Indian diplomats who knew him described Niaz A Naik, former Pakistan foreign secretary and Islamabad’s man for post-Lahore bus back-channel diplomacy with New Delhi, as a “thorough gentleman” and “skilled negotiator”. Naik was found dead in his Islamabad home, where he lived alone, on Saturday.

The 83-year-old’s body reportedly had injury marks, indicating he may have been murdered. Four of his ribs were broken and he had signs of trauma on his lung and liver. There were injuries on his jaw and neck.

Naik was appointed Islamabad’s interlocutor for the back-channel talks with New Delhi in 1999, after prime minister A B Vajpayee appointed Observer Research Foundation chairman R K Mishra as the Indian pointsman. This channel started after Vajpayee’s Lahore bus trip but, according to former NSA Brajesh Mishra, it did not continue later.

Brajesh Mishra told The Indian Express on Sunday, “He came only once in March or early April in 1999, after PM Vajpayee’s visit to Lahore. I took him to Vajpayee, and as far as Kashmir was concerned, he was told very clearly that there was no question of making any concessions by India on Kashmir.”

Naik was supposed to come later but then Kargil happened and he did not come, said Mishra.

Mishra knew Naik since his UN days, as he said, “He was in the Pakistan’s UN mission in Geneva, and was a very efficient diplomat.”

Former Indian envoy to US Naresh Chandra said, “He was a very decent and polished person, it is a great loss to Pakistan’s foreign service community.”

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