India and Pakistan surprised the world last month with a rare joint commitment to respect a 2003 cease-fire agreement.
According to the report by Bloomberg, the top diplomat of the United Arab Emirates, about 24 hours after military chiefs from India and Pakistan surprised the world last month with a rare joint commitment to respect a 2003 cease-fire agreement, arrived in New Delhi for a quick one-day visit.
After Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed spoke with Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, the official UAE readout of the Feb. 26 meeting gave few clues about the discussion, noting they “discussed all regional and international issues of common interest and exchanged views on them.”
Yet behind closed doors, as per officials aware of the situation who asked not to be identified, the India-Pakistan cease-fire marked a milestone in secret talks brokered by the UAE that began months earlier. According to the Bloomberg report, one said the ceasefire is only the beginning of a larger roadmap to forge a lasting peace between the neighbors, both of which have nuclear weapons and spar regularly over a decades-old territory dispute.
The official said that the next step in this process involves both sides reinstating envoys in New Delhi and Islamabad, who were pulled in 2019 after Pakistan protested India’s move to end special status for Jammu and Kashmir. After that, comes the most difficult part of the plan: Talks on resuming trade and a lasting resolution on Kashmir, the subject of three wars since India and Pakistan became independent from Britain in 1947.
The neighbours, over the years, have made peace deals several times, but ended up breaking them quickly. Expectations were low that the current detente would achieve much beyond the return of envoys and a resumption of trade through their Punjab land border, the officials said.
However, the current ongoing process appears to be the most concerted effort in years, and comes as the Biden administration is seeking wider peace talks on Afghanistan — a place both countries for years have battled for influence. The report states that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to shore up growth and focus military resources on the border with China, while Pakistan’s leaders are also facing economic woes and looking to make a good impression with the U.S. and other powers.
Pakistan army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, surprised many people around the world last week, when he asked India “to bury the past and move forward” while saying the military was ready to enter talks to resolve “all our outstanding issues.” His comments came a day after Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan called for a resolution on Kashmir, which he described as “the one issue that holds us back.”
In another sign that relations between the countries are getting warmer, PM Modi sent a tweet wishing Imran Khan well after he was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Best wishes to Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI for a speedy recovery from COVID-19.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 20, 2021
Having historic trade and diplomatic links with India and Pakistan, the UAE has taken a more assertive international role under de facto ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The country has looked to Asia as it strengthens political alliances beyond its role as a global trade and logistics hub.
Indian and Pakistani sides “agreed to address each other’s core issues,” signaling a wider discussion on Kashmir and terrorism, the joint statement said last month.
Several clues in this development led to the role of the UAE. India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met bin Zayed and the crown prince on a two-day visit to Abu Dhabi, followed by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi the following month. The UAE foreign minister, roughly two weeks before the Feb. 25 announcement, held a phone call with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan “wherein they discussed regional and international issues of interest.” India, just days before that, allowed Imran Khan’s aircraft to fly over Indian airspace as he headed to Sri Lanka for a state visit — a practice suspended since the 2019 hostilities.
The UAE, after the announcement of ceasefire, was one of a handful of countries to issue a statement welcoming the cease-fire announcement, highlighting the “close historical ties” it has with both India and Pakistan and hailing “the efforts made by both countries to come to this agreement.”
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