Beijing's growing assertiveness as kingmaker in Kabul has suffered a setback with Washington quietly moving in, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Kalicharan Maharaj also used an abusive word against Mahatma Gandhi while delivering a speech at Dharma Sansad organised by an organisation at Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur, drawing flak from the leaders of the ruling Congress.
"The FATF plenary decided continuation of Pakistan in 'Grey List' till its next meeting to be held in October," an official privy to the development told PTI.
As the majority of Pakistani airspace has remained closed for Indian airlines since the Balakot strike on February 26, the decision to avoid affected Iranian airspace on Saturday is going to further disturb the routes of their international flights towards middle-eastern and European countries, and the US.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal confirmed in a tweet that Jadhav's family had applied for visas.
China may accord recognition to the new government in Kabul at an early opportunity, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked by US Congressmen if the US had explore the possibility of northwest India for counter terrorism capabilities in Afghanistan. Blinken's remarks on India assume great importance, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
'It will be foolhardy to overlook that this stunning shift in China's stance comes as the culmination of the severely damaged India-China relationship under the present government,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Iranian government has promised assistance in the investigation into the attack on the Israeli diplomat in New Delhi last month. "When we told the Iranians these are the names of the people who did it, they said, 'Is that so? We will help you'," a senior government official said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday called for developing a template by the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) to effectively deal with the challenges of extremism and radicalisation.
ISI chief Faiz Hameed coerced the Taliban to announce an interim government guaranteed to preserve Pakistan's control over the levers of power in Kabul, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'But an overthrow of the Afghan government would really embolden regional militant groups in a big way.' 'LeT and JeM could be emboldened, and prompted to replicate in Kashmir what the Taliban did in Afghanistan.'
In the year since Modi cast the spotlight on Pakistan's human rights violations in Balochistan, India has not done much more than raise the issue at the UN a few times.
'The picture only looks worse from where Bajwa sits.' 'He sees a domineering India to the east, an unravelling Afghanistan and a complex Iran to the west, an overbearing China on the north and a US which is no longer an ally,' observes Shekhar Gupta.
The US needs to do three things to help the newly elected Nawaz Sharif government in Pakistan, says Stanley A Weiss
'It is a testing time for our foreign policy which may involve a certain element of taking risks, assessing costs, and expecting failures,' asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Pakistan has repeatedly denied India consular access to Jadhav on the ground that it was not applicable in cases related to spies.
The mandates which Pakistan has failed include action against all United Nations-designated terrorists like Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Azhar, Lashker-e-Tayiba founder Hafiz Saeed and the outfit's operational commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
The army chief's comments on Wednesday, at the Raisina Dialogue, on engaging with Taliban were first such public remarks by a senior functionary of the government.
Pakistan failed to fulfil six of the 27 mandates so far as a result of which the country continues to be in the grey list of the FATF.
The Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday the Charge d'Affaires of Pakistan High Commission was summoned and informed about the decision which was based on instances of involvement of Pakistani officials in 'acts of espionage' and 'dealings with terrorist organisations'.
The data gathered by activist Commodore (Retd) Lokesh Batra through his RTI application, show that till June 2016, Indian Air Force aircraft were used for the prime minister's visits to 11 countries -- Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Qatar, Australia, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, Fiji and Singapore.
Salve said it is important to be 'positive' after such a positive ruling.
''There is the perennial worry in the Indian mind regarding the US 'hyphenating' India and Pakistan. Frankly, this is a completely nonsensical hypothesis. The US has always 'hyphenated' India and Pakistan and it couldn't have been otherwise,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar were also present at Sushma Swaraj's residence.
Pakistan through its consulate in Netherlands came to know that the ICJ ordered India to submit a response by September 13.
As Iran and Pakistan move ahead with the gas pipeline project now, India's best option would be to wait and watch to see if the rhetoric of the "peace pipeline" actually matches the ground reality of energy security in its neighbourhood, says Harsh V Pant.
In the 2020 edition of its annual report on International Religious Freedom, the US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) alleged that religious freedom in India witnessed a drastic downward turn.
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.
An agreement between India and Pakistan, however tenuous, has its own meaning and impact. We have not heard the last word about the ceasefire agreement, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The announcement by Sartaj Aziz came amid criticism by experts and opposition leaders over the government's handling of the case at the International Court of Justice.
The anti-terror watchdog has decided to give respite of four months to Pakistan to help her implement remaining recommendations of the task force.
'We have communicated that SAPM (Special Assistant to Pakistani Prime Minister) on Health (Zafar Mirza) will be available to participate in the video conference of SAARC member countries on the issue,' Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Aisha Farooqui said in a tweet on Friday.
India's top cueist Pankaj Advani stormed into the final of the Asian Snooker Tour's second leg event after impressive wins in the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
'Quiet back channel advice will probably be rendered by Saudi Arabia to India that international perception on both issues does not favour India and that it should be prudent to look inwards and introspect on where the failing has been,' notes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'In India foreign policy is generally handled by the prime minister.' 'One can clearly see the Vajpayee stamp on all this.' 'Only a person with poetic imagination can weave such a complex web,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Former Indian diplomats on Monday termed the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan as a "setback" for India strategically, and asserted that the priority for New Delhi right now should be to evacuate its citizens from the war-torn nation.
Pakistan's memorial will be in response to pleadings filed by India in the Hague-based ICJ on April 17.
'The US appears to think that Pakistan is highly vulnerable today due to its economic crisis and one more turn of the screw may bring about desired results,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pompeo defended the killing of Soleimani saying he was making efforts for an attack on Americans in the region.
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