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No secret talks with Pakistan army chief: India
The government on Sunday denied a sensational British media report that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had appointed an envoy to start secret unofficial talks with Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani to kick off an engagement that resulted in the cricket bonhomie last month.
In a statement, PM's media adviser Harish Khare said, "We have seen media reports quoting a British newspaper saying that PM Manmohan Singh contacted Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani before the Mohali meeting between the two prime ministers. The report is false."
The PMO's denial came along with the opposition BJP issuing a cautionary note on starting unofficial talks with the Pakistan army, which it said was the institution most hostile to India.
Nevertheless, the media report raises many questions.
First, there has been a longstanding feeling within the government and outside that India should open talks with the Pakistan army, which is the real centre of authority, much more than the civilian government which India deals with.
Kayani, who now only meets defence ministers, prime ministers and presidents, has reportedly ignored feelers from the Indian envoy in Islamabad to exchange views.
There is a strong concern in India about the "inequality" of the interlocutors, which has prevented them from bringing the Pakistan army into the dialogue process. So, while it's not unusual for India to start talks with Kayani on an unofficial basis, it would have to be at a fairly high official level.
Second, what would the talks be about? If Pakistan's civilian government doesn't have his go-ahead, they wouldn't be engaging in dialogue with India anyway. So that's out. The Pakistan army is under pressure on the western border, which means it might make sense for them to open up a channel of communication on the eastern border. A more important subject of conversation with the Pakistan army would be Afghanistan, where both Pakistan and India have deep interests, all divergent from each other. The endgame there is still a while away, though.
Third, India has an unfortunate history of back-channel talks. In the Vajpayee years, the government had used R K Mishra of Observer Research Foundation to start talks with Pakistan before Kargil, which, according to sources in government then, was an unhappy experience. Later, it was national security adviser Brajesh Mishra who started unofficial talks with Pervez Musharraf's adviser, the late Niaz Naik, and later, Tariq Aziz.
No secret talks with Pak army chief, says PMO - The Times of India
The government on Sunday denied a sensational British media report that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had appointed an envoy to start secret unofficial talks with Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Kayani to kick off an engagement that resulted in the cricket bonhomie last month.
In a statement, PM's media adviser Harish Khare said, "We have seen media reports quoting a British newspaper saying that PM Manmohan Singh contacted Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani before the Mohali meeting between the two prime ministers. The report is false."
The PMO's denial came along with the opposition BJP issuing a cautionary note on starting unofficial talks with the Pakistan army, which it said was the institution most hostile to India.
Nevertheless, the media report raises many questions.
First, there has been a longstanding feeling within the government and outside that India should open talks with the Pakistan army, which is the real centre of authority, much more than the civilian government which India deals with.
Kayani, who now only meets defence ministers, prime ministers and presidents, has reportedly ignored feelers from the Indian envoy in Islamabad to exchange views.
There is a strong concern in India about the "inequality" of the interlocutors, which has prevented them from bringing the Pakistan army into the dialogue process. So, while it's not unusual for India to start talks with Kayani on an unofficial basis, it would have to be at a fairly high official level.
Second, what would the talks be about? If Pakistan's civilian government doesn't have his go-ahead, they wouldn't be engaging in dialogue with India anyway. So that's out. The Pakistan army is under pressure on the western border, which means it might make sense for them to open up a channel of communication on the eastern border. A more important subject of conversation with the Pakistan army would be Afghanistan, where both Pakistan and India have deep interests, all divergent from each other. The endgame there is still a while away, though.
Third, India has an unfortunate history of back-channel talks. In the Vajpayee years, the government had used R K Mishra of Observer Research Foundation to start talks with Pakistan before Kargil, which, according to sources in government then, was an unhappy experience. Later, it was national security adviser Brajesh Mishra who started unofficial talks with Pervez Musharraf's adviser, the late Niaz Naik, and later, Tariq Aziz.
No secret talks with Pak army chief, says PMO - The Times of India
