Beyond assurances of support, the 100-plus delegations that congregated in Bonn failed to articulate anything particularly meaningful, says Amir Mir
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has conveyed to her German counterpart Guido Westerwelle Pakistan's decision not to participate in the Bonn Conference on Afghanistan to protest against a cross-border North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Khar informed Westerwelle of the Pakistan government's decision during a phone conversation on Friday night. She conveyed her appreciation for Germany's commitment to peace and stability in Afghan
Following appeals from the United States and Afghanistan, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday said the country cannot attend the crucial Bonn meet on the future of Afghanistan if Islamabad did not receive assurances from the world community about its security and sovereignty.
Pakistan boycotted the Bonn Conference to emphasise to the world community the importance of its sovereignty even though it wants peace and stability in Afghanistan, Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said on Monday.
The Taliban were ready to start formal talks with NATO after the Bonn conference. Taliban representatives were given an assurance that they would be permitted to establish a diplomatic office in a Muslim country other than Pakistan.
Diplomatic circles in the US were expecting "low-level participation" by Pakistan in the crucial conference beginning on Monday in the German city, Dawn News channel reported, quoting its sources.
Hinting at Pakistan, India on Monday said terrorism emanating from outside Afghan borders posed potent threat to Afghanistan and warned that the war-torn country could "slip back" by interference in its internal affairs.
'Their offices are in Pakistan. Some of their hideouts are in Pakistan,' says Afghan envoy Masood Khalili.
The White House has once again asked Pakistan to attend the upcoming crucial international meet on Afghanistan in Bonn.
India sought global support for bringing down the cost of renewable power.
The road ahead will be long and winding and much resistance can be expected from the high-flying 'hawks' in our skies. But that should not deter the policymakers from planning a road map with the 'big picture' in mind, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The text of the speech made by External Affairs Minister SM Krishna at the international Afghanistan conference in Bonn
Ignoring fresh calls from the United States, Pakistan on Friday said it will not budge from its decision to boycott a key conference on Afghanistan's future in Bonn next week in the wake of a cross-border NATO air strike that killed its 24 soldiers.
Diplomatic row erupts after co-chairs hold talks minus developing nations; third draft of Paris climate change agreement emerges at Bonn
Interacting with media persons on the sidelines of the international conference on the future of Afghanistan at Bonn, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna observed that infiltration poses a threat to that country's economy and development.
United Nations Chief Ban Ki-Moon has called on Afghanistan's neighbours, Iran and Pakistan to help the country tackle threats of terrorism and drug trafficking in its transition to stability, saying their cooperation is "indispensable" to the country's peace.
The United States asked Pakistan to reconsider its decision to boycott an international conference on Afghanistan in Bonn next week, saying it is in Islamabad's interest and that its participation was "very important" for the future of the war-torn country.
There is no way the Copenhagen Accord can be billed as a climate change agreement. It is simply an agreement to legitimise the right to pollute.
Asserting that there was growing scourge of terrorism in view of fast growing linkages of terrorist groups across the globe, India on Tuesday strongly advocated stepped up cooperation through intelligence exchange and training with 54 African countries.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday inaugurated a memorial in London dedicated to Dr B R Ambedkar over two months after India acquired the bungalow where the Dalit icon and architect of India's Constitution lived as a student in the 1920s.
The need of the hour is to strike a balance between the capability of the conventional and the prospect of the renewable to give a realistic shape to the Prime Minister's vision, says Rajiv Mishra.
United States Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins, who was in New Delhi on Thursday said in an interaction with the press that improvement in Indo-Pak ties will automatically improve the situation in Afghanistan, even as he discussed the current state of play in US-Afghan relations and attempts to work towards reconciliation with top officials.
Rediff.com reproduces the translation of the remarks made by President Ashraf Ghani at a press conference.
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