When the word appeared in Pakistani media earlier this month that the National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit was all set to meet his Pakistani counterpart Tariq Aziz in Amritsar, the government simply cancelled the meeting.As the Indo-Pak dialogue enters a difficult phase, the value of this special channel of negotiation has become greater than ever before. Yet the effectiveness of the back channel has been undermined by relentless leaks in the Pakistani media about its timing and agenda.There is a growing sense of anxiety in New Delhi that traditional opponents of the peace process in Islamabad, apparently pushed out of the decision-making loop in recent months, are the main source of the damaging news leaks.This was not the first time that precise information about the talks between Dixit and Aziz got into the Pakistani press. New Delhi is asking itself whether this will be the last.The very first meeting between the two in June, immediately after the Manmohan Singh government took charge in New Delhi, was splashed in Pakistani media.Back channels, or special lines of communication, between governments are meant to remove misperceptions, hammer out difficult compromises and clear the air for formal negotiations.All Indian leaders since Indira Gandhi have repeatedly used the back channel to keep open lines of communication with Pakistan even in the most trying circumstances. The intensive contacts between Aziz and the then National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra throughout 2003 cleared the ground for the successful meeting in Islamabad between Atal Bihari Vajpayee and President Pervez Musharraf last January. The Vajpayee-Musharraf joint statement, in turn, provided the basis for the current peace process.Dixit who took over the reins of the back channel from Mishra met Aziz in Amritsar in June to dispel the apprehension in Pakistan that the Congress government might not be enthusiastic about the peace process.Since then the two have met at regular intervals and are often in touch with each other over the phone. The Dixit-Aziz talks provided key inputs into the successful meeting between Singh and Musharrraf in New York last September.Reports in Pakistani media suggest that Dixit and Aziz will meet again towards the end of this month. Their talks have acquired a new political edge as the official level engagement between the two sides appears headed to a stalemate.Last week’s negotiations on the Munabao-Khokrapar rail link on the border between Rajasthan and Sind as well as the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in Jammu and Kashmir have both hit procedural hurdles. The trend in the other negotiations this week on nuclear and conventional confidence-building measures and on Sir Creek is unlikely to be very different. If the pattern persists, the proposed meeting between Prime Minister Singh and President Musharraf in Dhaka next month on the margins of the annual South Asian summit could turn out to be a damp squib.Clearly Dixit and Aziz have their task cut out in keeping the peace process afloat and ensuring that Singh and Musharraf can announce some positive outcomes in the peace process.But the big question is whether Dixit and Aziz will be allowed to succeed. In Pakistan there is talk of the foreign office professionals returning to the driving seat in the negotiations with India. Given their track record, one can bank on these ‘‘professionals’’ to rapidly take the Indo-Pak dialogue towards a dead-end. New Delhi would like to know if there is political will in Islamabad to ensure the much needed secrecy of the back channel and breathe some new life into the peace process.
