RED ZONE FILES: Pakistan-India backchannel move inches forward
There is cautious optimism in Islamabad that the thaw in relations with India is holding steady despite some wrinkles in the last few days. The confidence emanates from the fact that there is more to this thaw between the two adversarial neighbours than is known publicly.
According to Red Zone insiders who have been monitoring these developments very closely, the haphazard outcome generated last week by the meetings of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) and the federal cabinet injected an element of uncertainty in the ‘thawing process’ under way between Pakistan and India. However, these insiders say that while the process may have hit a temporary bump, it has not derailed. One reason for this confidence is that too much time and effort has already been invested by both sides into the quiet process of backchannel engagement.
Daily Times
April 8, 2021
Ambassador (r) Arif Kamal, in his Reminiscences of My Wanderings walks the reader through his memory lane to share his varied experiences, spanning over seven decades.
“The Chronicle of (his) wanderings”, which he describes as “one more addition to oral history”, marries his personal and official perspectives beautifully.
A scion of a noble Kashmiri family, who had to leave his birth-place at the age of nine months, was never able to forget the pangs of displacement and ‘homelessness’. This is evident from the jubilant narration of his visits to the Indian Occupied Kashmir after retirement, which he describes as “a renewal of links to my roots”. This also explains his views on questions of identity and liberation; and his passionate support for the freedom-fighters in Kashmir and Palestine.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Foreign Office. Photo by author
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomes Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Foreign Office on Wednesday. Photo by author
Russia’s foreign minister on Wednesday said Moscow and Islamabad would boost ties in the fight against terrorism, with Russia providing unspecified military equipment to Pakistan and the two holding more joint exercises at sea and in the mountains.
Sergey Lavrov’s two-day trip to Pakistan is the first visit by a Russian foreign minister in nine years, part of a warming in once frosty relations. It comes as Moscow seeks to increase its stature in the region, particularly in Afghanistan, where it has sought to inject itself as a key player in accelerated efforts to find a peaceful end to decades of war.
Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa presides over the Corps Commanders Conference at the GHQ on Thursday. DawnNewsTV
The Pakistan Army s top brass on Thursday reaffirmed its complete solidarity with the people of Indian-occupied Kashmir in their struggle for the right to self-determination, the military s media wing said.
The support was expressed during the 240th Corps Commanders Conference chaired by Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa at the GHQ.
The commanders undertook a comprehensive review of the global, regional and domestic security environment, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement.
The meeting held a detailed discussion on the situation along the eastern border and the Line of Control, especially the environment post ceasefire understanding [of] 2021 between the directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Foreign Office. Photo by author
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi welcomes Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the Foreign Office on Wednesday. Photo by author
Russia’s foreign minister on Wednesday said Moscow and Islamabad would boost ties in the fight against terrorism, with Russia providing unspecified military equipment to Pakistan and the two holding more joint exercises at sea and in the mountains.
Sergey Lavrov’s two-day trip to Pakistan is the first visit by a Russian foreign minister in nine years, part of a warming in once frosty relations. It comes as Moscow seeks to increase its stature in the region, particularly in Afghanistan, where it has sought to inject itself as a key player in accelerated efforts to find a peaceful end to decades of war.