A group of top United States lawmakers have urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to release Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi, who allegedly helped to track down Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.
A resolution calls the US Secretary of State to designate India as a country of particular concern for alleged violation of religious freedom.
'I am a lover of Hinduism, a lover of Jainism, Buddhism and other religions that were born in India, but we need to protect the rights of all people there. Whether they're Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Jains'
Parliament's approval of the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, a contentious piece of legislation aimed at reforming Waqf bodies, has sparked strong reactions from the opposition, who allege that the bill was "bulldozed" through Parliament. The bill, considered the government's most consequential legislation in its third term, was passed with comfortable majorities in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha despite opposition claims of a lack of consultation and an intrusion into religious affairs. Other notable bills approved during the session included the Finance Bill, Appropriation Bill, Immigration and Foreigners Bill, and Tribhuvan Sahkari University Bill. The session, which saw high productivity, also witnessed debates on issues such as economic distress, delimitation, and the three-language policy. While the government touted its achievements, the opposition criticized the government's approach and vowed to challenge the Waqf bill in court.
Putin is keen on establishing a good personal rapport with Trump and anchor a meaningful US-Russia partnership, realistic enough to accept that Trump is as good an American president as Russia would ever get, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Led by Congresswoman Carolyn B Maloney from New York, lawmakers on Wednesday announced that a bill has been introduced in the House of Representatives to declare Diwali, festival of lights, a federal holiday.
'There is no question that Putin's preference will be to avoid unpleasantness with Trump, leave alone a collision course,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'As Prime Minister Modi said, our ties are no longer just another partnership. It is a far greater and closer relationship'
Berman's bill -- which is in all respects similar to the Senate Committee's Bill that the government of India has found objectionable and offensive -- contains the additional proviso that in the event of a nuclear test by India, which leads to the automatic termination of the deal, the presidential waiver of this termination could be limited.
India's Parliament is set to begin its Budget session on Friday, with opposition parties poised to demand a discussion on the alleged mismanagement of the Maha Kumbh festival in Prayagraj, where 30 pilgrims died in a stampede. The opposition also accused the government of politicising parliamentary committees and pushing its agenda through its majority. The session will start with President Droupadi Murmu addressing both houses of Parliament. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Saturday for the eighth consecutive time.
Former US House Speaker Nancy Peolsi, who is part of a US bipartisan delegation which met with the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, launched a broadside against Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating that while the legacy of the Tibetan spiritual leader will live forever, Xi will be gone in a few years.
India can help mend the fractured relationship between United States and Pakistan, believes a ranking member of the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Muslim and secular organisations in the United States have hailed a congressional resolution by Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison (Democrat) 'recognising the tenth anniversary of the tragic communal violence in Gujarat'.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved a legislation to recognise the religious and historical significance of Diwali. The legislation was introduced by Congressman Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, on the urging of the Hindu American Foundation. Now the Rules Committee has to schedule a date for the full House to take up this legislation on the floor and vote to formally recognise Diwali
For years, Congressman Brad Sherman, California Democrat, a senior member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the ranking Democrat on its Subcommittee on Terrorism has enjoyed the largesse of the Indian American community that has contributed generously to his campaign coffers.
US Congressman Ed Royce, a ranking Republican on the influential House Foreign Affairs Committee, has warned the Obama administration against undoing all the Bush administration's hard work in developing closer ties with India, by coveting China at the expense of New Delhi.
The United States House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously passed a legislation to erase the government-imposed stigma against membership in the African National Congress of South Africa, the party of Nobel Laureate and former South African President Nelson Mandela. The bill, authored by Congressman and California Democrat Howard Berman would remove any notation that would characterise the ANC and its leaders, as terrorists.
It behooves US to encourage integration of India into the Asia-Pacific, says US Congressman Ed Royce.
A senior Republican lawmaker, who is the author of a bill in the United States Congress, calls for independence for Baluchistan from Pakistan and says he still strongly supports independence for Kashmir, reports Aziz Haniffa
The government of Pakistan has been providing weapons and resources to radical Muslim elements, who use them against Americans, says US Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, who declares he was once Pakistan's best friend. Aziz Haniffa reports
One Congressmen said the Uri terror attack along with the bombings in New York and New Jersey "demonstrate our need to continue to work together through our" counter-terrorism partnership to defeat terrorism.
An influential Republican lawmaker has vowed to hold United States President Barack Obama's feet to the fire regarding his pledge during his address to the Parliament to pressure Pakistan to dismantle terrorist havens within its borders that foment attacks against India.
India should emulate the US and not allow Beijing to open any more consulates until it permits us to open a consulate in Tibet, opines B Raman
Congressman Gary Ackerman, New York Democrat, and a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who last week slammed the Congressional passage of the massive economic and military largesse to Pakistan to the tune of $1.5 billion annually over five years, as the House dutifully fell in line with the Kerry-Lugar bill passed by the Senate last week tripling the aid to Islamabad, has denounced the Pakistani military's hostility to this aid because it contains some cond
"Pakistan must be dissuaded from using terrorism as a state policy, and part of the US engagement with Pakistan should be focused on that result," says Ed Royce, senior Republican lawmaker.
An Indian journalist, who testified before a United States committee discussing human rights situation in Kashmir, said Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has been completely overlooked by the world press for the past 30 years, evoking a sharp reaction from a US Congresswoman who questioned her objectivity while reporting.
MEA said such comments cannot absolve Pak of the blatant persecution of the religious minorities and said the Pak PM needs to look inwards.
Reports in the media on Friday said US Senator Tom Lantos had written a letter to the prime minister asking India to 'sever' military ties with Iran and "terminate" all cooperation in the energy sector.
Close on the heels of a blistering missive by Congressman Tom Lantos, warning the TSA not to indulge in religious profiling of Sikhs several other lawmakers, both in the House and Senate, have also slammed the agency.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday approved a legislation that would triple economic assistance to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year, authored by its chairman Congressman Howard Berman, California Democrat, despite being vehemently opposed by the pro-Pakistan lobby and the Obama Administration.
'I owe India an apology, as when she suffered the Mumbai Terror attack on November 26, 2008, when Jews and Americans were singled out for death by Pakistan based Terrorists, I joined in arguing for restraint. I was wrong'
United States Representative Ed Royce, California Republican and the ranking GOP member on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has slammed the alleged ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan and said Hindus have been discriminated much more than any other ethnic group in these countries.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday virtually accused the Asif Ali Zardari-led Pakistan government of surrendering to terrorists.Mincing no words over the Barack Obama administration's anger over the Zardari government's striking a deal with the Taliban in Swat Valley, Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that "I think that the Pakistani government is basically abdicating to the Taliban and to the extremists."
Influential US lawmaker Congressman Ed Royce has called for the shutting down of the Deobandi schools (madrassas) in Pakistan, which he alleged "continue to churn out terrorists that attack" democratic nations, including India and the United States.
"Disappointed to see the Pakistan PM use the UN to praise a militant group that uses violence to promote its cause," Congressman Ted Poe said in a tweet.
American Congressman Ed Royce, a ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and the senior-most minority member on the Subcommittee on Terrorism and Nonproliferation, who was part of the Congressional leadership that met with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during his recent visit to Washington, is disappointed that the United States-India civilian nuclear deal wasn't completed to make it the signature highlight of the Obama-Singh summit.
Dr Balasubramanium, immediate past president of the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, was awarded the AMA's Dr Nathan Davis International Award on March 31 for his work in India in helping to institute emergency medical services and trauma centers.
e of them requires MPs to follow the norms including the Code of Ethics, which mandates them not to take gifts that may interfere with honest and impartial discharge of their official duties.
United States lawmakers, who attended the annual Sikh American Heritage Dinner on Capitol Hill organized by the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, pledged to support the community's efforts to serve in the armed forces without compromising their religious principles.
Since the new policy was instituted August 4, more than 50 such incidents have been reported across the country.
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