India-Pakistan Peace Talks: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is mediating between India and Pakistan to broker peace and end decades-old rivalry between the two neighbours, a media report claimed.
India and Pakistan are both nuclear power countries and any escalation in tension between the two risks a nuclear war.
India and Pakistan had entered into a ceasefire agreement last month. The two neighbours' Director Generals of Military Operations (DGMO) announced the agreement reaffirming the ceasefire on February 25, 2021.
The move was hailed by the United States and other countries.
"This is a positive step towards greater peace and stability in South Asia, which is in our shared interest and we encourage both the countries to keep building upon this progress," President Joe Biden's spokesperson Jen Psaki said during her daily briefing in Washington on the next day.
The ceasefire announcement by the two countries was backed by improving trade relations when it was learnt that Pakistan will import cotton and cotton yarn from India.
A week later, Pakistan reiterated its offer for dialogue and table talks to India, asking it not to shy away from negotiations on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
"Our only dispute is Kashmir and it can only be resolved through dialogue. Pakistan has never shied away from talks and has always called for peaceful resolution to all outstanding disputes, including the internationally recognized dispute of Jammu and Kashmir," a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
A new thaw between India and Pakistan, extending towards re-establishing sporting relations between the two countries was witnessed when a Pakistani equestrian team competed in the World Cup qualifiers in Greater Noida near New Delhi.
A Pakistani skeet shooter also landed in New Delhi on March 18 to compete at the shooting World Cup starting in the national capital.
Amidst all this, Al Jazeera citing Bloomberg is reporting that a top diplomat of the United Arab Emirates landed in New Delhi for a quick one-day visit a day after the ceasefire was announced by the two countries.
According to the report, the official UAE readout of the February 26 meeting gave few clues of what Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed spoke about with Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, noting they “discussed all regional and international issues of common interest and exchanged views on them.”
Yet behind closed doors, the India-Pakistan cease-fire marked a milestone in secret talks brokered by the UAE that began months earlier, Al Jazeera reported citing the officials aware of the situation.
“The ceasefire is only the beginning of a larger roadmap to forge a lasting peace between the two neighbours, both of whom have nuclear weapons and spar regularly over a decades-old territory dispute”, the officials told Bloomberg.
For all the latest News, Opinions and Views, download ummid.com App.
Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.
