India and Pakistan to come together for the first time ever

It is a well-known fact that India and Pakistan rarely see eye-to-eye in most cases. But for the first time, the two nations are to come together.

Pakistani and Indian forces will conduct military drills together for the first time ever in August this year.

According to a report in an Indian newspaper, the two arch-rivals will participate in a multi-nation military exercise to be held in in Russia’s Ural Mountains to participate in the military war games as members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), officials said.

The Chinese Army will also participate in the event.

The exercise, Peace Mission 2018, is a part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and will focus on counter-terrorism operations. Eight countries, including Pakistan, India, China, and Russia, will participate in the military exercise.

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Indian Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made an official announcement on Tuesday that India will participate in the multi-nation military exercise, the report said.

In the past, Pakistani and Indian soldiers have operated together as peacekeepers in missions of the United Nations.

However, this will be the first-ever military exercise in which both the countries will fight together in mock operations against terrorists.

Peace Mission 2018 will be the fifth edition of the multilateral exercise, held once in two years.

The SCO was formed in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan. It now has eight full members, including Pakistan, India, and Uzbekistan. Another four nations have been accorded ‘observer’ status, while six others are ‘dialogue’ partners.

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In a related development, Pakistan and India have agreed to revive Track II diplomacy indicating a recent thaw in the relations between the two countries, according to media reports.

The original Track II initiative, Neemrana Dialogue, received a fresh start as former Indian diplomats, military veterans and academics traveled to Pakistan to take part in talks that took place from April 28 to 30 to discuss ways to improve the relationship.

Pakistan was represented by former foreign secretary Inam ul Haque and Ishrat Hussain among others. The Indian delegation was headed by former external affairs secretary Vivek Katju while J S Rajput and Rakesh Sood was also part of the delegation.

The original Track II initiative, known as Neemrana Dialogue, is a non-governmental dialogue which is different from usual interactions between the foreign ministries of two countries. The meeting was seen as a revival of the Neemrana dialogue among former diplomats and military officials on both sides.

The initiative is reportedly been initiated by Pakistan by holding the dialogue in Islamabad as the similar talks have been lately taking place in third countries because of the tensed relations.