India, Pakistan launch a new dialogue format, NSAs to discuss terror

ISLAMABAD: In a leap of faith and a decisive movement forward to restart their stalled engagement, India and Pakistan have launched a comprehensive bilateral dialogue encompassing key issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, and agreed on a separate terror-specific dialogue between national security advisers of both countries.

India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad on December 9 and discussed a wide spectrum of bilateral issues that impinge on the course of the conflicted relationship between the two neighbours.

The talks have firmed up an emerging template of a new phase of engagement between India and Pakistan. Terrorism, a core concern of India, has been prioritised and given added salience in this new dialogue architecture.

“The EAM and Adviser condemned terrorism and resolved to cooperate to eliminate it. They noted the successful talks on terrorism and security related issues and in Bangkok by the two NSAs and decided that the two NSAs will continue to address all issues connected to terrorism,” said the joint statement.

Both sides, accordingly, agreed to a Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue and directed the foreign secretaries to work out the modalities of meetings, said the statement.

Author Profile

India Writes Network: India Writes Network (www.indiawrites.org) is an emerging think tank and a media-publishing company focused on international affairs & the India Story. Centre for Global India Insights is the research arm of India Writes Network. To subscribe to India and the World, write to editor@indiawrites.org. A venture of TGII Media Private Limited, a leading media, publishing and consultancy company, IWN has carved a niche for balanced and exhaustive reporting and analysis of international affairs. Eminent personalities, politicians, diplomats, authors, strategy gurus and news-makers have contributed to India Writes Network, as also “India and the World,” a magazine focused on global affairs.