Pakistan on Saturday released all Indian fishermen who have completed their jail terms as a goodwill gesture for External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's visit to Islamabad. "All Indian fishermen who have completed their jail term have been released as a goodwill gesture for Krishna's visit," Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik said after signing the new liberalised visa agreement with the Indian minister.
India and Pakistan on Saturday agreed to adopt a forward-looking approach in normalising their ties, while recognising the need to "expeditiously" bring perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack to justice. Both External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar emphasised the need for the two countries to set the sight on the future and not be held "hostage" by the past.
India on Saturday refused to give a firm commitment on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Pakistan, saying that the atmosphere has to be "ripe" and something "worthwhile" should come out from such a trip. Making it clear that Dr Singh was "not shying away" from visiting Pakistan, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said the Indian premier had never put conditions for his Pakistan visit.
India and Pakistan on Saturday signed the much-awaited liberalised visa agreement, introducing for the first time group tourist and pilgrim visas, separate visas for businessmen and visa on arrival for those over 65 years of age. The new pact, signed between External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik, replaces a 38-year-old restrictive visa agreement and will pave the way for time-bound visa approval.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Friday arrived in Islamabad on a three-day visit to Pakistan to hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar, saying he had come with a mandate for building trust and confidence between the two countries. "I wish to reiterate the desire of India to see a stable and prosperous Pakistan living in peace with itself and the world. That would be in the best interest of everyone," Krishna said in an arrival statement.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday said he is sincerely hoping that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will "seriously" consider his request to join the government.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday held bilateral meetings with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Syrian Premier Wael Nader al-Halqi during which they took stock of their ties and discussed regional and global issues.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday began a key meeting in Tehran, amid clear indications that terrorism will be the prime focus of the Indian side.
Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Thursday berated the UN Security Council as a "flagrant form of dictatorship" while terming the US and its Western allies as "bullies" trying to monopolise nuclear fuel production, as he asserted Tehran's right to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday accused the United States of killing people in "large numbers and in organised ways" in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan and also blamed the UNSC for the crisis in the Middle East.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday asked Iran to build "international confidence" in its nuclear programme by fully complying with the global obligations under NPT and cooperating with IAEA, shortly after Tehran slammed the UNSC for being "unjust and completely undemocratic".
The two-day meet of the 120-nation grouping, which began with the national anthem of Iran followed by the recitation of the verses from the holy Quran, was inaugurated by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the leaders' Summit hall in Northern Tehran.
With the Supreme Court upholding the death sentence on the Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, India's case for action against others involved in the Mumbai terror attacks got strengthened ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari in Teheran on Tuesday.
Supporting the capital market regulator Sebi's proposal for an independent auditing regulator in India, global auditing and consultancy major PwC has said there is an urgent need to have a strong and powerful watchdog for this business.
Terming it a socially responsible business model for growth, HCL Tech vice chairman and CEO Vineet Nayar said the company would create these jobs for fresh engineers.
The foundation is providing the money to The Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through a promissory note, co-chair Bill Gates said.
The move would end the exclusive availability of Thunderbolt, which was launched earlier this year and helps transfer data between different computing devices at high speed, on Apple's Mac computers.
Showcasing what the future holds in the computing arena, chip-maker Intel on Wednesday unveiled a computer with a processor running on a postage stamp-size cell powered by solar energy.
Ruling out any move to become the rival of its own customers, the world's largest chip-maker Intel on Wednesday said it is not interested in acquiring technology giant HP's PC business.
India on Friday made it clear to Pakistan that resolution of the Kashmir issue cannot take place under the "shadow of gun" as the two countries concluded "satisfactory" talks which resulted in agreement on various confidence building measures.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances