India, Pakistan held secret talks on Kashmir in January: Reuters

Top intelligence officers from the two nations met in Dubai in bid to calm tension over disputed region, report says.

Top intelligence officers from India and Pakistan held secret talks in Dubai in January in a new effort to calm military tension over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, people with close knowledge of the matter have told the Reuters news agency in New Delhi. Ties between the nuclear-armed rivals have been on ice since a suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Kashmir in 2019 was traced to Pakistan-based fighters that led to India sending warplanes to Pakistan. Later that year, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew Indian-ruled Kashmir’s autonomy in order to tighten his grip over the Muslim-majority territory, provoking outrage in Pakistan and the downgrading of diplomatic ties and suspension of bilateral trade.