The Taliban government in Afghanistan is not going anywhere. That being the case, why is the hesitation to establish formal diplomatic relations with the Taliban? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
Pakistan-India bilateral relations remained frozen for the fourth year over the vexed Kashmir issue but analysts hope the strained ties could be repaired if Nawaz Sharif becomes the prime minister for a record fourth time in the general elections in February in the absence of his main challenger Imran Khan who is in jail in multiple cases.
"We want Mahatma Gandhi's India, return of our identity and honour which was given to us by the Indian Constitution and I am sure they have to return it with interest as well," PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said.
The Eastern Command General Officer Commanding-in-Chief also said India is giving shelter to anyone from Myanmar seeking refuge, including common villagers, army or police, in Mizoram and Manipur, but not armed cadres of militant groups of drug traffickers.
"Make no mistake: this ban does not keep us safe. It puts American lives at risk while isolating the Muslim community at a time when we need to address the threat of homegrown extremism. No matter the changes, this executive action remains immoral and fundamentally un-American," California Senator Kamala Harris said.
Shah said police used force as the protesters indulged in violence, set blaze vehicles. He also said the NRC was not a religion-based exercise.
A team of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday held on-spot inquiries in Sandeshkhali to ascertain facts about alleged sexual abuse by some Trinamool Congress leaders even as fresh agitation rocked the trouble-torn village, where locals torched the property of accused Trinamool leaders and held demonstrations against the delay in arresting the main accused, Shahjahan Sheikh.
Skeletal remains of 80 bodies have been dug out of a mass grave in a former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam stronghold in Sri Lanka, fuelling speculation that the bodies are of Tamil civilians who disappeared during the war with the rebels.
'We are running out of food and water. There's no electricity either.'
'But he was very quick and did a very stylish adab.' 'Of course, I didn't expect him to hug.'
'With Punjab and Kashmir in flames, it would not have been politically wise to alienate the West.' 'It would have inclined Western countries towards Pakistan.' 'It would have been a self-goal.'
In his book Arun Bhatnagar, a retired IAS officer, makes a dig at Hardeep Singh Puri, former diplomat, Union minister and BJP nominee from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, for Rajiv's faulty Sri Lankan policy, writes Rasheed Kidwai.
The batch of five experts will also play a role as interpreters between India and China sides during border personnel meetings, sources said.
The Army on Monday commemorated the 75th anniversary of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers by paying homage to the fallen soldiers at the National War Memorial in New Delhi.
... while learning from past tech revolutions, suggests Ajit Balakrishnan.
Shailaja Teacher, arguably the most famous Covid warrior in India, versus former student leader Shafi Parambil who defeated 'Metro Man' E Sreedharan in the last assembly election. Shyam G Menon reports from the Vadakara Lok Sabha constituency, which some feel is the most politically important contest in Kerala this election.
In an address at an election rally in this southern-most part of Mizoram bordering Myanmar, Singh said violence is no solution to any problem and the two communities in Manipur must talk to each other to improve the situation in the troubled state.
A 243-strong contingent, which will be in the African nation for a year, was given a ceremonial flag-off by Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy.
It isn't that a person occupying high office has no right to do what he/she likes. For sure, they do; after all, they are human. But there are also things like priority, timing and sense of larger country. Sadly, we live in a world awash in tunnel vision, asserts Shyam G Menon.
'China is likely to help Pakistan in keeping the fire burning in J&K to bleed India for its own interests.' A fascinating excerpt from Lieutenant General K Himalay Singh's Making of a General: A Himalayan Echo.
Prime Minister Modi will be arriving in Cairo on Saturday evening at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. It will be the first bilateral visit by an Indian prime minister since 1997.
There is the problem of regions in the North East being theatre for power-play by nations with borders and influences converging in those parts, which in turn requires a sizable presence of the armed forces, notes Shyam G Menon.
Rijiju said the central government will rehabilitate all Indian citizens in the Naga group if they abjure violence.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said that India wants peace with China but that cannot come at the cost of honour.
Over 68,000 Army soldiers, around 90 tanks and other weapon systems were airlifted by the Indian Air Force to eastern Ladakh from across the country for rapid deployment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after the deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley, top sources in defence and security establishment said.
The government has adopted a multi-pronged approach involving the Army, the Indian Air Force and the Navy as well as diplomacy and economic measures to send out a firm and clear message to China that its misadventure in eastern Ladakh was not acceptable at all.
Captain Anshuman Singh sacrificed his life saving the men entrusted to his medical care in the highest traditions of doctors that serve in the military.
'Some of his decisions were not so good, but his intentions were always guided by a deep national interest.'
'The Indian battalion had played an important role in keeping the community safe as well as encouraging local peace efforts'
'It is not that I don't want to say "Jai Shri Ram".' I only said I will not say this slogan under any pressure.'
'Hatred increases with every killing.' 'It sets one family against another.' 'The sooner it is stopped, the better.'
The Pakistan Navy claimed in Islamabad that it used specialised skills to ward off the Indian submarine from entering Pakistani waters.
"Each violation of any kind must be responded to with full force in the most effective manner," he said during a visit to the 10 Corps Rawalpindi and troops at forward locations along the Line of Control.
Despite the national capital recording its best air quality on Diwali day in eight years, pollution levels may rise due to low night temperatures and sporadic burning of firecrackers though there is a ban on their manufacture, storage, sale and use within the city.
Scotland Yard's War Crimes Team, which is part of its Counter-Terrorism Command, has launched an investigation into the role of British mercenaries in fighting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in Sri Lanka during the 1980s.
The Delhi police arrested 14 people over the violence, including a 21-year-old man, who allegedly fired a bullet that hit a sub-inspector, officials said on Sunday.
The operation took place at a time when Punjab, which shares 553 km of international border with Pakistan has been seeing a huge influx of consignments of heroin, arms and ammunition through drones and other means.
Biden said over a year later Russian President Vladimir Putin has "failed and he continues to fail".
The external affairs minister said the broad principle around which his position would be constructed would be about the importance of maintaining peace and tranquility along the border for the overall development of ties which has been reflected in the last 30 years of the relationship.
Cardiologist Dr BK Goyal's greatest gift was that he gave his patients a calming reassurance their doctor truly cared for them, says family friend Gitanjali Gurbaxani.
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