No official involvement in Track II talks, says Misri
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday categorically denied any government involvement in overseas discussions on India-Pakistan relations involving retired diplomats and military officials. Speaking to the media in Victoria, Seychelles, Misri emphasized that New Delhi does not even take cognizance of such deliberations, which he described as private events with no official standing.
Context of the remarks
Misri's statement came in response to reports that Indian and Pakistani experts—including retired military officials, diplomats, and politicians—participated in Track II discussions on the sidelines of a regional security conference in Colombo last week. Track II diplomacy typically involves unofficial, non-governmental dialogues aimed at fostering communication between conflicting parties.
"Dozens of such events take place in dozens of places around the world on a whole variety of subjects. There's nothing new, nothing special about these events," Misri said. He stressed that these are private events organized by private parties and have no official backing.
No official participation or support
"As far as we are concerned, these are private events organised by private parties. There is nothing official about them," Misri stated while responding to a media query. He added that he could not speak for the government of Pakistan, but for India, there is no official participation, support, or involvement in these visits.
"It should be obvious, therefore, that anybody from India who is participating in these events, whether they are retired diplomats, retired military officials or members of civil society, they speak for themselves and they represent their own point of view," Misri said.
No value attached to such events
The Foreign Secretary further clarified that India does not take any cognizance of these events. "They do not and cannot in any way represent the view of the Government of India. So that is the other important thing to keep in mind," he said. Misri concluded, "We really take no cognisance of these events. They really don't hold much value, as far as we are concerned."
