Involvement of Top Policymakers
The agreement was said to have emerged from a chat between the directors-general of military operations (DGMO) of the two sides, but that was just for the birds. It was agreed upon at the highest level. Word is that India’s NSA, Ajit Doval, and Pakistan’s COAS, Qamar Bajwa, are the point persons for the negotiations which the ceasefire kicked off. Recently, the UAE publicly confirmed that it was facilitating the talks.
Key negotiators have indeed visited the UAE recently. In fact, the two foreign ministers were in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Well-placed figures in the political establishment have told me that the government has been hopeful that these negotiations would lead to an agreement to turn the Line of Control into an international border.
I have been cynical about this from the beginning.