'Imran had the misfortune to be in an age when there was a surfeit of mighty all-rounders.' 'Indians would not put him on a par with Kapil Dev or Vinoo Mankad,' points out Uddalok Bhattacharya.
In India, Sartaj Azizis respected as a man of grace, wit and patience. He is a wizened soldier of many diplomatic battles between the two neighbouring nations
'Steve was the foremost strategic analyst on South Asia,' remembers Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Kashmir has a deep resonance inside Pakistan and the tense situation in the Valley acts as bait and encourages radical elements 'to wage jihad to liberate fellow Muslims', says former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.
Pakistan cricket plunged into another match-fixing controversy with the former PCB chief Tauqir Zia claiming that six national team players were suspected by the ICC of rigging the Sydney Test early this year.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is mulling over approaching former speedster Shoaib Akhtar for the bowling consultant role as it continues its search for big names to mentor cricketers at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) Akhtar's name has come into consideration because of the unavailability of former pacer Aqib Javed, whose name was earlier finalized for the role.
"This farcical election is unacceptable to BNP," Zia told reporters just after midnight and claimed that she had evidence of rampant vote-rigging and that the high figures given by the Election Commission for voter turnout were false
The ruling Awami League-led grand alliance has won 288 seats in the 300-member Parliament, Election Commission secretary Helaluddin Ahmed said.
With former prime minister Khaleda Zia in detention over graft charges, her Bangladesh Nationalist Party has made a dramatic change in the top leadership by appointing former finance minister Saifur Rahman as the party's acting chairman.
Pakistan's hardline Islamist general Hamid Gul, known for nurturing militants in Kashmir and Punjab and Afghanistan during his stint as chief of the powerful ISI, has died following a brain haemorrhage.
Bilawal Bhutto's political inheritance is his biggest asset as well as the biggest liability as he tries to make his mark in Pakistan politics. Challenging the Taliban militants is part of that strategy, though it matches with his political ideology. Shahzad Raza profiles the son of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari.
Bangladesh's main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party's three top women leaders were arrested on the second day of the 'democracy march' on Monday, as clashes erupted inside the supreme court premises between pro- and anti-government lawyers.
"Pakistan Air Force continuously monitored the complete flight path of the flying object from its point of origin in Sirsa in India till its point of impact near Mian Channu and initiated requisite tactical actions in accordance with standard operating procedures," Pakistan Army spokesman Major General Babar Iftikhar said.
'The adversary will always exploit India's anti-national elements.'
Deputy superintendent of police Amanullah was among the 15 people killed in the incident
PCB chairman Tauqir Zia said he is disappointed and sad about the Pakistan captain's decision.
The Central Bureau of Investigation team probing DSP Zia-ul-Haq's murder case has written to the Uttar Pradesh government for removal of local police officers in Pratapgarh's Kunda circle stating that their presence might affect the investigation.
'Its internal economic rot and corrupt political elite have made the resurgent supremacy of the military establishment more invincible,' says Sunil Sethi.
'India can replicate what Pakistan did to Kulbhushan Jadhav should the need arise.' 'Hopefully, Pakistan will see reason before that transpires,' says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, former high commissioner to Pakistan.
Seven top leaders of Bangladesh's main opposition party Bangladesh Nationalist Party were arrested today during raids, prompting it to extend a 48-hour nationwide strike by one more day, defying premier Sheikh Hasina's appeal to shun violence.
The National Investigation Agency has, in separate incidents, arrested two individuals in connection with the Burdwan blast case. The first arrest was that of Suzena Begum, wife of key accused Sahanur Alam and the second person arrested was Zia-ul-Haque, wanted for indoctrinating youth in sectarian ideology.
Wife of slain Depuuty Superintendent of police Zia-Ul-Haq, who was shot dead in Pratapgarh on March 2, has joined as an officer on special duty, a post offered to her on compassionate grounds.
Just for a moment, says Kamaraj Gopalan, consider the possibility: Dawood Ibrahim captured a few days before the next general election. It would be Dr Singh and the Congress's Osama moment. What answer could Narendra Modi possibly have to that?
'Bolstering India's conventional military capability against China is in America's strategic interest,' says military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Under the more strident Modi version of Hindutva, Nehru has almost become a contemporary political figure.' 'The ruling party knows that without total erasure and distortion of Nehru, their fantasies will always be wobbly.'
A jihadist takeover in Pakistan -- which is a 'real possibility today'-- would have devastating consequences not only for the country but the entire world, and particularly for India, says Bruce Riedel in his new book.
Praising commando of Pakistan's Elite force Mumtaz Qadri for assassinating Punjab Governor Salaam Taseer, the Taliban warned that all those who opposed the blasphemy law would meet a similar fate.
The special court of Islamabad on December 17 last handed down the death penalty to 74-year-old Musharraf after six years of hearing the high-profile treason case against him. The case was filed by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government in 2013.
Defending his claim that Musharraf had met Chetia, Local Government Minister and ruling Awami League's general secretary Syed Ashraful Islam said, "We've the evidence. We've not made any statement without evidence. I am aware that no comment should be made about a president without any evidence."
'Gujaratis need not be ashamed of the lack of martial tradition.' 'They contribute to their country in other ways.' 'And, of course, they can also claim that while they may not have produced many martyrs, they produced the greatest one: Gandhi.'
The encounter broke out after three motorcycle-borne terrorists opened fire on CRPF personnel posted at a mobile checking unit in Shalteng in Parampora, officials said. The captured terrorist is Umar Fayyaz of the Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK), he said.
The Election Commission has so far announced 'unofficial' results of 295 seats of the 300-seat parliament saying, the Hasina's alliance won 258 seats while her archrival ex-premier Khaleda Zia's Bangladesh Nationalist Party-led four-party grouping won in 31 constituencies.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League-led grand alliance was clearly leading in early unofficial results of the landmark general elections, as the Awami League chief recorded landslide wins in two of the three constituencies from where she was contesting.
Hasina, the president of the Awami League, won the 11th parliamentary elections with a landslide victory even as the Opposition rejected the "farcical" polls marred by violence that claimed 17 lives, making it one of the deadliest polls in the country's history.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League-backed candidates on Tuesday overwhelmingly won the mayoral elections as Bangladesh witnessed its first polls under emergency rules ahead of the scheduled general elections set for December this year.
Former National Security Adviser of Pakistan Mahmud Ali Durrani, who was sacked after disclosing to media the Pakistani nationality of Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab, has said he had written authorisation from the prime minister to speak on the evolving situation in the wake of the 26/11 strikes.
A huge voter turnout of over 80 per cent on Monday marked Bangladesh's first general election in seven years, with Sheikh Hasina and Khaleda Zia appeared locked in a close race to reclaim power. Amid unprecedented security, Bangladeshis gave an overwhelming response to the landmark election, which was largely peaceful, paving the way for the impoverished country's return to democracy following two years of emergency rule.
Bangladesh's 'battling begums' are on a hectic last minute campaign trail, which will end at midnight on Saturday, as the country's goes for its first general elections in seven years on December 29. The elections are being held under unprecedented security measures with nearly 48,000 troops and more than 600,000 policemen deployed to guard the polling booths.
'The osmosis between Hinduism and Islam that really gave birth to the Hindustani or Indo-Islamic civilisation was due to the conversation between Muslim mystics and yogis.'
Former captain Abdul Majed was hanged for his involvement in the 1975 coup in which the country's founder Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was assassinated, nearly four-and-a-half decades after the high profile massacre.
