Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will visit Afghanistan but the dates are yet to be worked out.
Cornered back home for his "man of peace" remarks about his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani at the ongoing SAARC summit in Maldives, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday went on the offensive stating that the ties between the two countries were far from normal.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has hailed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the decision to stick to the scheduled meeting with his Pakistan counterpart Nawaz Sharif, despite another attempt by militants to derail the talks through a fresh attack.
An eight-member delegation of the United Liberation Front of Asom, led by leader Arabind Rajkhowa, will call on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday. The ULFA delegation will brief Dr Singh about the on-going talks between the Centre and the militant outfit. ULFA leaders on Thursday met Home Minister P Chidambaram and Home Secretary G K Pillai in Delhi.He made it clear that the ULFA had no plans to contest the state assembly elections.
'Kashmir needs to be divided and we need the land of Panun Kashmir in Kashmir.'
The two leaders, while reviewing the progress of the ongoing peace process, are also believed to have discussed Siachen and Sir Creek.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, was the third American leader to visit India during which a village in Haryana was named Carterpuri in his honour.
"No, she will not make me the PM," was Dr Pranab Mukherjee's cryptic response in a reference to Sonia Gandhi when he was asked by his daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee about his chances of becoming the prime minister in 2004.
Six years after he made his first trip to Afghanistan as Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh on Thursday embarked on a two-day visit to Kabul during which he will discuss terrorism, regional development and ways to step up India's assistance to the war-torn country.
Launching cricket diplomacy to give a fresh impetus to bilateral ties, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday invited President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani to watch the India-Pakistan cricket encounter in Mohali on March 30 when he will also be present.
Dr Singh said he did not hanker after the post of the prime minister but it came to him.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's low-key visit to Kabul on Thursday is a visit for "reassurance", said a diplomat who is one of the most well informed officials on Afghanistan in New Delhi. "When PM Singh will meet Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai he is likely to say that India is a friend of Afghanistan and Indians are standing shoulder-to-shoulder in Afghan's endeavour for peace and development."
How will Dr Singh save his government? Tell us!
Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav on Monday claimed that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a "a nice man with no independence" to run his government the way he wanted to.
Praising Dr Singh as an "excellent economist", Zardari told the then National Security Advisor Gen (rtd) James Jones in a meeting in Islamabad on June 25, 2009 that the Indian Prime Minister was unaware of what it took to change the mindset of the Pakistani establishment.
Highly tilted trade relations in favour of Iran, supply of oil and gas and other key strategic bilateral and international issues, including Syria, are expected to dominate the meetings of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Tehran.
With the removal of Singh's SPG cover, the top notch security cover will now be given only to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Gandhi family -- Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her children, Rahul and Priyanka.
Eminent economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia was on Wednesday appointed deputy chairman of the Planning Commission.
Bangladesh's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party on Thursday called Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Dhaka visit largely "a failure" due to "weak diplomacy" of the Hasina government, while the mainstream media said the deferring of the Teesta water-sharing pact dealt a "severe blow" to bilateral ties.
Notwithstanding the chill in bilateral relations, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani have sent their New Year greetings to their Indian counterparts.Zardari and Gilani have sent their greetings to President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh through the Ministry of External Affairs, sources said on Wednesday.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said the 'wholesale attack on the democratic system' currently underway in India is the single biggest risk the country is facing, and asserted that allowing different traditions to thrive is very important as 'we cannot do what China does, which is to run an authoritarian system'. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: / Rediff.com Speaking at a seminar titled 'The Future is Today' at the EIA University in Medellin, Colombia, Gandhi also alleged that there are 'huge amounts of corruption at a centralised level' in India now. "In India, we have huge amounts of corruption now at a very centralised level. So, three or four businesses taking over the whole economy, having a direct relationship with the prime minister, is rampant in India," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha said. "But I believe decentralising power, making things more transparent, bringing people into conversations, and bringing people into processes is the best way forward," Gandhi said while addressing the seminar on Wednesday. Hitting back at the Congress leader for his remarks, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday accused Gandhi of insulting and degrading India on foreign soil. Posting a video clip of Gandhi's speech on X, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, 'Rahul Gandhi does it again, degrades India on foreign soil. From defaming our democracy in London, to mocking our institutions in the US, now in Colombia he spares no chance to insult Bharat globally.' 'This isn't dissent. It's disgrace to the fake Gandhi. Criticising BJP may be your right but dare you malign Mother India for your cheap and petty politics,' Bhatia said. Speaking at the seminar, Gandhi said India has a much more complex system as compared to China and its strengths are very different from that of the neighbouring country. India also has a very old spiritual tradition and a thought system with profound ideas that are useful in today's world, he said, adding that there is a lot that the country can offer in terms of tradition and way of thinking. "I am very optimistic about India, but at the same time, there are fault lines within the Indian structure. There are risks that India has to overcome. The single-biggest risk is the attack on democracy that is taking place in India," the Leader of Opposition said. "India has multiple religions, traditions and languages. India is actually a conversation between all its people. Different ideas, religions and traditions require space. The best method for creating that space is the democratic system," he said. "Currently, there is a wholesale attack on the democratic system in India, so that is a risk. The other big risk is different conceptions -- some 16-17 different languages, different religions... So, allowing these different traditions to thrive, and giving them space to express themselves is very important for a country like India.
'...still have lost the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but could have won 140 seats.'
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday night played host to his 'dear friend and mentor' Manmohan Singh at his official residence in Tokyo.
The dates for the visit will be decided by the two sides after diplomatic consultations. This was the first meeting between the two leaders after a long time and they reviewed bilateral relations, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai told reporters while briefing them about the meeting.
Advani held the RJD responsible for the ills plaguing Bihar.
'...as then it brings them closer to the complaints and grievances that the public faces.'
Declaring that he was ready for a decisive battle, Natwar said: "I am a man of strong nerves. I won't take things lying down."
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh spoke to mediapersons about a number of crucial issues after the G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh. Here is the transcript:
Prince Karim Al-Hussaini, Aga Khan IV, the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, passed away in Lisbon at the age of 88 on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.
The possibility of a meeting between United States President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during the G-20 Summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, is not being ruled out, days after the two leaders agreed to work together to address the faltering global economy and the painful Eurozone crisis.
'A nation that has no long-term strategic intent, and whose leaders can be easily manipulated through flattery, is a banana republic. Unlike China, which intends to rule the world, India, which can only imagine itself as a second-rate power, will remain one.'
Singh hosted a lunch in honour of Clinton, who is in New Delhi on a private visit.
How would P V Narasimha Rao, who brought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to politics, have dealt with the crises confronting the UPA government? Veteran political commentator Kalyani Shankar assesses Narasimha Rao's likely responses.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had promised an expansive ministerial reshuffle, but Tuesday's exercise gave an impression that either the United Progressive Alliance is paralysed or unwilling to go for a fundamental reform.
With a major earthquake measuring 6.8 on the richter scale rocking mountainous state of Sikkim, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday spoke to its chief minister Pawan Kumar Chamling and offered help in all possible ways, including availability of defence forces.
It is no longer about A Raja alone. It is not even truly about P Chidambaram. It is about rescuing Dr Manmohan Singh, says T V R Shenoy.
How can Prime Minister Manmohan Singh make his 80th birthday different? A babu from the national capital has a wishlist...
Dr Singh and Obama, who met on the sidelines of ASEAN and East Asia Summits, talked about strengthening the bonds of strategic ties put in place during the historic visit of the US President to India in November last year.
