India, Pakistan held secret talks to try to break Kashmir impasse: Report

Top officials from India and Pakistan held secret talks in Dubai in January over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, a reported cited sources as saying.

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 told Reuters in Delhi. Ties between the nuclear-armed rivals have been on ice since a suicide bombing of an Indian military convoy in Kashmir in 2019 traced to Pakistan-based militants that led to India sending warplanes to Pakistan. Later that year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi withdrew Kashmir's autonomy in order to tighten his grip over the territory, provoking outrage in Pakistan and the downgrading of diplomatic ties and suspension of bilateral trade.