Twenty-six foreign leaders, including Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un, will attend China's V-Day commemorations on September 3. Japan has expressed concerns about the event's anti-Japanese overtones.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke with President Donald Trump and set the record straight that India had paused strikes on Pakistan during Operation Sindoor following a request from Islamabad and not due to mediation or offer of a trade deal by the United States.
The foreign ministry's statement came amidst the reported visit of Foreign Minister Sun Weidong to Pakistan on a mediation mission.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to review bilateral relations and reaffirm their commitment to strengthening their strategic partnership. The two leaders discussed joint ventures and enhanced bilateral investment in key sectors, aiming to achieve a $5 billion annual bilateral trade target. They also expressed gratitude for mutual support during recent tensions with India. The meeting was described as "warm and most cordial," highlighting the deep-rooted historical ties between Pakistan and Turkey.
While sources in Iran confirmed the dispute, officials of the central banks of both countries are set to meet on Friday.
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Tuesday denied any differences within the government on the $4.16-billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline and said New Delhi was going ahead with the project as scheduled.
The blame must be shared by the investigating agencies, the government of the day and the nation at large, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Differences over the price of natural gas to be imported through the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline persisted on Friday, but the three countries agreed to appoint an international consultant to look into the issue.
Iran has offered to help India meet its energy needs by relaunching rupee-rial trade for export of oil and gas, said Iranian ambassador to India Ali Chegeni. Chegeni said if both the countries resume rupee-rial trade, bilateral trade can touch $30 billion. Iran used to be India's second largest oil supplier but New Delhi had to halt imports after the former US president Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran and re-imposed sanctions on its oil exports.
Pakistan and Iran are holding three-day talks in Islamabad on the multi-billion dollar Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project though India is not participating in the parleys as differences on some key issues remain to be settled.
With External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee set to visit Iran on February 6, there will be more than one pair of eyes watching the visit closely.
Iran's energy counsellor in India Ainollah Souri says that Iran will send its gas all over the world, and it is up to India to decide whether it wants a share of it.
Talks on the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project are in the final stage where the technical aspects are being looked into, according to Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Reza Kasai'i Zadeh.
The directive from 'above' has come to the petroleum ministry on the eve of the departure of the Indian delegation to Tehran for a decisive last round of the trilateral negotiations scheduled to be held there later this week.
A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the richter scale rocked the Iran-Pakistan border on Tuesday, tremors of which were experienced in North India, including New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab and Gujarat.
India has slipped two places on the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap index to 129th place, while Iceland retained its top position in the rankings published on Wednesday. Within South Asia, India was ranked fifth after Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, while Pakistan was ranked last. Globally, Sudan was ranked last on the index of 146 countries, while Pakistan slipped three places to 145th.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora after a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Gholam Hosein Nozari for talks on the $7.5 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project said there were 'some minor problems' which have been sorted out.
Iran may put the $22 billion deal to sell liquefied natural gas to India on the backburner as New Delhi refuses to re-open the contract sealed two years ago, according to an assessment by the petroleum ministry.
In a new twist to negotiations on the much-delayed Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline, Tehran wants legal immunity in case of armed conflict disrupting natural gas supplies through the proposed line.
'The bigger challenge and dilemma for Pakistan would be if the US and Saudi Arabia go full throttle against Iran and enforce regime change in Tehran.' 'That would be bad news for Pakistan, especially with the current instability in Balochistan,' notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
Pakistan will go ahead with the multi-billion-dollar pipeline Iran-Pakistan-India project to carry Iranian gas even if India decides not to join it, President Pervez Musharraf has said.
'I said, fellas, come on, let's make a deal, let's do some trading, let's not trade nuclear missiles, let's trade the things that you make so beautifully, and they both have very powerful leaders, very strong leaders, smart leaders, and it all stopped.'
'Victims of terrorism do not sit together with its perpetrators to discuss terrorism.'
Pakistan says it will go with the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline despite skepticism over the project from the United States.
A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the richter scale rocked the Iran-Pakistan border on Tuesday, tremors of which were experienced in North India, including New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab.
Besides other issues, lack of pact between India and Pakistan on the price of the gas led to the delay in the project.
A major earthquake measuring 7.8 on the richter scale rocked the Iran-Pakistan border on Tuesday, tremors of which were experienced in North India, including New Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan and Punjab.
The Indian men's kabaddi team thrashed arch-rival Pakistan 61-14 on Friday to storm into the final of the Asian Games.
'...rectification has to happen then and there, and that takes additional time.'
It is the first time in nearly nine years that India's foreign minister travelled to Pakistan even as the ties between the two neighbours remained tense over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
'The struggle of insurgents and pro-independence political activists is fuelled by a deep conviction that not only is a free Balochistan possible, but they also believe that Pakistan will inevitably break apart, leading to Balochistan's independence.'
Opposing India's continued interest in the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project, an influential US lawmaker Gary Ackerman wants New Delhi to do more than "just implement the United Nations approved sanctions" to "isolate" Tehran on its nuclear programme.
'They should come to Pakistan. It's not fair that they do not come to Pakistan. The Indian team is much better than us. We have a beautiful hotel just across the stadium. If Indians come it will send a good message that we are good neighbours.'
'By annoying the Arabs and cozying up to Iran, Pakistan may end up losing Arab economic support, annoying the Americans and increase Shia-Sunni tensions domestically,' Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) points out.
On July 2 or July 6, the Dalai Lama will reveal his mind on his successor. This makes Beijing extremely nervous as the Communist regime fully realises the importance of controlling the next Dalai Lama, points out Claude Arpi.
