Madhuri Gupta, the 53-year-old second secretary at the Indian High Commission in Islamabad who has been arrested on charges of allegedly spying for Pakistan, was hoping for a plum diplomatic posting in either London or Washington.Gupta made friends easily and could make great small talk. She could talk about clothes, hair styles or Pakistan's Urdu press -- 'where the real news was' -- with equal ease.Gupta spoke perfect Urdu and could have easily passed off as a Pakistani.
Eight Indian soldiers, who lost their lives while serving in United Nations peacekeeping operations last year, are among 106 military, police and civilian personnel to be posthumously awarded a prestigious UN medal this week for their courage and sacrifice in the line of duty.
'The skills and abilities of civil servants are still respected, even though they become whipping boys when things go wrong.'
Italian Premier Matteo Renzi on Monday spoke to his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and sought a "rapid and positive solution" in the case of the two Italian marines being held in India for allegedly shooting to death two Indian fishermen in 2012.
Pompeo will travel to India, Sri Lanka, Japan and South Korea from June 24 to 30. His four-nation is aimed at deepening US partnerships in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
Cops revealed that the staffer Mehmood Akhtar was sharing sensitive defence documents and deployment details of the BSF along the Indo-Pak border to the ISI.
India wants more business and closer engagement with ASEAN even as China's influence spreads in the region. Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is travelling with the prime minister on his visit to Brunei, reports from Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of the tiny oil-rich country.
At the summit, the US is able to play the role of a bully.
Luxury in India may not have gone 'mass market' as in China, but it has taken some very firm strides.
'Pak seeks to employ empty rhetoric to serve its distorted agenda and continues to engage in spreading malevolent and unsubstantiated allegations
T P Sreenivasan, India's former Governor to the International Atomic Energy Agency and ex-Indian Ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, has predicted that the Indo-US civilian nuclear deal will be honoured regardless of whatever dispensation comes to power following the general election in May. Sreenivasan noted that "two of the three coalitions vying for power in India are committed to amend it, though not to abandon it."
India has informed the United States that Devyani Khobragade was accredited to the United Nations as a member of the country's delegation to the general assembly before her arrest in a visa fraud case.
With large scale lay-offs in the Gulf triggered by shelving of mega construction projects touching off panic among Indian workforce, a top diplomat here said they were monitoring the situation closely.
Robert O Blake, the new Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, making his debut before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Thursday, said Secretary of State Hillary's Clinton's trip to India next month will be a tangible manifestation of the Obama Administration's commitment to take the Indo-US relationship to the next level.
'Washington is well aware that the Haqqani group was responsible for terrorist attacks on the Indian diplomatic establishments in Afghanistan.' 'But today US self-interest dictates that Sirajuddin Haqqani's mainstreaming in Afghan political life and a potential elevation eventually to a leadership role at the national level is useful and necessary, since he can deliver peace,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The full statement of the MEA on the latest in the case relating to Devyani Khobragade:
'The more emphatic denial of any proposal for an OIC foreign ministers meet in Islamabad appears aimed at keeping Pakistan on a leash,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Foreign Service Officer Robert Orris Blake, Jr, who is currently the United States' Ambassador to Sri Lanka, before which he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in New Delhi from 2003 to 2006, is the top contender for the post of the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, currently held by diplomat Richard Boucher.
'The visit by the MEPs and their photo-op with Modi would suggest that we have now given a quiet burial to the 'internal matter' charade,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Hopes of NRIs to cast votes in the ongoing general elections through Internet were dashed on Friday with the Supreme Court saying that any interim relief at this stage may open a pandora's box.
We present Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbrauddin's full response to the statement issued by US Attorney Preet Bharara on the ongoing diplomatic tussle over Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade's arrest:
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Amid its efforts to build global pressure on Pakistan in the wake of Mumbai attacks, the government has convened a two-day conference of its Ambassadors and High Commissioners on Monday during which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to tell them to work in this regard.
'This country's backwardness is exposed when Indians bribe, coax and cajole agents to get back-breaking jobs abroad to save a little money at home,' observes Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
The sources said the military brass is considering deploying Indian Navy's MiG-29K fighter jets in a couple of air bases in the northern sector as part of efforts to bring in tri-services synergy in dealing with national security challenges.
Three months after she was arrested and charged with visa fraud before being freed on a bail bond, Indian diplomat Devyani Khobragade's motion to dismiss the government's indictment on the ground of her diplomatic immunity was granted Wednesday by a Federal Judge in Manhattan.
'If a 'two-front war' develops, Iron Brother may only turn out to be a drag on the PLA, since Pakistan is in no position to wage a war with India,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
US President Barack Obama has nominated veteran diplomat David Hale as the next ambassador to Pakistan.
Both Mahinda Rajapaksa and Modi have learnt from their past mistakes. Modi has understood that Rajapaksa is a 'forever politician' that India has to live with, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India has said that serious bilateral dialogue can happen only "without the shadow of terrorism" as Pakistan raked up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations.
'We should carefully handle issues concerning each other's core interests. We should properly manage and control problems that cannot be solved for the time being'
Modi's visit to dwell on water conservation, Israel's expertise in desalination may also be tapped
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said he would "soon" leave the Ecuadorian Embassy in London after being holed up at the mission for nearly two years, amid reports that he has developed life-threatening ailments that require hospitalisation.
The White House and State Department commemorate other religious traditions, including a Jewish Passover Seder, as well as Christmas and Easter holidays.
United States Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday flew back home from Geneva with his orthopaedic surgeon on board, after breaking his right leg in a cycling accident in the French Alps.
India is likely to appeal against the decision of a US court upholding imposition of $ 42.4 million property tax on it by the city for using the United Nations Mission's building in New York for residential purposes.India has been arguing that tax cannot be levied as the diplomatic staff, which occupies the 20 floors of building in midtown Manhattan across the United Nations headquarters, is exempt from tax.
A 1979 batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Singh said it is generally recognised that Indian diplomacy over a period of time has gained "more and more impact".
'The real significance of the visit lies in the extent of the receptivity in Myanmar of the account of Chinese perfidy given by India's military and civilian top brass and how they assess the danger to themselves of dancing with the dragon,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
A suicide bomber was on Thursday gunned down close to the Indian Consulate complex in Afghanistan's Kandahar province before he could detonate explosives.
The United States has increased security at all its major airports and railway stations, and has taken a number of measures, that include temporary closure of its 22 diplomatic missions, following a "very specific" Al Qaeda threat emanating from the Arabian Peninsula.
