UAE claims it mediated India-Pakistan ceasefire pact | India News

NEW DELHI: UAE’s ambassador to the US Yousef Al Otaiba was quoted in international media reports as saying that the Gulf nation mediated between India and Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir and helped the two countries arrive at the LoC ceasefire agreement in February.
In a virtual meeting, the ambassador seemed to be endorsing a media report that highlighted the UAE’s role in “bringing the Kashmir escalation down and sort of creating a ceasefire… and getting the relationship back to a healthy level”.
There was no response from India to the reports quoting the UAE ambassador. The government has held that there is no role for any third party in resolving any outstanding issue between India and Pakistan. In fact, when the two countries decided to resume engagement in 2015 under a new formulation, India ensured that it was called comprehensive bilateral dialogue and not just comprehensive dialogue.
There have, however, been reports of emissaries used to convey “messages” with references to the UAE and Saudi Arabia sometimes cropping up. India under PM Narendra Modi has seen ties with the UAE deepen with Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan playing an important role. Modi has received the UAE’s highest civilian honour, the Order of Zayed.
“They might not sort of become best friends but at least we want to get it to a level where it’s functional, operational, where they are speaking to each other,” Reuters quoted Otaiba as saying.
The agency had earlier quoted sources as saying that top intelligence officers from India and Pakistan held secret talks in Dubai in January in a new effort to calm tension over Kashmir.
According to the report, Otaiba also said Pakistan should play a helpful role in Afghanistan, where the US plans to start withdrawing troops to end America’s longest war. It said the Emirati official voiced concern that an abrupt US withdrawal would constitute “reverse progress” by serving the interests of “the more illiberal forces” in Afghanistan.
“The question is if the three parties (the US, Taliban and Afghan government) can reach an agreement that they can all live with,” Otaiba said. “It’s hard for us to see a way to stabilise Afghanistan without Pakistan playing a helpful role,” he added.