UAE helping India, Pakistan reach 'healthy and functional' relationship, says senior diplomat

 

• The UAE is mediating between India and Pakistan, says a senior diplomat.
• In January, Pakistani and Indian intelligence officials reportedly held secret talks in Dubai to defuse military tension over Kashmir.
• Ties between India and Pakistan have been frozen since a suicide bombing against an Indian military convoy in Kashmir in 2019.

DUBAI: The UAE is mediating between India and Pakistan to help nuclear-armed rivals achieve a "healthy and functional" relationship, confirmed the Gulf state envoy to Washington.

In January, top intelligence officials from India and Pakistan held secret talks in Dubai in a renewed effort to defuse military tension over Kashmir, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba said in a virtual discussion with Stanford University's Hoover Institution on Wednesday that the United Arab Emirates played a role `` in reducing the escalation of Kashmir and created a ceasefire, which hopefully finally led to the restoration of the diplomats and the relationship returning to a healthy level. ''

"They may not become best friends, but at least we want to take it to a level where it is functional, where it is operational, where they talk to each other," he said.

Ties between India and Pakistan have been frozen since a suicide bombing against an Indian military convoy in Kashmir in 2019 that India accused Pakistan of backing, and which Pakistan has always maintained was a local attack perpetrated by disillusioned Kashmiri youth.

The incident eventually led to India sending fighter jets to Pakistan for a failed mission that ended with the jets dumping their payload on a hillside in Balakot. Pakistan retaliated shortly after, capturing an Indian pilot and shooting down two Indian jets in the process.

Later that year, the prime minister of India withdrew autonomy from Indian-occupied Kashmir to strengthen its control over the territory, sparking outrage in Pakistan and the degradation of diplomatic relations and the suspension of bilateral trade.

Otaiba also said that Pakistan should play a useful role in Afghanistan, where the United States plans to begin withdrawing American troops on May 1 to end America's longest war.

The Emirati official expressed concern that an abrupt US withdrawal would constitute "reverse progress" by serving the interests of "less liberal forces" in Afghanistan.

"The question is whether the three parties (the United States, the Taliban, and the Afghan government) can come to an agreement that everyone can live by," Otaiba said.

"It is difficult for us to see a way to stabilize Afghanistan without Pakistan playing a useful role," he added.

Turkey will host a peace summit for Afghanistan from April 24 to May 4 aimed at reviving efforts to end the war and outline a possible political settlement.