India will engage with Pakistan only at DGMO level, no other talks on any issues
There will be no talks with Pakistan on issues such as Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty, which remains in abeyance
New Delhi: India will engage with Pakistan only at the level of the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) and there will be no talks on issues such as Kashmir and the Indus Waters Treaty, which remains in abeyance, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
After four days of intense hostilities that saw the two sides targeting each other’s military installations with drones, missiles and long-range weapons and raised fears of an all-out conflict, the DGMOs of India and Pakistan reached an understanding on halting all military actions on Saturday afternoon. The DGMOs are set to speak again on their hotline at noon on May 12.
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The people, speaking on condition of anonymity, brushed aside suggestions from the US administration, particularly President Donald Trump and secretary of state Marco Rubio, about mediation on the Kashmir issue and talks between India and Pakistan on a broad set of issues at a “neutral site” and dismissed American claims of brokering a “ceasefire”. Saturday’s understanding to stop “all firing and military action” at land, air and sea was reached directly by the two sides.
“We have maintained from the start the only talking which will be done between India and Pakistan will be between the DGMOs and directly,” one of the people said. “There will be no political conversations.”
The people rubbished claims by Pakistan’s leadership, including deputy prime minister Ishaq Dar, about contacts between the national security advisers and foreign ministers of the two countries as a “complete untruth” and said there were also no indirect contacts through third parties. “We are very, very clear that all the effective talking has to be directly between the DGMOs,” a second person said.
New Delhi believes there is nothing to be discussed with Islamabad regarding the Kashmir issue, other than the return of parts of Jammu and Kashmir “illegally occupied” by Pakistan, the people said. “There is nothing else to discuss. They have to hand over the illegally occupied territory and they can do it directly. We don’t need anybody in between,” the second person said.
The punitive diplomatic, political and economic measures adopted against Pakistan over the cross-border linkages of the Pahalgam terror attack will remain in place, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that survived three wars, the people said. This was the most significant of the decisions made by the Cabinet Committee on Security a day after the Pahalgam attack, with the central message that the cost for Pakistan’s support for terrorism will “rise inexorably”, they said.
The Indus Waters Treaty was concluded with the spirit of goodwill, friendship and good neighborliness, and these principles have been held in abeyance by Pakistan through its support of cross-border terrorism, the people said. “Pakistan cannot carry on with cross-border terrorism while expecting cooperation in areas of its own choosing in bilateral relations,” the first person said.
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Besides, the Indian side made a compelling case over the past few years for the Indus Waters Treaty to be made contemporary and “fit for purpose” through government-to-government negotiations as allowed by Article 12 of the pact, the people said. The treaty was based on engineering techniques of the 1950s and 1960s and is out of alignment with contemporary engineering techniques and other changes such as the climate crisis, melting of glaciers, change in water quantities available, and demographic changes, they said.
“Clearly, there is a case for looking at the distribution of rights and obligations under the treaty, and we have approached the Pakistanis for precisely that for the last two years. They have been stonewalling all requests, which is a violation of the treaty,” the first person said.
“We can talk if they [Pakistan] want to talk about handing over the terrorists they have. We don’t have any intention of talking about anything else,” the second person added.
The punitive diplomatic, political and economic measures adopted against Pakistan over the cross-border linkages of the Pahalgam terror attack will remain in place, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 that survived three wars, the people said.
This was the most significant of the decisions made by the Cabinet Committee on Security a day after the Pahalgam attack, with the central message that the cost for Pakistan’s support for terrorism will “rise inexorably”, they said.
The Indus Waters Treaty was concluded with the spirit of goodwill, friendship and good neighbourliness, and these principles have been held in abeyance by Pakistan through its support of cross-border terrorism, the people said. “Pakistan cannot carry on with cross-border terrorism while expecting cooperation in areas of its own choosing in bilateral relations,” the first person said.
Besides, the Indian side made a compelling case over the past few years for the Indus Waters Treaty to be made contemporary and “fit for purpose” through government-to-government negotiations as allowed by Article 12 of the pact, the people said. The treaty was based on engineering techniques of the 1950s and 1960s and is out of alignment with contemporary engineering techniques and other changes such as the climate crisis, melting of glaciers, change in water quantities available, and demographic changes, they said.
“Clearly, there is a case for looking at the distribution of rights and obligations under the treaty, and we have approached the Pakistanis for precisely that for the last two years. They have been stonewalling all requests, which is a violation of the treaty,” the first person said.
Pakistan’s campaign of cross-border terrorism changed the security landscape in Jammu and Kashmir, and this interferes with India’s ability to exploit the Indus Waters Treaty, the people said.
