Pakistan on Saturday said dialogue was not a favour by one country to another but a necessity to normalise relations, remarks made in the backdrop of delay in foreign secretary-level talks with India which has made it clear that action on Pathankot terror strike takes the priority.
Rejecting India's stand that Jadhav was kidnapped from Iran, Basit said he was caught in Balochistan and tried for 'espionage and sabotage'.
In provocative remarks, Pakistan said it is dedicating its Independence Day to Kashmir's "freedom" and will continue to extend full diplomatic, political and moral support to the people of the state.
Ignoring India's opposition, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan will hold dialogue with Kashmiri separatists to take them into confidence before engaging in peace talks with India.
Chaudhry will hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar to review the status of bilateral ties and Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue, which is stagnant.
'If one puts the context of what Xi Jinping said at the UN about not wanting a 'hot or cold war with any country', one realises that his speech was quite bizarre.' 'The world does not expect such statements from China, a nation aspiring to be a superpower.
SAARC summit in Islamabad in jeopardy. A SAARC summit can only take place when leaders of all member countries are present, notes Rajeev Sharma.
Apart from India, Bangladesh and Bhutan have also pulled out of the SAARC Summit in Islamabad in November, saying the environment is not right for the successful holding of the meet.
Union Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh on Monday night said he was asked by the government to represent it at the Pakistan National Day reception at the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi.
Apart from GPS content, India has recovered a number of items that included communication matrix sheets and equipment, other made in Pakistan stuff like food, medicines and clothes, which were shown to Basit.
India on Friday blamed Pakistan for an Islamabad court ordering release of Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, saying Islamabad did not produce the evidence against him despite having enough of it.
S Jaishankar called Basit to his South Block office and lodged a strong protest over the issue as he made a specific reference to LeT terrorist and Pakistani national Bahadur Ali.
PAk's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Tehmina Janjua was the leading choice.
India on Friday made it clear to Pakistan that it should not go ahead with the meeting of its NSA Sartaz Aziz with Hurriyat representatives in New Delhi when he comes to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, saying it will not be "appropriate".
Basit also dwelt on the challenges faced by Pakistan on the economic front and its "fight" against terrorism.
Terming frequent violations of the ceasefire as a "matter of serious concern", Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday expressed hope that the Centre would reconsider its decision of cancelling talks with Pakistan in order to end the border hostilities.
India on Monday said there was 'no scope for misunderstanding or misrepresenting' its position
Pakistan higher commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Thursday said there is no disconnect between Pakistan government and its army, and urged people to listen to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who is desirous of improving and bettering India-Pakistan ties.
In a sharp reaction, India on Monday conveyed to Pakistan its "strong concern" at the lack of effective action by it in the case of Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, saying there seems to be no end in sight to that country remaining a safe haven for well-known terror groups.
Pakistan will "feel the pain" of "adventurism" if it persists with ceasefire violations, India warned today as it said the country now has "sword" along with "shield" which existed earlier.
In a surprise snub to Pakistan, hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani decided to "boycott" the Eid Milan being hosted by Pakistan high commissioner Abdul Basit in Delhi on July 21, making it the first time that he has turned down such an invite.
Leaders of Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan have also decided not to attend the summit, which now has to be cancelled as per the SAARC charter.
Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit on Wednesday hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to his country during the next SAARC meet would go beyond SAARC issues.
US Secretary of State John Kerry during his visit to Pakistan addressed the issue of terrorism and also called on both - India and Pakistan to find a diplomatic solution to the violence at the border issue.
'The purpose is not to jail him for kidnapping,' a Pakistani security official told Rediff.com, 'But we cannot let him go. We have to keep him behind bars one way or another.'
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday said people of India have not treated Hinduism as their fiefdom but as their heritage meant for the world and there is a greater need for people in the country to have knowledge of its roots than those abroad.
'Pakistan has responded with appropriate contempt -- hrowing our national dignity into the waste paper basket.'
Although it saw a veritable who's who of the Oppostion leadership, the Samajwadi Party stayed away from the Iftar dinner hosted by Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Monday.
Maintaining that India wants good relations with Pakistan, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said resumption of stalled talks with Islamabad was possible if there was an improvement in the situation.
Acting tough, India on Monday called off foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan next week and conveyed a blunt message that it was interfering in India's internal affairs by holding talks with Kashmiri separatists which was "unacceptable".
On reports about statement given by Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit on the incident, Rijiju said, "He has a habit of giving such statements and the whole world is watching. I don't want to make political statements...I think the Ministry of External Affairs and the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) may react to it."
The sudden arrest and immediate release of Kashmiri separatist leaders who are to meet Pakistan National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz introduced an intriguing element into the scheduled talks he will have with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on terror on next week.
This is the ninth consecutive day that Pakistan violated the ceasefire. There have been 41 violations of the ceasefire accord this year so far. There has been over 230 ceasefire violations along the Indo-Pakistan border this year.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice overnight by pounding civilian hamlets and Indian forward posts with 120 mm and 82 mm mortar bombs along the LoC in Poonch district, drawing retaliation from the Army.
The Pakistan men's cricket team arrived in Kolkata on Saturday evening for the ICC World Twenty20 after high drama over the last few days.
Pakistan has dropped plans to send Syed Ibne Abbas as the new high commissioner to India and instead replaced him with career diplomat Abdul Basit, a top Pakistani official said on Monday.
The MEA spokesperson said that New Delhi already received enough of trademark exports like 'international terrorism, cross-border infiltrators, weapons, narcotics and fake currency'.
Weakened by two fierce political opponents and the army in Pakistan, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's United Nations speech was to address his domestic audience.
A technical problem with an Air India Dreamliner from Kolkata led to an overnight ordeal for around 130 passengers who reached New Delhi after a 13 hour delay.
Despite the freeze on diplomatic ties between India and Pakistan and protests against the fair, traders at the recently concluded four-day Aalishan Pakistan exhibition did brisk business, reports Upasna Pandey.
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