Decorated with a Vir Chakra for leading an attack that destroyed four tanks, Risaldar Ayub Khan shared a name with the Pakistani president who ordered the invasion of India in 1965. India's Ayub came from a family of soldiers and made his country proud.
World champions India, featuring a strong line-up of T20 stars, are set to face Pakistan in the men's gold-medal cricket clash at the Asian Games, a match where a silver medal would be considered a 'royal embarrassment' for India.
'Pakistan's army has got a streak of democracy. It is more democratic than the country.'
An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced 47 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and supporters to 10 years in prison for their involvement in vandalism and violence during a protest in May 2023.
'Munir is clearly insecure and hence he needs the prop of a field marshal.'
If General Asim Munir, Pakistan's new army chief, wants to help defuse the current polarised atmosphere and shepherd civilian politicians towards negotiations on an acceptable date for elections, he may need to distance himself from any perception of needless hostility to Imran Khan, explains Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
'If 138 soldiers have been given a gallantry award as 'shaheed' (by Pakistan) for Operation Sindoor, how many would have been the actual casualties. This decides who won.
All the behind the scenes drama and the between the lines intrigue from Pakistan, a day before the presidential poll.
The only element of surprise is, that for the first time, a person of the stature of a former President and Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan, has publicly admitted it.
The closed-door luncheon meeting came amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran with Trump exploring Washington's possible involvement.
'Munir hopes to solidify his hold on power.'
"The system will ensure that the martial law is never imposed again in the country," he said, while addressing a gathering at the Student Convention in Islamabad on Saturday.
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Field Marshal K M Cariappa Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh The three highest-ranking military heroes of the Indian Armed Forces. They were the rarest of the rare. The bravest of the brave.
What appeared to be a generous act of friendship was, in truth, a manoeuvre within a much larger strategic game. The United States used the 1962 war not just to aid India but to test how far it could be pulled into the Western fold, points out Dr Kumar.
'If the Trump administration could gain access to the nuclear weapons, they would be satisfied -- at least they could control them.'
There is a reason this 11 year phenomenon is a rule as much as it is an observation. It speaks to the nature of man and what humans are like, explains Aakar Patel.
United States President Donald Trump will host Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House on Wednesday.
The high point of the 19 Shastri months was the 22-day war that he fought against great odds and won in principle, even if military historians often call it a stalemate. Pakistan saw a great opportunity to conquer Kashmir and lost. It was the last time they had the relative strength militarily and diplomatically to take Kashmir. Shastri's resolve buried that dream forever, points out Shekhar Gupta.
In a statement after a meeting between Trump and Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir at the White House on Wednesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations -- the media wing of the Pakistan Army -- said they also discussed joint counterterrorism efforts.
10 Heroes of the 1965 War which ended on September 23 60 years ago.
But it is less adventurous. It seems, at last, that in its eighth decade, Pakistan has settled into being a parliamentary democracy just like Bangladesh has and like we have always been, observes Aakar Patel.
'What is required is to make Pakistan less war-like and more modest in its ambitions. To normalise with India and to reduce the State's fondness for religion.' 'It is pragmatism and not charisma that it required and it is by being boring and not heroic that this can be achieved.' 'This is the moment of realisation which brings the Pakistani leader into conflict with the army.' 'Imran Khan will learn the lesson in time,' says Aakar Patel.
The first on the list is Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, a Bengali politician from then East Pakistan who served as the fifth prime minister. He was arrested in January 1962 and put in jail on bogus charges of "anti-state activities". His actual crime was his refusal to support military ruler General Ayub Khan.
'Therefore, these people want Imran Khan out of the elections whenever it is held.' 'For this, he will have to be disqualified from contesting on the basis of cases against him, declaring that he is not sadiq (honest) and ameen (righteous).'
'What the long term repercussions of the Ayodhya judgment are will unfold in time.' 'And I hope the consequences are not going to be as damaging to us as they were to Pakistan,' says Aakar Patel.
But could the information in these declassified reports just be tales of fantasy?
India had better be prepared. Munir could be back at our throats soon, even within the next 12 months, warns Shekhar Gupta.
A large number of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf candidates had contested as independents after the ECP had snatched the former prime minister Imran Khan-led party of its iconic cricket bat symbol.
'New Delhi feels that given the internal dynamics in Pakistan and the overwhelming powers wielded by the army, one will have to wait for better times to see any meaningful progress in the India-Pakistan relationship,' says Ambassador G Parthasarthy.
Ayub Khan told foreign powers who wanted him to help India that the fact that Pakistan did not take advantage of India's vulnerability was a form of assistance and a sufficient gesture. This and more in veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar's latest book, Beyond the Lines: An Autobiography
Former Air Marshal Nur Khan accused former military ruler Ayub Khan and his generals of telling a 'big lie' to the nation by saying India had provoked the war.
Khan stated that an iron rod which was used on Pandit was found including his identity card and pistol.
Police officers and other officials in Pakistan's Punjab province have been suspended by chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi for leaking the suspected attacker's confessional video statement after the gun attack on former prime minister Imran Khan.
"Government has already directed an investigation. The army is doing an in-house verification on whether there is any authenticity or truth in the allegation," army chief General J J Singh said.
All Pakistani moves towards peace will be seen as tactical compromises, to be abandoned when the situation changes, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Glimpses into the life of Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, who at 31, is Pakistan's youngest first lady.
'Under the circumstances, this announcement may remain limited to bravado and little else, adding momentum to Imran's narrative of victimhood,' points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Why did Pakistan sign a cease-fire without acquiring Kashmir, which was the sole purpose of the 1965 War, asks Ahmad Faruqui.
'Even if it is difficult to replicate Bangladesh, India can cause sufficient turmoil in Pakistan to keep it off balance,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Shehbaz, 72, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 201 votes, 32 more than what was required to become leader of the House in the 336-member Parliament.
