ISLAMABAD: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is reportedly brokering peace between Pakistan and India, a report in the leading news outlet Bloomberg said.
Just weeks ago, Pakistan and India had agreed to observe ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC). About 24 hours after the ceasefire agreement, the top UAE diplomat flew to New Delhi for a quick one-day visit.
The official UAE readout of the meeting on February 26 gave few clues what Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed spoke about with Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, noting they “discussed all regional and international issues of common interest and exchanged views on them.”
The report said that behind closed doors, India-Pakistan ceasefire marked a milestone in secret talks brokered by the UAE that began months earlier, citing unidentified officials aware of the situation.
A source told the media outlet that the ceasefire is only the beginning of a larger roadmap to forge a lasting peace between the neighbouring countries who have regularly sparred with one another.
The next step in the process involves both sides reinstating envoys in New Delhi and Islamabad, who were pulled in 2019 after Pakistan protested India’s move to revoke autonomy for the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir. This will be followed by the hard part on resuming trade talks and a lasting resolution on Kashmir, the official added.
The process for peace overtures appears to be the most concerted effort in years and comes as the Biden administration is seeking wider peace talks on Afghanistan.
The report said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to shore up growth and focus military resources on the border with China, while Pakistan’s leaders are also facing economic woes and looking to make a good impression with the U.S. and other powers.
Last week, Pakistan’s Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa asked India “to bury the past and move forward” while saying the military was ready to enter talks to resolve “all our outstanding issues.”
The comments came after Prime Minister Imran Khan after called for a resolution on Kashmir, which he described as “the one issue that holds us back.” On Saturday, Modi sent a tweet wishing Khan well after he was diagnosed with Covid-19, another sign that relations between the countries are getting warmer.
There have been several clues over the past few months pointing at the UAE’s role. In November, Jaishankar met bin Zayed and the crown prince on a two-day visit to Abu Dhabi, followed by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi the following month.
Roughly two weeks before the ceasefire announcement, the UAE foreign minister held a phone call with Prime Minister Imran Khan “wherein they discussed regional and international issues of interest.”
After the ceasefire, the UAE was one of a handful of countries to issue a statement welcoming the ceasefire announcement, highlighting the “close historical ties” it has with both India and Pakistan and hailing “the efforts made by both countries to come to this agreement.”
In Washington, State Department spokesman Ned Price dodged a question on what role the US played in bringing the two sides together while urging Pakistan to play a constructive role in Afghanistan, Kashmir and other places.
