India-Pakistan back-channel talks make sense: Pakistani daily

Islamabad, June 26 (IANS) The revival of back-channel talks between India and Pakistan does make sense when it comes to deciding a course of action for the future of the two neighbours, a leading daily said Thursday.

"Historically, backdoor diplomacy has played an effective role in conflict resolution across the globe. We have several examples of countries maintaining backdoor links during times of severe political tension, and even war," The Nation said in an editorial.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Jalil Abbas Jilani said Tuesday that back-channel talks between India and Pakistan were revived following a meeting between Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi last month.

Jilani also claimed that foreign secretaries of the two countries will meet soon, which may prove quite helpful for the resumption of the frozen peace process.

"As far as India and Pakistan are concerned, they can't possibly get more attention when they choose to begin a meaningful dialogue. While carrying forward negotiations may be a difficult task to accomplish, initiating them alone is quite a challenge in itself as evident from the current political scenario," The Nation said in its editorial.

On India-Pakistan negotiations, the editorial said: "While some pray and hope for the best whenever the two rivals meet, others start campaigning to ensure that the process is killed in infancy."

Stating that Modi was still new to the office, it said his policy towards Pakistan "remains shrouded in mystery".

"Whether Modi will be able to resist pressure from hardcore elements within India or not, will become clear as time progresses," the editorial stated.

"While Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has openly adopted a pro-peace stance, the military and its 'assets' still have doubts."

Therefore, it only makes sense to rely on back-channel talks to decide the future of the two countries, the editorial concluded.