With the Afghanistan government in Kabul approaching Islamabad for help in opening "reconciliation" talks with the Taliban, a Pakistani role in shaping the political landscape in Afghanistan is now an uncomfortable likelihood for New Delhi.
Khan claimed he was informed by late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former foreign minister Natwar Singh during a conference that Kashmir would have been resolved if the BJP had not lost the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
The prospect of a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan being talked about in the public domain is quite unlikely, the White House said, but acknowledged that the United States is in talks with Islamabad on issues related to nuclear safety and security.
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Pakistan government believes Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should back up his call for re-engagement with concrete measures aimed at addressing key outstanding issues like the Kashmir dispute and security concerns, diplomatic sources said on Wednesday.
Amid the see-sawing developments of dialogue between India and Pakistan, Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar said on Wednesday that New Delhi's priority would be action over talks in the aftermath of the deadly Pathankot terror attack.
The nation has been put on high alert following intelligence inputs that Pakistan-based terrorists, who are against any thaw in Indo-Pak relations, may strike in a desperate bid to derail the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation meeting in Islamabad.Sources said the advisory issued by the ministry of home affairs has asked all states to maintain increased vigil and take precautionary measures to ensure security.
The talks between Singh and Esper came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a telephonic conversation with US President Donald Trump.
Despite dependence on the ISI for years of sustenance, Taliban leaders may harbour resentment over the ISI's excessive control, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing.
Prime Minister Modi told President Xi that he has made efforts to improve ties with Islamabad but these efforts have been "derailed".
A deft hand on India-China relations, Bambawale earlier handled the China desk at the MEA.
The independent task force set up last year included Richard Holbrooke, the Special US Representatives for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and General James Jones, National Security Advisor. But both of them stepped down from the task force before the first draft was written, and as such they are not associated with the report, it says.
'Their deteriorating economic and international situation is also responsible for being more reasonable.'
Khan said the Pakistan government was 'determined to demonstrate' that it is capable of protecting its people.
Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne also urged India and Pakistan to "exercise restraint" and engage in dialogue to ensure issues are resolved peacefully.
Swaraj said India has made many efforts to have talks with Islamabad and the only reason they have stopped is because of Pakistan's behaviour.
Initial indications that the perpetrators of this attack were Pakistani and that the attack emanated from Pakistan, says US Senators.
India's ambassador to the United States, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who was visiting The NYT editorial board, rejected Khan's criticism.
The United Sates will continue its fight against the Taliban while seeking a political solution to the Afghan imbroglio, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday even as he rejected Pakistan's concerns on American drone strikes.
Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi launched a verbal dual against India.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is not attending the Heart of Asia ministerial meeting.
'No dialogue with India can be successful without the Kashmir on the agenda'
Director of US National Intelligence said that Islamabad's failure to curb terrorists and the rise in number of cross-firing incidents was the cause for increasing tensions.
The flawed Indian policy toward Afghanistan is missing the woods for the trees. The Modi government doesn't have a 'big picture', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
The US took the lead, and many other council members also joined and made it clear that the Kashmir issue was not a matter for the UN body to discuss and is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to have secured a rare concession from Pakistan that 'terrorism' and not the issue of Kashmir be the central theme of the India-Pakistan dialogue.
India and China on Tuesday agreed to "jointly deal with security threats" and take measures to strengthen cooperation in combating terrorism during their first dialogue on counter-terrorism and security in Beijing, amid Indo-Pak tensions following the Uri terror attack.
As suspense mounted over holding of the Indo-Pakistan National Security Advisor-level talks after both sides hardened their positions on the issue of Kashmiri separatists, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday called a press conference in New Delhi.
India and Pakistan have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, according to a joint statement on Thursday.
Pakistan government is holding internal discussions on formulating a policy to deal with the new Indian government under Narendra Modi.
In a sharp reaction to a question about Modi's characterisation of Pakistan at the BRICS Summit in Goa, spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry Hua Chunying said China is opposed to linking any country to terrorism.
'Singh apprised the Japanese leaders about Islamabad's 'evil design' on Kashmir at a time when Pakistan has decided to internationalise the issue.'
The Indian prime minister had earlier said that India will actively pursue talks with Pakistan and is sincere about discussing and resolving all issues, including Kashmir.
India slammed China for helping Pakistan in trying to raise the Kashmir issue at the UNSC, saying Beijing should seriously reflect on the global consensus. The latest attempt failed as other countries of the 15-member council felt Kashmir is a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan.
According to official sources, the 20-minute one-on-one meeting was held on a request of Swaraj. However, offices of both Singh and Swaraj did not comment on the issues discussed between the two.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened a high-level meeting at his residence on Tuesday morning to review the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
Specially designated global terrorist Sirajuddin Haqqani, who carries a reward of $10 million US bounty on his head, is the acting interior minister while his uncle -- Khalil Haqqani -- has been named as acting minister for refugees.
Introducing a new irritant into the bilateral ties, Pakistan has complained to UN Security Council alleging that India was building a wall along the International Border in violation of the world body's resolutions.
National security advisers of India and Pakistan are expected to meet in October to follow up on the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Gen Pervez Musharraf in New York.
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