NEW DELHI, May 12. /TASS/. India will hold talks with Pakistan only at the level of the military with no political contacts, the Hindustan Times reported, citing sources.
"We have maintained from the start the only talking which will be done between India and Pakistan will be between the DGMOs (Directors General of Military Operations - TASS) and directly," one of the sources said. "There will be no political conversations," he added.
The sources noted that there had been no communication between Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and their Pakistani counterparts.
Additionally, official New Delhi believes that there is nothing to discuss with Islamabad on the Kashmir issue except for returning to India the territories "illegally occupied" by Pakistan and the talks must be direct. "There is nothing else to discuss. They have to hand over the illegally occupied territory, and they can do it directly. We don’t need anybody in between," another source said.
The sources also reiterated that the decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty made after the terrorist attack in Pahalgam in India’s Jammu and Kashmir union territory remains in effect. "Pakistan cannot carry on with cross-border terrorism while expecting cooperation in areas of its own choosing in bilateral relations," the sources said.
Tensions escalated between India and Pakistan following the deadly terror attack in the popular tourist town of Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir, where 25 Indian citizens and one Nepalese national were killed. India claimed that it has proof that the attack was carried out by the Lashkar-e-Taiba group (outlawed in Russia) of Pakistani Inter-Service Intelligence. New Delhi and Islamabad introduced reciprocal measures with regard to diplomatic workers, suspended any bilateral ties and closed their airspace for each other’s planes.
Overnight on May 7, the Indian armed forces launched Operation Sindoor and carried out strikes on terrorist bases in Pakistan. In response, Pakistan announced launching Operation Bunyan Ul Marsoos (a verse from the Quran which roughly translates as a "solid wall of lead"). On May 10, New Delhi and Islamabad agreed on a ceasefire. Following talks between the military, an agreement was reached that the sides cease all combat and fire on sea, air or land. However, several hours afterwards, drones were detected in several towns in Jammu and Kashmir as well as in Punjab, air defense systems went off and power went out. According to the Indian military, the past night on the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border between India and Pakistan was quiet.