Thimpu apparently didn't think it necessary to take Delhi into confidence. Bhutan is loathe to getting dragged into the geopolitical rivalry between India and China. And for Beijing, this was too good an opportunity to be missed to thumb its nose at the powers-that-be in Delhi, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'While the US-Pakistan relationship has been stabilised, it's still mired in uncertainty.'
It currently has between 140 and 150 nuclear weapons in its control and stockpiled around 200 to 300 kilogram of plutonium.
'There is an understanding between the people of two countries that violence is not going to solve the Kashmir issue. A final understanding will take time,' says former national security adviser Brajesh Mishra.
'China was a relationship from which Mr Modi had expected the most it seems.' 'It showed in a string of summits, and somewhat breathless celebration of Xi Jinping.' 'It was hasty and simplistic,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to comorbidities.
'China's growing nexus with Pakistan and the two countries' unresolved territorial disputes with India continue to pose a formidable national security threat to India,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
"Sport is such a huge part of English culture, and getting behind teams in World Cups is certainly something I know happens a lot in England. Even though we're on the other side of the world, you can certainly feel that support," Buttler said on the eve of the final against Pakistan.
A full membership of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation could be counterproductive for India as there is little compatibility between our internal security concerns and interests and those of China and Pakistan. B Raman analyses
'Foreign ministry sources in Delhi discount the official version of the story, in which Modi made an impromptu request to stop over at Lahore, during the course of a birthday telephone call to Nawaz Sharif. In fact, this stopover had been carefully considered in Delhi, as a way to galvanise the peace process further.'
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The ordinance was launched to implement the verdict of the ICJ which asked Pakistan to provide effective review of the sentence given to Jadhav my a military court. Jadhav, the 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of 'espionage and terrorism' in April 2017.
Hours after the multi-lateral conference began in Moscow, India made it clear that its participation was in sync with its Afghan policy and asserted that attending the meeting was not talking to the Taliban at all.
The Modi government caved in under American pressure without even token resistance. Two countries similarly placed as India with high dependence on Iranian oil -- China and Turkey -- have shown the grit to stand up to Washington, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The order was issued a day after Shehbaz held a telephonic conversation with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and among other issues also discussed the issue of security of Chinese in Pakistan.
Unless the Taliban goofs up in a big way, which seems highly unlikely, we are looking at a regime that will be around for quite a long while and present a level of governance that the puppets of the richest and most advanced countries failed to provide, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'If the Russian forces do capture Kyiv and set up some sort of provisional government, they might run into an insurgency, for which the geography is just right, it could prove costly for them.' 'In that event, the whole exercise could turn out to be counter-productive -- and costly in both foreign policy and domestic terms.'
The United States, which spends billions monitoring adversaries like Al Qaeda, North Korea and Iran, pays an equal amount of attention on ally Pakistan and has ramped up surveillance of its nuclear arms, according to a report.
India and Pakistan have rejected the gas import price worked out by a consultant appointed by Iran as part of the over $7 billion tri-nation pipeline project.
Shehbaz, the younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, received 174 votes -- two more than the simple majority of 172.
"We need to make sure that the Iran pipleline project is economically viable. This project has a life of 40 years," Menon tol the media in Delhi. Menon confirmed that India was trying to re-negotiate the Liquefied Natural Gas project with Iran. The deal was first made in 2005, but India feels there could be renegotiation.
India and Pakistan's admission to the Beijing-backed Shanghai Cooperation Organisation will be formalised at the grouping's summit in Kazakhstan next week, China said on Thursday.
'The hardliners in Delhi are in for a big disappointment,' predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Given all the turbulence created by Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi's unexpected tirade against Saudi Arabia, it is likely to be business as usual between the two countries, albeit with a bit of caution on the part of both, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Pakistan sees it as a 'stand-alone' project, while India sees it as part of a broader economic interaction.
The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, introduced by Pakistan's ambassador Munir Akram under agenda item culture of peace, to proclaim March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
Learning perhaps from the Kargil debacle, Musharraf tried hard to evolve as a statesman in his dealings with India, recalls Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
Pakistan has decided not to give any guarantee for uninterrupted gas supplies to India through a proposed multi-billion dollar pipeline from Iran, a media report said.
The Indian side expressed readiness to provide extensive humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, Mujahid was quoted as saying by Afghanistan's Tolo News.
No nation is fully sovereign to do what it wants to do in the face of opposition from others, points out Aakar Patel.
If the Congress decides in favour of mid-term polls, a visit to Pakistan by the prime minister could prove unwise and counter-productive, says B Raman
Gunmen on Wednesday shot dead six guards protecting a Spanish round-the-world cyclist in a violent and remote area of western Pakistan where a bus bomb killed 24 Shi'ite pilgrims a day earlier, police said.
"Cargo originating from some cities in India, Qatar, Pakistan, Iran, Bangladesh, Thailand, the Maldives, Sudan and Libya will have to be re-screened after arriving in Britain before being loaded onto onward flights," Britain's Transport Secretary Philip Hammond told newsmen.
The reduction of tension on the Chinese border may have reduced the urgency of a Biden-Modi meeting, but the sooner Modi starts a bromance with Biden the better as he had done with Obama and Trump, suggests Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'If there's one administration that would be likely to put the squeeze on Pakistan, it's the Trump administration.' 'This is an administration that views terrorists as a black and white issue (kill them all, no questions asked), and will have little patience for Pakistan's selective policy toward terrorism.'
India is apprehensive about the Taliban's return as it would mean loss of access to Baluch rebels and help to the restive tribals of Waziristan. This would be a setback to the Indian strategy of returning the compliments of death by a thousand cuts to Pakistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'There is far more goodwill towards India from across the board in Afghanistan'
The plea involves 'egregious violation of Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 by Pakistan.'
As per RDIF, Sputnik V has a number of key advantages, including that there are no strong allergies caused by Sputnik V.
'Traditionally, the US tried to tamp down tensions whenever a crisis situation arose and deputed officials from Washington to travel to Delhi to counsel restraint.' 'This time around, no US envoy flew down to Delhi -- not even when tensions spiked and a flashpoint was reached last week,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
