In a major diplomatic assertion that firmly refutes reports of any diplomatic thaw with Islamabad, India has categorically distanced itself from reported back-channel engagements with Pakistan, clarifying that such interactions hold no official sanctity or value for New Delhi.
The statement comes amid a complete freeze in bilateral ties, which plummeted to a historic low after Pakistani state-sponsored terrorists killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, in April 2025.
In response, India launched “Operation Sindoor” in May 2025, targeting terror camps, bases, and launchpads across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK).
Following India’s retaliatory military action against the cross-border terror infrastructure, formal diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Islamabad remained frozen. Currently, only the hotline between the Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of both countries remains operational.
Contextualising the current situation, certain media reports recently emerged claiming that unofficial back-channel and Track-2 diplomacy between India and Pakistan had intensified, shifting from dispute resolution to conflict management.
These media reports suggested that some Track-2 people-to-people connections might have taken place since late 2025.
More recently, reports and claims surfaced suggesting that top retired defence officials and some individuals close to the ruling dispensations of both countries had met in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital, on the sidelines of a security conference.
