Backchannel Pakistan-India efforts for talks collapsed

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India were hoping that their frosty relations could thaw as their prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi kept running into each other in New York last week. It has now emerged that both sides secretly explored chances of bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 70th UN General Assembly session.

A senior Pakistani official speaking on the condition of anonymity said on Monday that New Delhi had proposed a meeting between national security advisors (NSAs) of the two countries in New York, but the agenda would be restricted to terrorism-related issues.