Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan following the Pahalgam terror attack. The meeting comes a day after the Chief of Air Staff met with Prime Minister Modi to discuss the security situation. Last Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi gave the armed forces "complete operational freedom" to respond to the Pahalgam terror attack, which killed 26 people.
The Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a tense border standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 5, 2020, when a violent clash between the two sides erupted in the Pangong lake area.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) intensified its campaign in Lebanon with targeted airstrikes on Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut, hitting key weapons depots and terror infrastructure overnight, according to a report by Times of Israel.
In a tribute, President Joe Biden called him a "born patriot", while Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar hailed him as a thought-provoking global strategist.
Esper also highlighted the 'increased' military cooperation with India and called it as 'one of the most important defence relationships of the 21th century'.
Singh and Esper also deliberated on ways to further boost bilateral defence and security cooperation, they said, adding the telephonic conversation took place at the request of the US side.
Esper said Beijing was trying to use the coronavirus tragedy to their advantage for 'propaganda purposes'.
The attorney general instructed the authorities to charge them for their failure to prevent the Easter terror attacks.
'No other military in the world could accomplish what we and our allies and partners did in such a short span of time. That is a testament not only to our forces' capabilities and courage but also to our relationships and the capabilities of our allies and partners,' Austin said in a statement at the conclusion of the American mission in Afghanistan.
Authorities also released photographs of six suspects, including three women, wanted for their involvement in the attacks and sought information regarding them from the public.
His name had appeared on an unverified list of sexual misconduct, a so-called dirty dossier, circulating in Westminster.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has met US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and discussed a range of issues, including the strategic Indo-US partnership and future areas of bilateral security cooperation.
United Stated Defence Secretary Robert Gates will visit India next week during which the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and regional security issues will dominate the agenda of his talks with the Indian leadership. The January 19-21 tour of Gates will be the first high-level visit from the Barack Obama administration after the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Washington in November last year.
During the meeting, Antony accompanied by a delegation comprising the Defence Secretary and the Director General of Procurement is expected to exchange views on not only the status of the bilateral defence and security cooperation but also the next steps that are being envisioned. It is learnt that Antony and Gates would also be discussing global and regional issues, including the recent developments in the sub-continent.
Republican Senators Monday expressed concern over the views of Chuck Hagel, nominated by US President Barack Obama as his next defence secretary, on several key issues, as the White House defended him saying that he is in "sync" with the president's policies.
Two serving lieutenant generals have approached the Armed Forces Tribunal seeking criminal contempt proceedings against the defence secretary, accusing him of "open defiance" of the tribunal's orders.
United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates is expected to undertake a visit to India later in January, during which the two sides will discuss ways to push their defence cooperation, and take stock of the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Dates for the visit are being worked out, defence ministry sources said on Monday.Gates will hold talks with Defence Minister A K Antony and meet top officials of the armed forces.
Members of Parliament on Wednesday quizzed Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma and Army Vice Chief S K Singh on a media report of suspicious movement of troops near national capital New Delhi in January, but they dismissed it as baseless.
For Pakistan, 'bending is not an option; either forward or backwards. We bend and we get a kick,' Malik, who retired as defence secretary in 2014, was quoted as saying by the Dawn on Friday during the seminar organised by the Strategic Vision Institute.
The United States has not received reliable intelligence on the whereabouts of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden for years and does not know where the world's most wanted terrorist is hiding, Defence Secretary Robert Gates has said. "Well, we don't know for a fact where Osama bin Laden is. If we did, we'd go get him," Gates told ABC News when asked whether the Pakistan government was doing enough to catch the terrorist mastermind.
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