In the wake of India’s Balakot strikes, numerous countries extended offers to send special envoys to facilitate de-escalation between India and Pakistan. China, among these nations, suggested deploying its deputy minister to both countries for the same purpose, but New Delhi declined the offer. This revelation comes from former diplomat Ajay Bisaria in his upcoming book, shedding light on the diplomatic dynamics during that period.
Ajay Bisaria, who served as the Indian High Commissioner to Islamabad during the Balakot episode, discloses that after the Balakot airstrikes, India was open to sending an Indian Air Force aircraft to Pakistan to retrieve Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman. However, the Pakistani government rejected this offer. Wing Commander Varthaman had downed a Pakistani jet on February 27, 2019, before his MiG 21 Bison was hit in a dogfight.
“We were willing to send an Indian Air Force aircraft to pick him up, but Pakistan refused permission. The optics of an Indian Air Force plane landing in Islamabad after all that had happened over the previous three days were, of course, not acceptable to Pakistan,” Bisaria writes.
Several countries, including China, had offered to send special envoys to the region, but India considered it unnecessary at that point. “Even China, not to be left behind, had suggested that it could send its deputy minister to both countries to seek de-escalation. India had politely declined the offer,” he adds.
In his book titled ‘Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship Between India and Pakistan,’ Bisaria explores various facets of India-Pakistan relations since Independence. The strained ties between the two countries reached a critical point after India’s airstrikes on a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp in Balakot on February 26, 2019, in response to the Pulwama terror attack.
Bisaria discloses that on the day after India’s Balakot airstrikes, the ambassadors of the US, UK, and France were briefed by then Pakistan Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua about a message from the Pakistan Army. The message conveyed that “nine missiles from India had been pointed towards Pakistan, to be launched any time that day.”
“The foreign secretary requested the envoys to report this intelligence to their capitals and ask India not to escalate the situation. The diplomats promptly reported these developments, leading to a flurry of diplomatic activity in Islamabad, P5 capitals, and in New Delhi that night,” Bisaria writes.
After the briefing, one of the envoys recommended to Janjua that Pakistan should convey its concerns directly to India. Bisaria also mentions that then Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed his desire to talk to his Indian counterpart.
“At around midnight, I got a call in Delhi from Pakistani High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood, who said that PM Imran Khan was keen to talk to Prime Minister Modi,” Bisaria says. “I checked upstairs and responded that our prime minister was not available at this hour but, in case Imran Khan had any urgent message to convey, he could, of course, convey it to me. I got no call back that night,” he adds.
The US and UK envoys in Delhi reported overnight to India’s foreign secretary, claiming that Pakistan was ready to de-escalate, act on India’s dossier, and seriously address the issue of terrorism. According to Bisaria, Pakistan’s PM himself would make these announcements, and the pilot (Abhinandan Varthaman) would be returned to India the next day.
India’s “coercive diplomacy” had proven effective, backed by a credible resolve to escalate the crisis if necessary. Prime Minister Modi, reflecting on those events, remarked that “fortunately, Pakistan announced that the pilot would be sent back to India. Else, it would have been qatal ki raat, a night of bloodshed.”
Bisaria also provides insights into regional geopolitics, stating that Imran Khan urged China to support Pakistan against India, citing the US backing India against China. However, Chinese President Xi Jinping asserted that China would not support Pakistan against India and recommended that Pakistan should improve its relations with the US and Afghanistan.
