PM in hot water over 'secret' meeting with Indian tycoon

Nawaz met an Indian delegation led by steel magnate Sajjan Jindal in what is being dubbed back-channel diplomacy

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif found himself caught in another storm on Thursday, this time over a furtive huddle with an Indian steel magnate which is being labelled as back-channel diplomacy.

An Indian delegation led by Sajjan Jindal – a close friend of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – met Premier Nawaz at his private residence in Murree on Wednesday, away from the media glare.

Although nothing has officially been shared about the context of this meeting, it is believed it was part of back-channel diplomacy to arrange a meeting between the Pakistani and Indian prime ministers on the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit to be held in June in Astana, Kazakhstan. Pakistan and India are set to become full members of the SCO in the upcoming conference.



It is also being claimed that the Indian delegation delivered some message from Modi to Nawaz.

Although the government and ruling party initially kept mum about the meeting, speculation after private news media broke the story prompted the prime minister’s daughter, Maryam Nawaz, to confirm the development on her Twitter account.

“Mr Jindal is an old friend of the prime minister. Nothing ‘secret’ about the meeting and [it] should not be blown out of proportion,” she tweeted.

Mr. Jindal is an old friend of the Prime Minister. Nothing 'secret' about the meeting & should not be blown out of proportion. Thank you.

— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) April 27, 2017

Earlier on Thursday, the Foreign Office spokesman claimed his office was unaware about any such meeting. This provided the belligerent opposition more ammunition to castigate the prime minister on motives behind the secret meeting.

A common friend of Nawaz and Modi, Jindal is thought to be an interlocutor or, at times, a facilitator in some meetings between the two heads of government during the past three years. One such meeting was on the sidelines of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in Nepal which both sides did not officially confirmed. Jindal is also said to be the man behind Modi’s surprise private visit to Lahore two years ago during which he attended the wedding of Nawaz’s granddaughter.

Some private TV channels said Jindal and his delegation arrived in Islamabad in a special plane, spent some hours in Pakistan, had a lunch meeting with Nawaz and went back to India. Apart from Jindal, the delegation which met the prime minister in Murree comprised Virender Singh and Bubbar Saket Singal.



“Given that this is yet another meeting held at a high level without the knowledge of the FO, it is high time that the people of Pakistan are taken into confidence about what transpires in such meetings,” said Senator Sherry Rehman.

Analysts are not only casting aspersions on the motives of the meeting, but its timing as well given that it took place when both are entangled in multiple bilateral issues. The most recent of these was India’s reaction to the death sentence of Indian spy Kulbushan Jadhav.

Prime Minister Nawaz usually spends his weekend in Murree or Lahore. It was unusual for him to be in Murree on a working day in the middle of week.

Sherry Rehman, in an adjournment motion she submitted in Senate, further said: “It is widely reported that the prime minister of Pakistan has had an unofficial meeting with Indian steel magnate Sajjan Jindal, who is on some diplomatic mission for Narendra Modi. The matter is of urgent public importance and the House may adjourn other business to discuss vital issues.”

An even stronger reaction came from Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. “We are concerned over the visit. Nawaz has business relations with Indians. It is not a mere coincidence that Newsgate scandal report and arrival of Jindal were timed so close,” said PTI spokesman Fawad Chaudhry.

PTI leader and opposition leader in Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rasheed was quick to submit a resolution in provincial legislature dominated by ruling PML-N. In his resolution, he said the Indian delegation flew to Pakistan to rescue the beleaguered Prime Minister. He demanded that the house and masses be apprised on motives behind this visit.

A businessman tycoon in India, Jindal is hailed as an influential personality in power corridors as well. Some analysts see his visit as harbinger for melting of ice in bilateral relations that had been going through a new low over the past more than two years. However, many people on both sides cast doubt on any tangible improvement in bilateral ties any time soon.