Hong Kong have withdrawn from their Davis Cup tie against Pakistan in Islamabad citing security concerns, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said.
India has not been invited to a crucial meeting being convened by Russia on the fast-evolving situation in Afghanistan that is expected to see the participation of Pakistan, China and the US, people familiar with the development said on Thursday.
We understand the electoral compulsions, the desperate need for the BJP to have at least 50 per cent of the Hindus vote for them in Uttar Pradesh in a few months. For that, you need polarisation, put your own Muslim compatriots on the 'other' side. This is how your domestic politics runs contrary to your national, strategic interest, warns Shekhar Gupta.
The first five months of 2023 have witnessed at least six major events/trends that augur badly for global economic and socio-political prospects, points out Shankar Acharya, former chief economic adviser to the Government of India.
'The attacks made clear to all the Gulf States that Pakistan was the nursery and sanctuary of extremist violence and that this violence threatened all the countries in the region.'
Given that India will get a huge part of its oil supplies from Iran through its government-owned oil PSUs, any unwelcome shocks in global crude rates could be absorbed well enough.
This closure has led to increase in flight duration and has put a strain on Mumbai's air traffic controllers, who are working extra shifts to handle the increase in traffic.
Fashion designer Wendell Rodricks is disappointed with the Supreme Court verdict that has ruled gay sex illegal.
The external affairs ministry said Pakistan has also been asked not to subject the two women to any questioning, harassment or interrogation during their stay in Pakistan.
Seeking to allay India's concerns, ambassador Luo had offered to rename the CPEC which passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, insisting it was an economic cooperation and connectivity enhancement project devoid of "sovereignty issues".
"The Indian side has been also making incongruous demands of allowing an Indian lawyer to represent Commander Jadhav. "We have repeatedly told them only those lawyers can represent Commander Jadhav in the court who have a licence to practise law in Pakistan. This is in accordance with legal practice in other jurisdictions also," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said.
With Beijing having had a profound rethink on India's admission as a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the tectonic plates of the geopolitics of a massive swathe of the planet stretching from the Asia-Pacific to West Asia are dramatically shifting. That grating noise in the Central Asian steppes will be heard far and wide -- as far as North America, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Friday that the group should consider staging its own major sporting competition.
The tea industry's cup of woes brimmeth - scanty rainfall and pest attacks have dragged down production in May, prices are lower than last year, and demand from some export markets is muted. Production in North Bengal - comprising the Dooars, Terai, and Darjeeling - is majorly affected; parts of Assam are also hit. Arijit Raha, secretary general, Indian Tea Association (ITA), said that the Tea Board numbers for April show a crop loss of about 9 per cent for North Bengal, compared to last year.
"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.
Cyclone 'Biparjoy', the first storm brewing in the Arabian Sea this year, has rapidly intensified into a severe cyclonic storm, with meteorologists predicting a 'mild' monsoon onset over Kerala and 'weak' progress beyond southern peninsular under its influence.
Indian wrestlers reaped a rich harvest of five medals in the men's freestyle events but a gold medal eluded them on the second day of the Asian Championships, in Xi'an, China, on Wednesday
'Pakistan may feel emboldened to give an upswing to the proxy war in J&K, having secured a better international consensus on its strategic importance.' 'The raising of Pakistani flags by separatists in J&K is an attempt to win psychological space and more of this can be expected as we go into the summer.' 'Pakistan should remain warned that pushing India on this issue will be dangerous.'
In his brief address, the external affairs minister said India's friendship with Afghanistan is "strong and unshaken" and that no part of the country is untouched by New Delhi's development programmes.
After an RSS affiliate withdrew the invitation to Pakistani High Commissioner in New Delhi for an iftar, senior Sangh leader Indresh Kumar on Saturday told Pakistan to worry about calls for freedom emerging within that country and stop interfering in Kashmir.
Doval said it is time for closer consultations, greater cooperation and coordination among the regional countries to deal with the challenges emanating from Afghanistan.
While Pakistan termed its decision to allow Jadhav's family to travel to Pakistan to meet him as humanitarian gesture, India has accused it of violating mutual understandings.
'Despite almost $30 billion of funding since 2001, all the US reaps today is unmitigated hostility of a Pakistan emboldened to flaunt its China card.' 'How can the US give credence to any offers from Pakistan, which has trotted out the standard alibi of non-State actors time and again, including dreaded terror outfits being out of State control, Pakistan itself being a victim and so forth?'
India and Pakistan are back on the dialogue table to sort out issues between the two nations, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has declared, saying that Islamabad cannot afford to be selective in improving ties with its neighbours.
The SCO is increasingly seen as a counterweight to NATO and its membership will help India have a greater say in issues relating to security and defence besides combating terrorism.
Washington is signalling to Delhi that it can rely on American support in any great game vis-a-vis China. Delhi shouldn't fall into the trap, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Salve was the lead counsel for India in the Jadhav case at the International Court of Justice which had last year ruled that Pakistan must review the death sentence awarded to the retired naval officer after a closed trial.
'In our media and general population the idea of 'strong posture' was successfully sold by Modi. This is now a liability for him, as he has discovered,' says Aakar Patel.
'Had a very fruitful meeting with Iranian defence minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami in Tehran. We discussed regional security issues including Afghanistan and the issues of bilateral cooperation,' Singh said in a tweet.
Following is the timeline of the Kulbhushan Jadhav case.
India's per capita GDP of $5,238 in 2013 was 65 per cent lower than Iran, 54 per cent lower than Maldives, 44 per cent lower than Sri Lanka and 27 per cent lower than Bhutan, according to the Human Development Report 2015
The US intends first to cripple the Afghan government financially through sanctions, freezing of assets, denial of access to international banking, etc, and then proceed to do pretty much what it wants to do with scant regard for Afghanistan's sovereignty, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Pakistan needs to be constantly at war with somebody, ultimately resulting in it waging war on itself and its own people,' says Shekhar Gupta.
India is making clear efforts not to be left in the cold. It has extended a hand of friendship to Iran and is also seeking to forge a common front with Russia to ensure that its decades-long "aid and development policy" in Afghanistan does not go in vain.
If the IPI deal wins out, then it will send an uplifting message about Indo-Pak collaboration, but also a sobering one about America's international clout.
Pakistan claimed that Jadhav had refused to file a review plea on the Pakistani court military court's judgment which awarded the death penalty to the former naval officer on charges of espionage. India said that he had been coerced into doing that.
A US Congress-constituted quasi-judicial body on Wednesday asked the Joe Biden Administration to designate four nations, including India, as "countries of particular concern", alleging that religious freedom conditions there in 2020 continued their negative trajectory.
'The army has stopped short of exerting the sort of influence it may have done historically.' 'It is comfortable with its relations with the civilian government as the superior partner.'
Ayub Khan told foreign powers who wanted him to help India that the fact that Pakistan did not take advantage of India's vulnerability was a form of assistance and a sufficient gesture. This and more in veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar's latest book, Beyond the Lines: An Autobiography
No strong indicators from Romney on his policy towards India, the Pakistani use of terrorism against India and the Indian interests in Afghanistan, says B Raman.
