VICTORIA — India has completely distanced itself from recent media reports highlighting a back-channel Track 2 dialogue between Indian and Pakistani experts in Sri Lanka. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri clarified on Monday that the Union government has no involvement, oversight, or association with retired diplomats and military veterans participating in overseas discussions on bilateral ties.
Addressing the media in Victoria, Seychelles, during an official state visit alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Misri stated that New Delhi does not take cognisance of such deliberations and assigns no official weight to them. He noted that dozens of similar academic and security events take place across the globe regularly on a wide variety of subjects. He emphasized that the interactions remain strictly private initiatives organized by independent parties and possess no official or representative character.
The Foreign Secretary’s remarks follow reports that prominent Indian and Pakistani delegates—comprising retired generals, former ambassadors, and politicians—engaged in separate security discussions on the sidelines of a regional security conference organized by a London-based think tank in Colombo last week. While the Pakistani delegation included a serving director general from their foreign ministry, the Indian representation comprised independent civil society members and veterans acting in their personal capacities. Misri reiterated that any Indian participant at these venues speaks strictly for themselves and handles their own viewpoint, clarifying that the government of India extends no financial support, political backing, or official endorsement to these visits.
