Moni Chadha was with Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent. He counters colourful conspiracy theories with sobering facts.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expecting to play atleast six home and away Test series against India in the next eight-year FTP cycle between 2015 and 2023 which will also include an "off-shore" home series in the United Arab Emirates.
The frosty Indo-Pak ties briefly gave way to some warmth when a smiling Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Thursday shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, but India cautioned against reading too much into such "courtesies".
Sunil Gavaskar urged Imran Khan to take the necessary 'first step' towards improving ties with India.
Stepping up ceasefire violations, Pakistani Rangers on Friday night resorted to heavy mortar shelling and firing on 8 BSF posts along the Indo-Pak border in Samba and Kathua districts of Jammu and Kashmir, forcing a strong retaliation from the Indian side.
Talks between the two sides were last held in December, 2013, in Lahore.
Former opener Virender Sehwag feels India remain overwhelming favourites to win the World Twenty20 title and showered praise on Virat Kohli, saying that even his kids can't move away from the TV set when the batting star is at the crease. "I had picked India, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies before the start of the tournament. I still feel that way, with India winning the title 99 percent. Okay, they lost to New Zealand in Nagpur but the same thing happened in 2011 (when India lost to South Africa in Nagpur) and we went on to the win the World Cup," Sehwag told 'NDTV'. India's next match is against Bangladesh on March 23 and Sehwag sees the hosts winning it comfortably. Talking about India's win against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens, the former opener richly praised the team's batting mainstay Kohli. "The way Kohli is batting at the moment is amazing. It is difficult to take your eyes off the TV when he is batting. Even my kids want to see him bat," said Sehwag after being reminded of his witty one-liners while commentating on the Indo-Pak clash.
'I was merely trying to give a positive message to the rest of the world that we enjoy a lot when we play in India.'
PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said there have been incidents in India in recent months which pointed to Pakistan-specific threats one of them was the ICC's decision to pull out Pakistan umpire Aleem Dar midway during South Africa's tour of India last year and also the cancellations between PCB and BCCI officials in Mumbai.
A villager was injured as Pakistani Army violated the ceasefire four times overnight by pounding civilian hamlets and posts with 120 mm and 82 mm mortar bombs along the International Border and the Line of Control and LoC in Jammu and Poonch districts, drawing retaliation from the Army and BSF.
The state has witnessed a spurt in Pakistani shelling and firing along the IB and the Line of Control. Over 700 such incidents were reported this year, which have left more than 44 people, including 18 security personnel, dead and scores injured.
A cricketing rivalry that transcends beyond the realms of 22-yards will be reignited when India and Pakistan square off in a World Cup encounter that could have fascinating sub-plots with rain gods threatening an anti-climactic twist.
Pakistani rangers violated ceasefire on Thursday again by firing on 13 border outposts in Samba sector, drawing retaliation from the Border Security Force.
Indo-Pak tensions cast its shadow on the Mumbai International Film Festival with organisers on Monday dropping Pakistani film "Jago Hua Savera" in its retrospective section amid threats of protests at its screening.
Pakistan cricket community has ridiculed the statement given by the Board of Control for Cricket in India president Anurag Thakur, saying even when ties between the two countries were better India had avoided playing Pakistan in a bilateral series.
Major parties and leaders strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Uri.
"Virat is a fantastic human being and an ambassador of cricket for his country, just like I am for my country."
Worried over the "increased infiltration" this year in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday said Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed could be training terrorists on the other side of Indo-Pak border for infiltration.
Pakistani troops shelled mortars and opened heavy fire on 10 Border Out Posts along the International Border in Jammu and Kashmir, leaving two security personnel injured.
Meanwhile, Pakistan ready to play in India, says PCB chief
Following the terror strike in Pathankot, reactions poured in from across the spectrum.
Pakistan's long-serving Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who finally announced his retirement from Test cricket termed not leading the national team against India in a Test series will remain one of his biggest regrets.
The top posts on social media from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
Gokhale and Pompeo expressed satisfaction over the significant progress and the quality of the India-US Strategic Partnership
After a two-day lull, Pakistani troops violated the ceasefire twice on Sunday by resorting to heavy firing with automatic and small arms along International Border and Line of Control in Jammu and Poonch districts of Jammu and Kashmir, forcing Indian troops to retaliate.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon has expressed readiness to engage with India and Pakistan in resolving the Kashmir issue if requested by both and asked them to resume talks to reach an agreement that would serve their security interests as well as that of the region.
Top Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, were on Thursday put under house arrest only to be released within hours in actions that were linked to their proposed meeting with Pakistani National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz in Delhi on Sunday.
With Shanghai Cooperation Organisation set to admit India and Pakistan amid growing rancour over their Nuclear Supplies Group membership bid, a Chinese state-run daily expressed concern on Friday that the hostility between them may have a "negative effect" on the security grouping.
Seventy army installations, including camps, bunkers and posts, have been hit by the devastating floods in the Kashmir Valley but security forces have swiftly relocated the damaged and washed out posts to plug the gaps in the sensitive border areas.
'Shastri told General Chaudhuri, 'I want to reach Lahore before they enter Kashmir'.' 'Today, many regard this initiative of Shastri as the first surgical strike.' A revealing excerpt from Dr Sandeep Shastri's Lal Bahadur Shastri: Politics And Beyond.
"Our government has invariably made efforts to initiate the process of meaningful dialogue and adoption of peaceful means to resolve the issues but unfortunately the expansionist designs of India have remained the main hurdle in this regard," Abbasi said.
India has maintained there is no scope for a third party mediation.
'Overlying his idealism was a hatred of war and of all things military. He gave no deep thought to politico-military matters and this prevented him from making sound security decisions.'
Stepping up its attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue, Pakistan has written to the UN chief on the security situation along the LoC and the International Border with India and sought the world body's intervention in resolving the issue.
Jadhav was 'arrested' on March 3 last year by Pakistan security officials in Balochistan.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday hit back at his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, saying poverty cannot be eradicated by "driving tanks on farmlands" and once again needled India by calling Hizbul commander Burhan Wani the "valiant son of Kashmir".
In the frontier areas of Jammu district, the number of people staying in the safe camps has also dwindled as the people want to tend to their standing crops.
"India has no knowledge of Kulbhushan Jadhav's location and his condition. We are making all efforts to get him back but we can't reveal the steps that will be taken to achieve it," the MEA said.
Amid cross-border firing incidents and India's efforts to stop the ceasefire violations, Director General of Border Security Force D K Pathak on Tuesday said the Pakistani side was not cooperating to defuse the situation on the International Border.
Stone-pelting youth were not giving up their lives for tourism but for resolution of the Kashmir issue as per the wishes of its people, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah on Wednesday said.
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