It will be for the first time in nearly nine years India's external affairs minister will travel to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained frosty over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
"The holy water of the Sharda Kund at the Sharda Peeth PoK was collected by Tanveer Ahmed and his team. Our civil society member across the LoC (Line of Control) carried it to Islamabad, wherefrom it was sent to his daughter Maghribi in the UK.
In an interaction with a group of Indian journalists, the three-time prime minister and president of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-N described Jaishankar's visit as a "good opening" and said both sides should now engage and move forward.
'Commission is of the considered view that in this matter no such violation of the extant advisories/provisions is attracted'
India's doctrinal policy shift in combating terror by carrying out the Balakot air strikes inside Pakistan, appointment of a Chief of Defence Staff and hastening work on military modernisation marked a new beginning in 2019 in dealing with complex security challenges.
India failed to extract the 'price' from Pakistan for its Kargil misadventure.
The price could have been military in terms of loss of territory/soldiers/equipment or destruction of terrorist training infrastructure. Giving a 'face saving' option to Pakistan proved disastrous for the future, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Crucial intelligence was obtained by a R&AW operative from a couple of moles inside the camps four days before the Balakot operation.'
It seems in the geopolitics of the 21st century, we can see the subcontinent acting as one geopolitical entity to secure its economic interests. Key to this transformation is a strong India that is pre-eminent but not dominant, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The government on Thursday reappointed former IPS officer Ajit Doval as the National Security Adviser (NSA), according to an official order.
The speech he gave in which he accused the Congress of getting black money in tempos from Ambani and Adani is remarkable.' 'It is a self-goal for sure, but indicates someone who has lost control, someone who is rattled.'
The infiltration bid was scuttled in Balakot sector on Saturday evening and a massive search operation is still underway, the spokesman said.
The order, a "negative" overall, will be a short term positive for corporate focused state-run and private lenders because of the possibility of delaying incremental stressed asset recognition.
The defence minister, however, said the matter is under the domain of the Union home ministry and it will take appropriate decisions.
Describing India as a voice of the 'Global South' (comprising about 125 countries), he said the countries of the Global South trust India to take up their cause and positions in the world.
Pakistan may want to undertake a 'false flag' operation in J&K to divert attention from the situation in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but infiltrating one SSG battalion into J&K and having two SSG battalions waiting to follow suit means war, which Pakistan cannot afford in its current economic crisis, notes Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
The finance minister continues to be backed by the same policy team in charting out the broad strategy as in the few earlier Budgets.
At the same time, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said it is a matter between Iran and Pakistan.
'For Pakistan, the comfortable old calculations and certainties are no longer valid.' 'Strikes on Indian targets now carry a high risk of retaliation and escalation,' notes Ajai Shukla.
From Vijay Devarakonda to Kung Fu Panda, Sukanya Verma lists everything you can watch on OTT this week.
The infiltrator was challenged by the troops guarding the Balakote sector in Mendhar sub division when he was trying to sneak into this side from across the border, the officials said.
Patriotism, politics, pain, it's all there on OTT this week.
The exchange of the list took place under the provisions of an agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations and facilities, the ministry of external affairs said.
The depiction of screechy jingoism within India-Pakistan dynamic is still a wet dream for Bollywood film-makers, observes Mayur Sanap.
The ISI was taking no chances and wanted no repeat of Pulwama; it wanted to make it clear at a political level it was not involved with the revenge attack being planned, but was only giving India a friendly tip-off. A stunning excerpt from Ambassador Ajay Bisaria's Anger Management: The Troubled Diplomatic Relationship between India and Pakistan.
'The West has always opposed a strong nationalist leader in India and Narendra Modi is no exception.' 'The West prefers weak leaders who are amenable to Western pressure and Mr Modi's independent stance is not to the liking of the West,' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Not only is there a possibility for a conventional retaliation by Pakistan, there could also be terror attacks.
If the Congress reached 90, it would have a pretty good chance of holding the BJP below the 272 mark. A hundred seats will rock national politics, argues Shekhar Gupta.
'Elections and audience interest in specific movies are often independent factors.'
Considered a neighbourhood specialist, Ravi Sinha has worked extensively in Jammu and Kashmir, the North East and other countries.
2019 was the Bharatiya Janata Party's breakout year, when it stretched the boundaries of what was thought possible and ended up with 303 seats on its own steam. Now it is forced to play defence, on a pitch queered by too many variables, asserts Prem Panicker.
Despite the chill in bilateral ties, Pakistan's media on Thursday gave front-page coverage to India's historic moon landing while a former minister even called it a 'great moment' for Indian Space Research Organisation.
Indians must remember that Pakistanis hate losing to India, at war or in cricket, says Sanjeev Nayyar.
Fighter's distressing lack of thrills and sizzle reduces the exercise to an excuse for tedious amounts of Pakistan bashing, observes Sukanya Verma.
A general court martial (GCM) instituted by the Indian Air Force has ordered the sacking of a group captain for the crash of an Mi-17 V5 helicopter in Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir after it was hit by a missile on February 27, 2019, official sources said on Tuesday.
A ruckus followed as BJP MLAs took a strong exception to the statement.
Security and defence experts have called for immediate strengthening of the security management and intelligence network along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu region, which witnessed the killing of 59 people, including 24 security personnel and 28 terrorists, in terror incidents this year.
The Tridents squadron which is now also known as the "Defender of the North" has replaced the MiG-21 squadron at the Srinagar air base which has traditionally been responsible for taking care of the threat from Pakistan.
A step away from nuclear weapons being used in conflicts, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'We should not underestimate the power of Hindutva.'
The minister asserted that India has taken major action against terrorism under the Modi government and referred to the surgical strikes carried out across the Line of Control (LoC) in 2016 and the Balakot air strike in 2019.
