China is now the most significant strategic concern in Washington, as in most of the world's capitals, especially the democracies. Today, strategic autonomy has acquired a sharper definition: To ward off the Chinese challenge to India's territorial integrity, sovereignty and regional stature, observes Shekhar Gupta.
The Saudi-Pakistan nuclear weapons cooperation is meant to sound alarm bells in Washington, reminding the Obama administration that its overtures to Iran would have serious negative consequences in terms of its ties with its closest allies in the region, says Ambassador Talmiz Ahmad. Exclusive to Rediff.com
Seeking a hat-trick of titles, India commence their campaign against Sri Lanka in the seventh junior men's Asia Cup hockey tournament, at Malacca, Malaysia, from May 3 to 13. India is placed in Group B along with arch-rivals Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China, while Group A comprises Korea, Malaysia, Japan and Iran.
Russia and China are tight-fisted and Iran is broke and none of them has the political will or capacity to bankroll the Afghan economy, which only the US can, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Iran last week said it will by October-end sign a pact with Pakistan to sell gas through a bilateral pipeline in the absence of India joining the Iran-Pakistan-India gas line.
'India alone cannot walk the path of peace. It also has to be Pakistan's journey to make,' says Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the government's geo-political flagship initiative "Raisina Dialogue-II".
'Of all of the branches and networks of ISIS, ISIS-K is certainly one of those of most concern.'
"We will decide a further course of action after receiving a detailed report from our Charge d' Affaires and determining the extent of conformity to the ICJ directives," said the MEA spokesperson.
How will the Modi Sarkar's likely return affect other nations?
India questioned the functioning of Pakistan's notorious military courts.
'The Chinese are only about 160-170 km behind.' 'It will not take much time for them to bring their troops back, considering that they have better infrastructure -- and the weather is now favourable.' 'They can move in much faster as the terrain favours them.'
It is time to throw an outer ring around India's national security by proactively engaging in areas immediately outside our neighbourhood. Such a ring will not only insulate India from emerging threats, but also create new leverage in securing our own neighbourhood, says Nitin Pai.
The US military efforts in Afghanistan were akin to filling a bucket that had gaping holes, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Pakistan's offer to normalise relations with India is an attempt to buy temporary peace due to its economic and politico-strategic compulsions, notes Brigadier Narender Kumar (retd).
The 17-year-old World Cup gold-medallist shot 244.5 to finish second on the podium behind North Korea's Kim Song Guk.
A change in the name of the Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) magazine 'suggests a refocusing' of the terror group from Afghanistan to Kashmir, a United Nations report has said.
'The two NSAs, who have been mandated to address mutual concerns on terrorism, will need to devise credible and irreversible measures to see that the likes of Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar do not ever get a free hand to run riot again,' says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner in Pakistan.
'After the 4th of May we can expect thunderstorms, dust storms and some rain over a large area of north India.'
Iran on Thursday said it would guarantee supply of natural gas to India through the proposed pipeline running across Pakistani territory with a trilateral meeting convened in Islamabad for formulating plans in this regard.
India has launched an aggressive campaign to boost tea exports to Pakistan, Egypt, Iran and Iraq apart from traditional buyers Britain and Russia.
'The Modi government's pusillanimity vis-a-vis Pakistan makes almost certain that India will, in the coming weeks and months, be confronted with cross border terrorist actions of increasing intensity,' warns Satish Chandra, former deputy national security adviser.
'Putin is just flexing his muscles. He is not going to do anything. He is not that crazy.'
Beijing's political risks are also escalating because of a renewed wave of public anger in many parts of Balochistan against human rights abuses by Pakistani troops deployed to crush the low-intensity insurgency in the province, the report said.
The Foreign Office sources said that adequate security measures will be taken for complete safety of Jadhav's family.
India's Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and his Pakistani counterpart Khwaja Asif said they had made "significant progress" in bilateral talks on the India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline and were determined to go ahead with it despite reported reservations of the US on the project. They said the two sides had reached a broad agreement on principles for deciding the transportation tariff and transit fee, two key issues that had held up the finalisation of the 2,600-km pipeline.
Internal strife and tribalism is endemic to Afghanistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Pakistan has expressed serious concern over India's recent development of an anti-ballistic missile system
"Repeating a lie doesn't turn it into the truth," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by Dawn.
India and Pakistan have differed over the modalities in reaching an agreement on the trans-national Iran-India gas pipeline after Islamabad said it was a "stand-alone" project and that it would not accept any "external conditionalities" on it.
India on Wednesday said the $4.16 billion Iran-India gas pipeline passing through Pakistan will have to be considered as a part of wider economic and trade cooperation between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Through the past 18-month period, peace has prevailed in the disputed border regions, which was immensely helpful in the difficult situation that the country was passing through, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Cut off from the world and having to contend with an orthodox and repressive Taliban government, Afghans are facing the brunt of Pakistan's decades old policy of nurturing militant groups, note Harsh V Pant and Kriti M Shah four months after the Taliban took Kabul.
In an exclusive interview, Strobe Talbott, a key protagonist in resurrecting the United States-India relationship after India's nuclear tests in May 1998, talks about the US-India relations, Iran and the Pakistan situation to Rediff.com's Aziz Haniffa.
Earlier, in September, authorities seized around 3,000 kg of the drug at the Mundra port in Gujarat's Kutch district.
In the briefing, it was stated that Pakistan does not accept the international court's jurisdiction to order the state of Pakistan on issues that involve its national stability.
Corruption is much higher in Pakistan which occupies 140th place, a little below Iran, Libya and Nepal which are ranked 133, 134 and 135 respectively. Meanwhile, China which was ranked a joint 72 with India in 2007, slided a step down to occupy a place above its neighbour this year.
India won the Asian Central Zone Volleyball Championship on better set-average after being tied on points with Iran and Kazakhstan.
Pakistani nuclear scientist A Q Khan's admission that proliferation activities involving China, Iran, North Korea and Libya were prodded by Islamabad's establishment have vindicated India's stand that it could not have been an individual's efforts, experts said on Monday.
Hong Kong has the highest level of economic freedom worldwide
'Without doubt, General Bajwa has deliberately snubbed India.' 'But why did he do that?' 'The Male leadership is simply fed up with Indian interference,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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