By Muhammad Luqman
Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Nasser Khan Janjua and his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval held a secret meeting on December 26, according to media reports.
Indian newspaper Sunday Express reported that the December 26 meeting between Doval and Janjua took place at a ‘neutral venue’ in the Thai capital, Bangkok.
The report, quoting sources, stated that the date and venue of the meeting were pre-planned.
Pakistani officials are yet to comment, officially or anonymously, on the meeting.
The last time the two NSAs met, in December 2015 in Bangkok, the incident was followed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise stop-over in Lahore to attend then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s granddaughter’s wedding.
On December 28, Janjua held a five-hour long meeting with former prime minister Nawaz Sharif at his Jati Umra residence. Sources said matters of national security were discussed during the meeting.
Earlier, on December 18, at a seminar in Islamabad, Janjua had said the United States is following the Indian policy on the longstanding Kashmir dispute. He had said further that the US has given India a role in Afghanistan’s political process, giving New Delhi priority over Islamabad.
The Indian media report stated that the latest meeting, said to have lasted over two hours, saw a discussion on the situation along the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.
The Pakistan Army, in a recent press conference, said India increased its ceasefire violations across the LoC in 2017.
“52 civilians were martyred and 254 injured [in the 1,813 violations],” army spokesperson Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor had said.
The last time the two NSAs met, in December 2015 in Bangkok, the incident was followed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise stop-over in Lahore to attend then-Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s granddaughter’s wedding.
