Govt says Track-2 dialogues with Pakistan outside its purview: ‘Individuals interacting in private capacity’

The Indian government said on Thursday that engagements between Indian and Pakistani think tanks and academicians, including Track-2 dialogues, are outside its purview, with individuals participating in such interactions in their private capacity.The Indian and Pakistani delegates held separate discussions spread over a day and a half at the Hilton Colombo in June this year. (Photo for representation) (PTI)Responding to a question by Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge in the Rajya Sabha on the government’s assessment of, and any advisory issued regarding, the participation of retired Indian diplomats, military officers and civil society figures in Track-2 dialogues with Pakistani counterparts, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said their views do not reflect those of the Government of India.“Individuals participate in Track 2 dialogues in their private capacity, and their views do not reflect the views of the Government of India,” said Singh, via a statement.Indian and Pakistani experts comprising retired military officials, diplomats and politicians participated in Track 2 discussions on the sidelines of a regional security conference in Colombo in June.Also Read | ‘Track 2’ that wasn’t: India-Pak back channels, water wars, and a hardening red line | Point Blank with Shishir GuptaIn a separate response, Singh said India and Pakistan currently maintain their respective diplomatic missions in each other’s capitals and continue to have functional engagements, including DGMO-level talks, exchange of pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles, exchange of lists of nuclear installations and exchange of lists of prisoners in each other’s custody.IWT still in abeyance?Responding to a question on whether the abeyance of the Indus Waters Treaty, declared after the Pahalgam terror attack in April last year, continues and whether India has received any communication from Pakistan on the matter, Singh said India had taken several diplomatic measures following the April 22, 2025 attack, including holding the treaty in abeyance.“The Treaty will continue to be held in abeyance until Pakistan credibly and irrevocably abjures its support for cross-border terrorism,” Singh said.India put the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance as part of a package of punitive diplomatic and economic measures soon after The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy for Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), killed 26 civilians at Pahalgam in April 2025. India launched Operation Sindoor in May last year to target terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan in retaliation for the attack.