Despite a steady drumbeat of hostile statements between New Delhi and Islamabad, a growing chorus of voices on both sides is calling for a return to formal diplomacy — and, analysts say, discreet back-channel contacts are already under way.
The most striking recent signal came from Dattatreya Hosabale, general secretary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) — the ideological parent organisation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party and a cornerstone of Hindu majoritarian politics in India. In an interview earlier this month, Hosabale said New Delhi should not "close the doors" on dialogue with Pakistan, a position that immediately triggered political controversy in India, where the ruling establishment has long insisted that "terror and talks can't go together." Former Indian army chief General Manoj Naravane publicly backed Hosabale's stance, arguing that friendship between peoples naturally improves relations between states. Pakistan's foreign ministry welcomed the comments, saying Islamabad hoped "sanity will prevail" in India. The Modi government has not formally responded.
Analysts see a deliberate strategy in these signals. Irfan Nooruddin, a professor of Indian politics at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, argues that the Modi administration has "boxed itself into a corner" with its anti-Pakistan rhetoric, making it politically costly to initiate dialogue unilaterally. Calls from the RSS and retired military figures offer the government political cover, allowing any eventual engagement to be framed as a response to societal pressure rather than a concession. Adding to the pressure for engagement, Kashmir's chief cleric, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, used a Friday sermon at Srinagar's historic Jamia Masjid to urge both countries to "talk to each other to find a way out" that also addresses the democratic aspirations of Kashmiris themselves.
Below the surface, quiet contacts have been happening for months. Former Pakistani diplomat Jauhar Saleem told Al Jazeera that roughly four meetings — involving retired officials, intelligence figures and parliamentarians from both sides — have taken place since the four-day India-Pakistan war of May 2025, which ended in a US-brokered ceasefire. These gatherings, held in Muscat, Doha, Thailand and London in Track 1.5 and Track 2 formats, are designed to reduce misunderstandings and test the ground for formal diplomacy rather than replace it.
The broader geopolitical context is pushing both sides toward pragmatism. India-US relations have been strained by trade tariffs and immigration disputes, while Pakistan has raised its international profile through its role mediating between Washington and Tehran. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in India on Saturday for a four-day visit — his first — that will include talks with Modi and a Quad foreign ministers' meeting, signalling that Washington still sees India as a key partner even as it recalibrates relationships across the region. Yet sharp rhetoric has not disappeared: India's army chief warned Pakistan last week that continued support for militants could cost it its place "in geography or history", drawing a furious response from Pakistan's military. Analysts caution that while the logic for re-engagement is growing, the path to full diplomatic normalisation remains long and uncertain.