PMO denies secret talks with Pak army

The PMO’s denial of a British newspaper report that claimed Manmohan Singh has initiated secret talks with Gen Ashfaq Kayani, 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. 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. 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. And third, India has an unfortunate history of backchannel 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 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 Tariq Aziz.