India is one of the few countries in the region that enjoys good relations with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, and IMEC would allow it to recreate the old Spice Route to Europe. All this is in jeopardy now, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
'An area of land has already been earmarked for their protected habitation.' 'There are also steps being taken to take care of the coral zone and mangroves.'
JNPT, the country's largest container port at Navi Mumbai, and Kandla in Gujarat's Kutch, the largest port by total cargo, will come together to form a Special Purpose Vehicle to operate the terminal at Chabahar, under a revenue-share agreement with the Port and Maritime Organisation, Iran.
PM Modi and Rouhani inked nine pacts including a lease contract for a part of Chabahar port's operation for 18 months.
Developing the Chabahar port in Iran addresses India's geopolitical as well as economic challenges, says Jyoti Malhotra
India's involvement in the port development was not strictly under the international sanctions that had been imposed on Iran.
Trump had accused Pakistan of providing safe havens to terrorists.
The Chabahar port, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, 'can be the first significant footfall in an Indian variant of the 'Belt and Road' initiative.'
Pakistan had first offered the consular access to Jadhav on August 2 but India had insisted that the consular access should be 'effective and unhindered'.
Indian Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla said India has stopped importing oil from Iran after the United States refused to extend exemption from sanctions earlier this month.
US Senators want Obama administration to clarify what India's 12 agreements with Iran are all about.
'As far as acquisition of Russian equipment is concerned, with about 70% of Indian military equipment being of Russian origin, a sudden decision to abandon imports from Russia is not feasible,' points out Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Two projects in Iran, which India is to execute involving major financial commitments on its part, are of particular significance for Indian steel.
'Tehran senses that the Modi government is inexorably gravitating toward the US-Israeli-Saudi axis, jettisoning India's traditional independent Gulf policies,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The US has told India and other countries to cut oil imports from Iran to 'zero' by November 4 or face sanctions.
India has experienced hands and will emerge with flying colours, declares Inspector General Gurdip Singh Uban (retd).
Chinese media on Wednesday criticised the western media for attempting to drive a "wedge" between India and China.
India and five Central Asian countries on Thursday decided to establish a joint working group on Afghanistan at the senior officials' level, ministry of external affairs secretary (West) Reenat Sandhu said.
Juster said it is not related to India signing the S-400 deal with Russia.
India is monitoring the situation very closely and will see how it develops in the next few days.
India, the world's third biggest oil consumer, meets more than 80 per cent of its oil needs through imports.
'It was always anticipated that the return of the Taliban would embolden armed Islamists including anti-India groups like the Lashkar and Jaish.'
Afghanistan is learnt to have sought enhanced supply of military hardware from India.
The trilateral alliance between India, Afghanistan and Iran on the strategic Chabahar port is a security threat to Pakistan, defence experts in Islamabad have said and asked the government to use diplomatic manoeuvres to avert falling into an "abyss of isolation".
A Chinese vessel was hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Oman on Friday. The cargo ship belonging to a Nanjing company was hijacked at about 9:30 am local time (1030 IST) in the Sea of Oman near the Iranian port Chabahar, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Rouhani said people who think Islam is a religion of "violence and terrorism" are wrong in their assessment.
Like China, India too should connect the dots and move ahead with a long-term perspective in Afghanistan, advises Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Asserting that it will continue to engage Iran in bilateral economic activities, India on Thursday said any issue that Iran has with other parts of the world should not impede "legitimate economic interaction" of the two countries.
'Tehran,' Foreign Minister Zarif said, 'had expected the Modi government to be "more resilient" in the face of Washington's bullying,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for developing a template by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to effectively deal with the challenges of extremism and radicalisation.
Was the death sentence provoked by a retired Pakistani colonel going missing in Nepal, presumably abducted by Indian agents?
'Xi Jinping got a dose of Modi's medicine inside the tent where he was being hosted on the banks of the Sabarmati river.' 'Modi reportedly told him, looking deep into his eyes: "This was not expected of your country. Can you tell me when the troops are withdrawing?".'
The visit will provide thrust to expand bilateral cooperation
Beijing's political risks are also escalating because of a renewed wave of public anger in many parts of Balochistan against human rights abuses by Pakistani troops deployed to crush the low-intensity insurgency in the province, the report said.
'It is a testing time for our foreign policy which may involve a certain element of taking risks, assessing costs, and expecting failures,' asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Chances are any such disruption will not occur on the major shipping lanes but on some edge of the ocean between India and China. Even if there is no actual disruption, the costs of averting one can be punitive. The setting for this is provided by the energy shortage both countries face, says Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
The Indian intelligence brass may have snared a key Pakistani spy and Jadhav's arrest is Pakistan's way of getting even with India, says Rajeev Sharma.
Salve said it is important to be 'positive' after such a positive ruling.
The PM said that countries sponsoring, aiding and funding terrorism must be held accountable.
Modi and Ghani walked through the renovated heritage corridor before reaching Harmandir Sahib, popularly known as Golden Temple, where large number of people, waiting for hours, welcomed them.
