of parliament, referring to backdoor diplomacy attempts to resume negotiations, including one brokered by the UAE in 2021, when ex-PM Imran Khan was in government.
She added that backchannel diplomacy should definitely happen "if it is result-oriented," but ruled out any such attempts by the Sharif government.
Last week, in an interview to Al Arabiya, Sharif made a conditional offer to his Indian counterpart to open talks on all outstanding issues, including disputed Kashmir, which he said could be facilitated by the UAE.
But a statement by Sharif's office after the interview aired added that such talks would only be possible if India restored the autonomous status in the part of Kashmir it rules that was revoked in 2019.
