Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Monday clarified that the Government of India has no involvement in Track-II discussions on India-Pakistan relations involving retired diplomats, military officials or members of civil society, stating that such participants attend in their personal capacities and do not represent the official position of the government.
Misri made the remarks while responding to media queries during his visit to Victoria in Seychelles, following reports that retired Indian and Pakistani diplomats, military officers and politicians participated in Track-II discussions on the sidelines of a regional security conference held in Colombo last week.
“Dozens of these kinds of events take place in dozens of places around the world on a whole variety of subjects. There is nothing new or special about these events,” Misri said.
Describing them as private initiatives, the Foreign Secretary said the meetings are organised by private entities and have no official backing from the Government of India.
“As far as we are concerned, these are private events organised by private parties. There is nothing official about them,” he said.
Misri stressed that retired officials or civil society members attending such interactions express only their personal views.
“It should be obvious that anybody from India who is participating in these events, whether they are retired diplomats, retired military officials or members of civil society, speaks for themselves and represents only their own point of view,” he said.
He reiterated that the Government of India neither participates in nor extends any official support to such engagements.
“As far as the Government of India is concerned, there is no official participation, no official support or involvement in these visits,” Misri said.
The Foreign Secretary further asserted that New Delhi does not attach any official significance to such discussions.
“They do not in any way represent the view of the Government of India. We really take no cognisance of these events. They really don’t hold much value as far as we are concerned,” he added.
His remarks come amid renewed attention to unofficial India-Pakistan interactions following reports of the Colombo meeting, even as official bilateral engagement between the two countries remains limited.
