ISLAMABAD – India and Pakistan held a Track-2 dialogue in Islamabad after along gap, indicating a probable shift in views on both sides towards suchan initiative, to address a wide range of issues that are causing concerndespite the strained relations that exist between the two countries.

According to Indian media reports, the meeting was a revival of theNeemrana dialogue among former diplomats and military officials on bothsides.

The initiative was resuscitated after an Indian delegation of formerdiplomats, army veterans and academics, headed by former External AffairsSecretary Vivek Katju, traveled across the border and met a group ofPakistanis led by Inam-ul-Haq, who occupied some of the highest posts whileworking with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, until his retirement. Seniorformer Indian diplomats Vivek Katju and Rakesh Sood attended the meet.

Neemrana Dialogue was the first and one of the most notable Track IIinitiatives. It was launched at the Neemrana Fort in Rajasthan, India, inOctober 1991. It also resulted in the emergence of similar programsdesigned to normalize relations between the two bitter South Asianneighbors.

“There have been other Track II initiatives, but these were mostly fundedby third parties. Neemrana had more India-Pakistan character,” said formerIndian High Commissioner to Pakistan, T.C.A. Raghavan.

The newspaper reported that the meeting was held from April 28 to April 30in Pakistan. The newspaper also claimed that New Delhi was going to observeand assess the result of Pakistan’s 2018 general elections before decidingto open official channels and resume the dialogue between the two countries.