Amit Baruah  

In the past, the Modi government has repeatedly said that “talks and terror” could not go together. However, the killing of the BSF jawan, whose throat was reportedly slit by the Pakistani side, did not prevent the announcement of a meeting between Ms. Swaraj and Mr. Shah Mehmood Qureshi. India, however, changed tack the very next day.

“Since yesterday’s announcement of a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan in New York later this month, two deeply disturbing developments have taken place. The latest brutal killings of our security personnel by Pakistan-based entities and the recent release of a series of twenty postage stamps by Pakistan glorifying a terrorist and terrorism confirm that Pakistan will not mend its ways,” Mr. Kumar said on September 21, cancelling the meeting.

Apart from official diplomatic contacts between the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministries, the two sides have also used a channel involving the National Security Advisers – a mechanism that has proven its worth over the years in times of crisis or to prepare for crucial meetings between leaders.

In the time of Prime Ministers A.B. Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, the NSA route was more of a “back channel”, but with Mr. Modi and his former Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif, it had become more of a public or “front channel.”

Courtesy: Hindu: 22nd Oct  2018