A sweet war is all set to erupt between India and Pakistan.
Manmohan Singh and Musharraf felt that what they were embarking upon, if successful, could lead to a future of boundless potential for the two countries and for the relationship that was hard to foresee from the prism of the existing situation and the historical position and orthodox ideas on both sides.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said a contact was established between India's NSA Ajit Doval and his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Janjua after recent tension between the two countries on the LoC.
Indian Army retaliated befittingly to the unprovoked ceasefire violations.
To be sure, Modi is no Vajpayee; at least that is the impression he gives. However, this doesn't mean that he will be looking for a fight. All it means is that if Pakistan seeks a fight, he will not back down. What it also means is that the pusillanimous approach of the previous governments to ceaseless provocations from Pakistan will probably change, says Sushant Sareen.
The second point on the LoC was opened on Wednesday.
Ban Ki-moon calls on the governments of India and Pakistan to address their "outstanding issues, including regarding Kashmir, peacefully through diplomacy and dialogue". The statement added that Ban's good offices are available to India and Pakistan, if "accepted by both sides".
'China is in the middle of a substantial expansion of its nuclear weapon arsenal, which satellite images indicate includes the construction of over 300 new missile silos,' SIPRI's statement noted.
Firing and mortar shelling from across the LoC was reported in the Nowshera sector of the district around 3.30 pm and at 5.30 pm, they said.
The Opposition MP pointed to a set of changes taking place in India that had caught the Congress and UPA government off guard, such as a shift from rural to urban.
All the three points were to open on Monday but opening the other two points were delayed due to non-completion of work.
Arrangements for initiating trade across Line of Control and its infrastructural logistics are being given final touches ahead of a formal announcement expected following the meeting between the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
China's highest ranking defence officer will visit India next month, the first such visit in a decade as the Chinese military seeks to expand relations with its Indian counterpart.
In 2020 India was compelled by China to change its national security strategy. From counter-insurgency, which the army has been focussed on for years, we shifted to conventional war, observes Aakar Patel.
Indian and Pakistan authorities are scheduled to hold a flag meeting on Wednesday afternoon in the wake of repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the international border.
India and Pakistan share a 3,323 km-long border, including the Line of Control in Jammu & Kashmir. But the only 2289.66km of it is properly demarcated as the international border.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says improving ties with India is "my favourite subject" even as he once again sought America's intervention in the Kashmir issue.
Constables Anand Oraon and Sunder Singh have been awarded the PMG for thwarting smuggling bids by armed smugglers along the India-Bangladesh international border in West Bengal.
To consider Pervez Musharraf a real force for peace is an absurdity, declares Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'We have worked to create road blocks in the path of those who thought that there was space for conventional war despite Pakistan's nuclear weapons.' 'Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme is not open-ended and aligned with India only.' 'In this unstable regional environment, one nuclear power is trying to teach lessons to another nuclear power through the medium of small arms and mortar shells on the Line of Control, and bluster.' 'A historic opportunity of a lifetime beckons the leaderships of India and Pakistan to grasp, sit together and explore the possibilities of conflict resolution.'
'It is for the first time in about five or six years that the LoC has been silent. That really bodes well for the future'
'Their deteriorating economic and international situation is also responsible for being more reasonable.'
The political-electoral calculus favours spending thousands of crores on vanity projects like Sardar Patel's statue and the Central Vista over building up our military to handle the confrontations and conflicts that loom large, points out Ajai Shukla.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has allocated a total of Rs 1,03,802.52 crore to the Central Armed Police Forces like the Border Security Force, Central Reserve Police Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police. The amount is an increase of 7.1 per cent from the last year when the forces got Rs 92,848.91 crore.
The chief of the army staff said that with one-third of the world in the Gulf region and elsewhere involved in some sort of conflict and war, "it is important that we keep the flames of fire away from our region."
An agreement between India and Pakistan, however tenuous, has its own meaning and impact. We have not heard the last word about the ceasefire agreement, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The BSF is also conducting joint patrolling with the army, the Central Reserve Police Force and police to thwart nefarious attempts of terrorists, Boora said.
There has always been a risk-taking edge to Imran Khan. Like him or hate him, it had to be someone like him to finally threaten to demolish the Pakistani establishment, explains Shekhar Gupta.
The capability of drones to evade radar, wreak devastation at strategic installations and transport weapons to terrorists has been a continuous concern for the country's security establishment, and in a maiden incident, these unmanned vehicles were used to strike an Indian Air Force base in Jammu on Sunday, officials said.
'The Chinese are only about 160-170 km behind.' 'It will not take much time for them to bring their troops back, considering that they have better infrastructure -- and the weather is now favourable.' 'They can move in much faster as the terrain favours them.'
This was the first time that sweets were exchanged between the two forces after the abrogation of Article 370 as the Pakistani side refused to continue with the custom, they said, adding after the developments of August 2019, the offer of exchanging sweets was made by the BSF but the Pakistani side did not reciprocate.
"I think it's absolutely essential for the two countries to be able to come together and seriously discuss their problems, and I think it's essential that human rights are fully respected in all territories that you mentioned," Guterres said during his press briefing on Thursday.
Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire on Sunday along the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir but there was no casualty.
'We can't be outliers. We can't be bystanders. We have to be players.' 'The Taliban also need India to balance the winners in this game.'
India have won the Asia Cup on seven occasions, Sri Lanka on five occasions, with Pakistan winning it twice.
Until last month more than two-thirds of the Indian Army was deployed against Pakistan. Of 14 army corps, just four-and-a-half faced China, while more than twice that number was ranged against Pakistan.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif sees his victory in Pakistan's election as a mandate for peace with India, saying an arms race between the two countries must end and they should settle their dispute over Kashmir.
Amid escalation of ceasefire violations along the LoC, Pakistan has accused India of rejecting its efforts to preserve tranquility at the border and asked India to give peace a chance by "restraining" its forces.
'No matter what Modi may boast about 'new India', the geopolitical reality is that India's stature diminishes when it needs a small country like Saudi Arabia under an autocratic ruler to help out with what is arguably one of the most critical templates of its diplomacy,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Tension prevailed on Friday along the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir where the army has been on a state of alert after repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops. "The borderline with Pakistan is tense. But the situation is under control (along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir)," an army official said on Friday.
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