Pakistan has banned Indian-flagged ships from entering its ports with immediate effect after India imposed fresh punitive measures, including a ban on the import of goods and entry of Pakistani vessels into its ports, against Islamabad amid heightened tensions following the Pahalgam terror attack. The move comes after India announced a raft of punitive measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, shutting down of the only operational land border crossing at Attari, and downgrading of diplomatic ties following the terror attack. The Pakistan Army has also conducted a successful training launch of the Abdali Weapon System, a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 450 km, saying it was aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of troops and validating key technical parameters. India considers the test launch of the ballistic missile a "blatant" act of "provocation."
In a teleconference with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, who is presently on a visit to India, Omar said that the quality of Indo-Pak relations has great bearings on Jammu and Kashmir and its people as "they get positively or negatively impacted by the nature of the relations between the two neighbouring countries."
Govt unlikely to allow Indo-Pak cricket in Dubai
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday blamed his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh for lack of progress in Indo-Pak dialogue, saying that he was unable to stand the pressure inside and outside the Indian Parliament.
Strongly recommending the case of continued peace talks between India and Pakistan, the Barack Obama administration has said that a stable Indo-Pak relationship would benefit the world and the United States in particular and reiterated that Islamabad should address New Delhi's concern with regard to the 26/11 attacks."It is important for Pakistan and India to have a stable relationship," State Department spokesman P J Crowley said.
The development of the pitches has been undertaken by Adelaide Oval Turf Solutions, led by renowned Adelaide Oval head curator Damian Hough.
The former US secretary of state, who is here to attend the two-day conference on 'Peace dividend: Progress for India and South Asia', said she has had an "abiding interest" in Kashmir for her entire life.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao reviewed the progress of India-United States strategic dialogue with top Obama administration officials, including US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and briefed them on the recent Indo-Pak talks as well as New Delhi's view point on Afghanistan.
Bharatiya Janata Party activists on Sunday held a protest demonstration at Attari along Indo-Pak border in Amritsar against the Pakistani government over the death of Sarabjit Singh in a Lahore hospital following a murderous assault on him.
Dubbing many of the existing barriers in Indo-Pak trade as "meaningless", Communications and IT Minister Arun Shourie on Wednesday said that the potential for bilateral trade was tremendous.
India conveyed to Pakistan on Friday, that bilateral ties were under "considerable stress" due to terrorism emanating from its soil. In the second high-level meeting between the two countries, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna met his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on the sidelines of the G-8 Foreign ministers meeting in Trieste, Italy and reviewed the current status of Indo-Pak relations.
"We did note that while we recognise that Tibet is part of the People's Republic of China, the United States supports the early resumption of dialogue between the Dalai Lama's representatives and Beijing," Obama said after his meeting with Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing.
Both services have been suspended following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the deteriorating law and order situation in Pakistan.
Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday asked 'staunch Hindus and patriotic public' not to allow the ensuing Indo-Pak cricket matches in India, unless Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde withdraws his statement on 'forgetting the past' to play cricket with Pakistan.
Former captain Zaheer Abbas feels restoration of bilateral cricket ties with India would prove to be beneficial for Pakistan as presently India is in astronger position in world cricket.
Against the backdrop of Shiv Sena and right wing outfit Sri Ram Sene's threat to disrupt the Indo-Pak cricket series, City Police Commissioner Jyotiprakash Mirji on Saturday said tight security would be provided for the Twenty20 match at the Chinaswamy stadium in Bangalore on December 25.
Leading past and present cricketers from India and Pakistan are expected to play in the May 6 day-night match.
Almost all the leading newspapers reported little progress on the talks between New Delhi and Islamabad, that concluded with the signing of a key agreement for consular access to prisoners. In its front-page report, leading English daily the Dawn said that "Qureshi, Mukherjee made little progress -- Pakistan offers grand reconciliation."
Accusing "elements" in Pakistan for the suicide attack on Indian mission in Kabul, India Monday made it clear that the recent spate of terror attacks and ceasefire violations triggered from across the border have put the peace process "under stress". In some tough-talking, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon told his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir that these concerns of New Delhi must be addressed.
The Ministry maintained that the dialogue process hinges on January 6, 2004 commitment of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf not to permit any territory under Islamabad's control to be used to support terrorism against India.
CA's head of scheduling Peter Roach acknowledged said they are not averse to idea of hosting on tri-series ODI, involving India and Pakistan, like it happened back in 1999-2000 season, though he admitted that it will be difficult to squeeze in a series in an already choc-a-bloc calendar.
There is no sign of war in the border regions, a top Indian army officer said on Monday. "I see no war cloud in the Indo-Pak border regions," General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Army's Central Command Lt Gen J K Mohanty said in Bhubaneshwar. Ever since terrorists of Pakistani origin launched an attack at the heart of Mumbai, there has been fears of India going to war with Pakistan.
The unexpected 10-day break has left both the RCB and the KKR with different goals to achieve and common challenges to hurdle over.
In a veiled warning, the government on Wednesday asked all concerned to 'rise above narrow commercial interests' to ensure that Indian viewers get to watch the upcoming Indo-Pak cricket series.
Former India cricket captain Bishen Singh Bedi has extended his support to the revival of Indo-Pak cricketing ties, saying the sport should not be mixed with politics.
On the eve of the Diamond League in Doha, the two-time Olympic medallist and reigning world champion, sought to set the record straight when asked about his equation with Nadeem, who won the gold medal at the Paris Games last year.
The continuing freeze on Indo-Pak bilateral cricket is "frustrating", says Shoaib Akhtar but the former pacer does not agree with PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf's "politically incorrect" statement that the Indians are intimidated by the prospect of taking on an in-form Pakistan.
"Prime Minister Imran Khan will watch the Pakistan-India Asia Cup clash in Dubai on Wednesday, diplomatic sources said."
Indo-Pak bilateral cricket could be in for an early revival with PCB chief Ejaz Butt saying that the modalities of a possible series are being worked out with BCCI officials.
During the two-day meeting, New Delhi will convey strong concerns to Pakistan on stepped up cross border terrorism and seek assurance on the ground to dismantle terror infrastructure.
"Pakistan and India, I think, have come to a stage where we have realised that a military solution is no longer the answer. Therefore, we are moving towards peace."
It's a historical tie, we will benefit from India team's visit: Pakistan tennis fraternity
With Pakistan's trial of Mumbai attack suspects making little progress, efforts to revive the stalled Indo-Pak peace process failed to make much headway in 2010, a year which also saw Islamabad struggling to deal with a rising Taliban insurgency.
It was also agreed that while the anti-terrorism mechanism would meet on quarterly basis, any information which is required to be provided on priority basis would be immediately conveyed to the respective heads of the mechanism.
Shah admitted that the BJP may have suffered because of the statements made by some party leaders in the Delhi polls.
Reddy alleged that contracts worth thousands of crores were awarded to people close to Modi, who then purchased Rafale aircraft.
A top official of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) says he does not see any Indo-Pak bilateral series taking place next year owing to the strained relations between the two countries. Najam Sethi, who heads the PCB executive committee, said that it was highly unlikely Pakistan and India will play a bilateral series next year.
China and Pakistan are in a tight strategic alliance. India must deal with them one at a time, but be prepared in case they decide to collude, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The father of Murali Naik, a soldier from Andhra Pradesh who died during cross-border shelling in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch, said his son joined the Army despite his opposition as he wanted to serve the nation. Naik, a 23-year-old Agniveer, died in the line of duty on Friday. He was the primary breadwinner for his family, which has been living in Mumbai for the past 32 years. Naik's death has been mourned by politicians and officials, including Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
With uncertainty hanging over the resumption of Indo-Pak bilateral cricket ties later this year, PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan has said that they have an alternate plan in hand if the proposed series against the neighbours in the United Arab Emirates does not materialise.
