India sidesteps Pakistani reports on back-channel dialogue

The Indian and Pakistani High Commissions in Islamabad and Delhi, respectively, are an “effective channel of communication” said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), sidestepping a slew of media reports on a “back-channel dialogue” between the two countries that are discussing a number of initiatives.
On Thursday, two Pakistani news sites reported that the current round of negotiations allegedly date as far back as to 2018, and that Indian and Pakistan officials discussed, amongst other things, the possibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending a SAARC summit in Pakistan in October 2021.