Pakistan on Friday sought to assuage Afghanistan's concern over the former's talks with local tribal leaders, stating that the country has not been negligent of its obligation towards peace and stability in Afghanistan.Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who made a day-long visit to Kabul, said his country has not forgone the military option while pursing talks with the Taliban, aimed at ending militancy in the northwestern tribal areas.
Last week, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that America supports India's right to self-defence.
He said people have the right to protest but what happened with Kulkarni was not protest. "I recognise people's right to protest, but what has happened with Sudheendra Kulkarni is not protest," he said.
India on Friday hit back at Pakistan rejecting as "gratuitous" its statements on Jammu and Kashmir, saying they amounted to interference in the internal affairs of the country.
During a weekly press briefing, the Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said that invitations have been sent to the heads of countries to participate in the meeting which will take place on October 15-16, the Dawn newspaper reported.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday stated that reports about her country's army killing 2 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control and mutilating the body of one were inaccurate.
Pakistan has said it is ready to take action against Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed but added that India should give 'concrete evidence' that stands 'legal scrutiny' and holds him responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi insisted that his country was committed to bringing the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice but could not give any specific time-frame for conclusion of the trial in the case as the judiciary acted independently
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who will hold talks with her Indian counterpart S M Krishna over the weekend, on Friday expressed hope that the two Asian neighbours would normalise relations.
It was good fortune for India to have Atal Bihari Vajpayee lead the government at a crucial moment in our history. He avoided India meeting the fate of Iraq or Ukraine, asserts military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In conversation with All-Party Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.
Pakistan's efforts for the peace process in Afghanistan would be remembered for long, he said.
Krishna was with Dr Singh for about 30 minutes during which he gave a detailed account of his talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said his country has done all it could to stop cross-border terrorism.
Surprised over reports that Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had invited him for tea at the Roosevelt Hotel, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has said that he never received any such invitation. "If he has invited me, then I don't know the mode of invitation through which it was conveyed to me, but let me be very honest that I have not received any invitation," Krishna told PTI.
"What bewilders me is the lack of realisation that durable peace in South Asia will remain elusive without a just solution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said at an Asia Society meeting in New York on Friday.
'Terrorism continues to be the overwhelming threat to security and stability in the SCO region and therefore Dr Jaishankar strongly pitched for 'collective action',' observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
With Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden remaining elusive, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmud Qureshi has said the United States may be aware of his whereabouts and asked American intelligence agencies to share any information they have on him. "US may be aware of the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden," Qureshi, currently on a visit to Washington, was quoted as saying. "If the US intelligence is that clear, they should share that intelligence with us," he said.
The landmark India-US civil nuclear deal of 2008, brokered during Manmohan Singh's tenure as Prime Minister, is seen as a crowning achievement in his foreign policy legacy. The agreement ended India's nuclear isolation, fostered a strategic partnership with the US, and opened doors to advanced technologies and defense cooperation. This historic deal also laid the groundwork for India's engagement with the global nuclear community.
"Do we control children and women in Srinagar and other parts of Kashmir so that they will come out and agitate? No we can't do that," Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi said.
With a deadly North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air raid sparking outrage in Pakistan, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said it was time for the country "to review its relations" while demanding "complete clarity" from the international community on Islamabad's sovereignty.
Last month, Pakistani authorities released 198 Indian fishermen, languishing in a prison in Karachi after arresting them for allegedly fishing illegally in the country's waters.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi was on Tuesday quoted as having linked the Samjhauta train blasts near Panipat in 2007 to the Mumbai terror attacks last November.According to the Dawn newspaper, Qureshi had told reporters in Multan that the Samjhauta Express incident and the Mumbai attacks were inter-connected and the probe could continue only if India responds to questions raised by Pakistan.
The United States has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, to India. The decision was announced by President Donald Trump during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House. India is currently working on the logistics of Rana's surrender and extradition, with several final steps to be completed before he is sent back to India. The joint statement issued by India and the US during Prime Minister Modi's visit reaffirmed their commitment to fighting terrorism and eliminating terrorist safe havens. The leaders also called on Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention center in Los Angeles. He is associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
Khan will remain in jail as he is convicted in many other cases.
The designation means that Pakistan will join an exclusive club of nations that are given preferential treatment by the US in areas of foreign aid and defence cooperation.
Pakistan is making efforts at multiple levels for the Taliban government to have a soft landing, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'By his words, actions, and body language during their joint press appearance wanted to convey his personal respect and, more broadly, his desire to work closely with India.'
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Sharif, 70, and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday filed their nomination papers for the post.
Islamabad also summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires here and issued a strongly worded condemnation of Iran's "violation of its airspace", the Foreign Office said.
Asked whether Islamabad was ready to postpone for sometime the expert-level talks slated for next week since the new government might seek some time, Kasuri said, 'We are realistic.'
Xu, 60, is expected to travel to New Delhi soon to take over his new posting.
A video shared by Qureshi's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Twitter shows plain-clothed men taking him away, with him waving at party workers before departing from the location where he was detained.
Xi Jinping will visit Pakistan this year after a cancelled a trip in 2014.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
TheWhat led to Pakistan not taking advantage of India's difficulty is the hold that the US has over the Pakistani ruling elite, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'India has no hesitation in condemning terrorism anywhere in the world including in Karachi'
A large group of protesters vandalized and set fire to the residence of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka during a live online address by his daughter and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The incident occurred as Hasina was delivering a speech organized by the Awami League's now disbanded student wing Chhatra League, calling upon the countrymen to resist the current regime.
Pakistan strongly condemns and rejects the announcements made by the Indian Government regarding Jammu and Kashmir, the statement said. "As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps," it said.
Putting the onus of resumption of dialogue on India, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said he was ready to meet his Indian counterpart S M Krishna anywhere at anytime and was even willing to fly back to New York on Thursday if he has time.
