A Pakistani official stated on Friday that the foreign office has no knowledge of reports indicating that serving officials from Pakistan and India participated in a rare Track 1.5 dialogue in Colombo this week, alongside former diplomats, retired military officers, and politicians from both countries.
Reported Dialogue Details
According to Pakistan's Express Tribune, the dialogue brought together serving foreign ministry officials from Pakistan and India, as well as former diplomats, retired military officers, and political representatives, including a senior member of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a politician from Pakistan’s ruling coalition. The newspaper, citing sources familiar with the meeting, said the participants discussed crisis communication, terrorism, water issues, and possible ways of feeding ideas from the unofficial talks into formal diplomatic channels.
Diplomatic Terminology
In diplomacy, Track 1 refers to official government-to-government negotiations, while Track 2 involves unofficial discussions among non-governmental participants aimed at building confidence and exploring policy options. Dialogues involving both serving officials and unofficial participants are commonly referred to as Track 1.5. The reported participation of serving Pakistani and Indian officials would be unusual, as Track 2 engagements between the nuclear-armed neighbors have traditionally involved retired officials, academics, and civil society representatives rather than government officials.
Official Responses
“No idea on anything other than Track 1,” a foreign office official told Arab News when asked about the reported meeting. He declined to be named as he was not authorized to comment on the matter. Speaking at his weekly media briefing on Wednesday, Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi had said “Track 2 [dialogue] is not meant to be public.” Without confirming the Colombo meeting, a Pakistani security official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said officials from both countries have attended multilateral security conferences over the years alongside non-governmental participants.
“No matter what the Indians say or insinuate, Pakistan, under the current clear-headed leadership, is very definitive. If Indians test us, they will get a lesson they won’t forget,” the security official said. “If New Delhi genuinely believes in peaceful, neighborly relations based on mutual respect and equality, then Pakistan has always been ready to pursue such a relationship.”
Strained Bilateral Relations
Relations between the two countries have remained strained since last year’s four-day military conflict, which followed an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 people. India blamed Pakistan-backed militants for the assault, an allegation Islamabad denied. Following the crisis, India suspended its participation in the Indus Waters Treaty, while Pakistan closed its airspace to Indian airlines among a series of retaliatory diplomatic and economic measures announced from both sides.
Participant Denies Breakthrough
A Pakistani who participated in the reported Colombo discussions rejected suggestions that India had offered to restore the Indus Waters Treaty in exchange for Pakistan reopening its airspace. “This was NOT at all offered by the Indians on IWT in Colombo,” the participant, who requested anonymity, told Arab News. Asked whether the talks had produced any breakthrough, the participant replied: “No.”
