‘With Back Channel Shut, India Pak Ties Heading For Deeper Waters’

NEW DELHI: No more back channel talks with India, with that broadside, Pakistan’s national security adviser Moeed Yusuf appears to have dumped the gains from the recent thaw with India. Most notably, he has put into question the ceasefire on the Line of Control now a little over four months old.

In this conversation on The Gist, Tara Kartha, former director of the National Security Council Secretariat and a Pakistan specialist, argues that if shelling from the Pakistani side resumes, it means Islamabad is back to trying to infiltrate terrorists across the Line of Control. She also indicated the possibility of Pakistan seeking to carry out terror strikes on major cities in this country.

Kartha turned the spotlight on the confused messaging from Islamabad, suggesting a lack of coordination between ministries and agencies. It also raises the question of people, groups or even sections of the army targeting the chief Gen Qamar Bajwa, who is on extension and therefore vulnerable.