Luckily for us, a Russia that is desperate to stay relevant in an emerging multipolar world finds in India a reliable geostrategic partner. The Russian proximity to India also keeps China from exploiting its economic dominance vis a vis Russia, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'If Washington has to balance Chinese power, she will have to turn to the third biggest power in the world which is India.' 'The United States and India will have to work together in order to keep Chinese ambitions in check.'
'He is intrigued by the intractability of Kashmir issue. With his interest in dealmaking and peacebrokering, he sees it as an exciting challenge to tackle.'
Pakistan's parliament has unanimously passed a resolution, condemning the alleged human rights violations in Kashmir.
Pakistan has said that the Kashmir dispute has international ramifications and rejected India's assertion that the ongoing strife there is an internal matter where Islamabad has no role to play and should have no role to play.
'There is a sense of realism in the Pakistan army that if they needled India during the Ladakh standoff, they would have seen a strong retaliation.' 'Pakistan was hoping that India would come out looking weaker in the region and get embarrassed, but that obviously has not happened.'
Many of the stories, the pictures going out of India worldwide lately with these provocative processions, taunting of Muslims, bulldozers targeting mostly their properties, the sweeping 'othering' of a community of 200 million are painting the front pages and TV screens in the democratic world. That is where most of the friends we covet lie. Soon enough, these will also make our vital friends among the Muslim nations, from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, uneasy. The best time for course correction is now, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The incident came to light when two members from the group of youths, who went hunting in the jungle, returned home and informed the families of the five that they were whisked away by the Chinese troops from Sera-7, an Army patrol zone located about 12 km further north of Nacho.
The five youths had gone missing on Friday from the Sino-Indian border in the Upper Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Needling India ahead of Narendra Modi's first visit to Jammu and Kashmir as Prime Minister, Pakistan on Thurday harped on Kashmir being a "disputed territory".
Five villagers from Nacho area of the district, who went for hunting in a jungle were allegedly kidnapped by the PLA.
Needling India, Pakistan on Thursday said that Kashmiri people were resolved to get their right to self-determination and New Delhi should read the 'writing on the wall.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during which he referred to raising of the Kashmir issue by his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif while implying that the global body was not the right forum to discuss it.
China on Tuesday unleashed a fresh attack on Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama and needled India over his forthcoming visit to Arunachal Pradesh, saying it was a 'separatist' action and an anti-China move. "We have expressed our grave concerns. We believe that this once again exposes the nature of the Dalai Lama as anti-China," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in Beijing. "We firmly oppose the visits of the Dalai Lama to the border regions," he said.
'The decision has been taken in view of the regional security environment.'
Sharif said Kashmiris were fighting for their right of self-determination and Pakistan would continue to support them.
The neighbouring nation also declared slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani as a martyr.
The stand by China spelt out by its foreign ministry insisting that it takes the 1959 line on perception of the LAC amid a nearly five-month-long border standoff in eastern Ladakh triggered a strong reaction from India.
Condoling the death of Junaid Akhnoon, Pakistan's foreign office claimed the incident was part of "continued Indian atrocities" in Kashmir. "The cold-blooded murder is the worst example of state terrorism of the Indian government and is indeed deplorable," it said in a press release.
The resolution expressed concerns over the detention of Hurriyat leaders and human rights activists and urged the Indian government to release them.
EAM also hit out at Pakistan for continuing to glorify terrorists belonging to proscribed terrorist organisations.
We dedicate this Eid to the supreme sacrifices of Kashmiri people and we will continue doing so till the Kashmir issue is not resolved according to their (Kashmiri people) wishes," Nawaz Sharif said.
India on Thursday lashed out at Pakistan for "inciting and supporting" terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
"The world's eye is on Kashmir and on Pakistan...I will be the ambassador who raises Kashmir's voice at every international forum," he said.
'Chinese government, people and the military were angry over India's dangerous move in Doklam'
'The problem with India and Pakistan can be solved by Pakistan by ceasing its support for Islamist terrorists operating in India, letting go of its baseless demands upon Kashmir, ceasing its support for terrorists attacking India assets in Afghanistan.'
Needling India yet again, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said he was "obliged" to become the voice of the "oppressed" people of Kashmir and would "leave no stone unturned" to make the world understand the "plight" of the people in the Valley.
The conference was attended by envoys of Pakistan posted at Washington, Beijing, New Delhi, Afghanistan, UN New York, UN Geneva, Vienna, Brussels and Moscow among others.
In a strong attack on Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his statements on Kashmir, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday told him that his dream of the state becoming a part of his country "will not be realised even at the end of eternity".
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday hit back at his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying poverty cannot be eradicated by "driving tanks on farmlands" and once again needled India by calling Hizbul commander Burhan Wani the "valiant son of Kashmir".
More than 2,000 activists of various religious and jihadi outfits in Pakistan on Wednesday protested against the visit of Home Minister Rajnath Singh, accusing him for the unrest in Kashmir.
'If India is already involved in helping the insurgents in Baluchistan and Karachi, as Pakistan says, it is but one step for New Delhi to bring Dawood or Hafiz Saeed into its sights,' says Amulya Ganguli.
'India-US relations seem to have soured when the US expected India to not only balance China in the Asia-Pacific, but also make concessions to Pakistan as a price for US technological help,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).