Colombo Hosts Talks Between India and Pakistan
In Colombo this week, Indian and Pakistani groups engaged in informal discussions during a regional security conference organized by a London-based think tank. The conference, hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), saw representatives from several nations, including India, Pakistan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and the UK.
The Indian delegation, which participated in separate meetings over a day and a half at the Hilton Colombo, included notable figures like Ram Madhav, the former national general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP); General MM Naravane, former chief of the Indian Army; and Ruchi Ghanashyam, a former Indian envoy to the UK.
On the Pakistani side, the team featured a serving diplomat from the foreign ministry, Sajjad Haider Khan, along with Sherry Rehman, a leader from the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and former ambassador to the US, and retired Major General Isfandiyar Ali Khan Pataudi, who previously served in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The PPP is part of the current ruling coalition in Pakistan.
This meeting is part of ongoing back-channel communications between India and Pakistan, following tensions that escalated in May 2025. These hostilities were sparked by an Indian operation targeting terrorist sites in Pakistan, prompted by an earlier attack in Pahalgam.
Reports indicate that this was not the first such meeting since the recent conflict. Various back-channel engagements have taken place since May, with the first occurring shortly after the military operation last year in London.
Currently, there are no official talks or structured meetings between India and Pakistan, although a military hotline remains active for communication between the two nations.
According to sources, the discussions in Colombo did not yield significant outcomes. Key topics included terrorism, sharing water resources from cross-border rivers, and steps to enhance communication during crises to prevent escalating tensions.
A US official, S. Paul Kapur, attended a dinner during the conference that included some Indian and Pakistani delegates. Efforts to get comments from Indian delegates were unsuccessful, but General Naravane confirmed his travel to Colombo in a social media post.
Officials stressed that these informal meetings should not be seen as linked to formal negotiations and reiterated India’s stance that “terrorism and talks cannot go together.”
Despite some discussions being likened to an official dialogue due to the presence of Pakistani officials, Indian representatives did not include serving government members.
The Colombo discussions occurred shortly after Dattatreya Hosabale from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh expressed the need for dialogue while ensuring national security. He emphasized the importance of maintaining communication channels, including trade and travel.
Both Sherry Rehman and Isfandiyar Ali Khan Pataudi have been part of prior informal talks, alongside a diverse group of Indian representatives that have included sitting MPs and members of security think tanks.
