Track II Dialogues
The Chao Track
Date: November 6, 2019
The Jinnah Institute held the 23rd round of The Chao Track II dialogue between India and Pakistan on 6-7 July 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. The strategic dialogue sessions focused on unpacking the Balakot crisis, understanding the shift in bilateral relations, examining the Afghanistan reconciliation talks and their impact on bilateral relations, and the developments in Jammu and Kashmir, along with terrorism and extremism in the region. The lowering of the escalation threshold in Pakistan-India context was discussed in detail. Indian side emphasized the role of terrorism and the new policy in New Delhi of a muscular approach. Pakistani participants highlighted that Pakistan will retaliate and dominate the escalation ladder the next time an attack is conducted by India and the dialogue was the only way possible in resolving our bilateral disputes. On Kashmir, the Indian delegation hinted that a ‘political solution’ aka the removal of Article 370 was a possibility. Pakistani delegation warned that such actions would not be acceptable and would give rise to greater insurgency in the valley, alienating not just those seeking self-determination, but also those mainstream politicians who had favoured India. Pakistani delegation also warned against changing the demography of Kashmir. The dialogue also provided detailed recommendations on restarting a backchannel dialogue through the NSA format, or any other format. Other recommendations included opening of the airspace and continuing with the Kartarpur initiative.
Pakistan Delegation:
Sherry Rehman, Senator and President Jinnah Institute
Tariq Fatemi, Former Special Assistant to PM on Foreign Affairs
Aziz Ahmad Khan, Former High Commissioner to India
Salman Bashir, Former Foreign Secretary
Tasnim Aslam, Former Special Secretary
Khawar Hanif, Former Maj General at Doctrine and Evaluation, GHQ
Zahid Hussain, Author and Columnist
Mosharraf Zaidi, Policy Analyst and Consultant
Ammara Durrani, Policy Analyst and Advisor on Youth Affairs
India Delegation
Manish Tewari, Member of Parliament Congress
Happymon Jacob, Professor at JNU
Seshadri Chari, BJP Executive Council Member
KC Singh, Former Foreign Secretary
Vivek Katju, Former Ambassador
Barkha Dutt, Journalist
Siddharth Vardarajan, Founder The Wire
Suhasini Haidar, Journalist
Ata Hasnain, Former Maj General Indian Army
Bharat Gopalaswamy, Policy Analyst
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Emerging Leaders Forum Dialogue
Emerging Leaders Forum was held between July 8 and 9, 2019. The participants at dialogue were as follows:
Pakistani Delegation:
Syed Hassan Akbar, Chair
Jamal Aziz, Executive Director RSIL
Rafiullah Kakar, Baloch Activist and Advisor to Balochistan Government
Anum Zakaria, Historian and Author
Mehmal Sarfraz, Journalist
Salman Zaidi, Development Consultant
Amber Shamsi, Journalist and News Anchor
Ammara Durrani, Strategic Dialogue Observer
India Delegation:
Happymon Jacob, Chair
Ruhee Neog, Director IPCS
Saikat Datta, Journalist
Sakal Bhushan, Lawyer
Shah Faesal, Kashmiri Politician
Raghav Chada, Aam Admi Party Spokesperson
Archana Negi, Prof International Relations
The Emerging Leaders Forum thematic areas for discussion were the Constitution and democracy, climate change and its impact, the role of the news cycle on driving narratives, the impact of an arms race on strategic security, political violence and citizenship and the role of gender in bilateral relations.