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.
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.
The Taliban knows that Washington holds the key, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
This visit has ended on a vastly different note in comparison with Modi's previous visits. Call it a rebuke, call it a censure, call it a distancing from Modi, the sharp message would have gone home, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
China is going to be an indispensable partner in Russia's ongoing crisis with the US, while on its part, China cannot remain indifferent if Russia gets crushed by the US, lest it loses 'strategic depth', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Beijing's growing assertiveness as kingmaker in Kabul has suffered a setback with Washington quietly moving in, observes 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
The US is not in a forgiving mood for being humiliated in such a manner by an insurgent force and made to look 'loser' internationally, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
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.
A confrontation with the Taliban in Kabul in this fading light of a twilight zone would have been sheer madness, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
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.
Imran Khan knows Pakistan is holding a strong hand and doesn't have to flaunt it while claiming victory. But Pakistan has learned from the experience of the 1990s -- high risk of going out on a limb, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan is once again becoming a frontline State in big-power rivalry. But this time around, Pakistan stands to gain out of its geography, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Afghanistan will remain a frontline state for Washington for a foreseeable future in terms of the potential threats to US national security from terrorist groups, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
The Biden administration should expect continuity in Iran's policies under Raisi. This may not necessarily mean that strengthening of ties with the West will be Raisi's top priority, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
It is entirely conceivable that Modi began realising at some point that it will be a liability for India if he is seen as Trump's fellow traveller, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
An alert government in Delhi should have begun government-to-government discussions with Moscow the moment it came to know that Russians were developing a vaccine. That is to say, almost an year's time has been lost, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
It is difficult to recall an Indian minister in modern times pushing back at the US publicly, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Considering that Qatar is a trusted ally of Washington for decades, it is expected to be a steady influence on the Taliban leadership, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
There is no conceivable reason for any big power to put road blocks on the path of an India-Pakistan normalisation process, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Who knows, the moment of truth in Ladakh may also augur for a giant leap toward boundary settlement with China in the fulness of time. The news that the special representatives of the two countries are planning to meet gives a positive signal, suggests Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
What is foreign policy worth if it stands disconnected from domestic realities? Make no mistake, the horrifying visuals of the human suffering in metropolitan India is only the tip of the iceberg. The vast swathes of the hinterland are heaving with untold sorrows, notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The summit probably fulfilled the expectations on both sides, but the bar of expectations was intentionally kept low, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
Bhadrakumar feels that the "despite the dust and heat in domestic politics", the government has done remarkably well in the foreign policy sphere and signs of "new thinking" have appeared. "Which is why the new foreign secretary will prove to be a great asset to the government," he said.
The Taliban have the ISIS in its crosshairs. The Taliban has shown the skill to assimilate extremist elements if they are reconcilable as well as the ruthlessness to eliminate troublemakers, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
Snooping is one of the oldest peccadilloes of man, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'We don't need to hinge India-UK relations on shared hostility toward China,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
New Delhi should resist any temptation to act as spoiler and instead should cooperate with its SCO partners in reaching a regional consensus behind the formation of an interim government in Kabul, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
She was capable of a level of human compassion that is rare today among politicians, recalls Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who knew the Communist legend K R Gowri, who passed into the ages on May 11, from his childhood.
The humiliating rebuff given to the power brokers in Delhi in Kerala's local body election carries a big message: Malayalis thoroughly disapprove of the Modi government's shenanigans to misuse central agencies to destabilise a genuinely popular state government, notes M K Bhadrakumar.
What the UK is getting out of the Serum Institute is what India is losing. And the responsibility of the Indian State ought to have been to dictate where Serum Institute's vaccine doses should go, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The USS John Paul Jones acted like a dog marking the lamp post, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Kerala's Pinarayi Vijayan is a cut above the rest in Indian politics today, precisely in his remarkable ability to look beyond the horizon. His was probably the only government that began planning for the incoming pandemic as early as in February, notes M K Bhadrakumar.
BWith a distracted president brooding in the White House, Pompeo seems to think his day has come. He seems to be pushing a personal agenda before a target audience in America, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Russia is the only country that can act as facilitator for any eventual Chinese-Indian rapprochement,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The road ahead will be long and winding and much resistance can be expected from the high-flying 'hawks' in our skies. But that should not deter the policymakers from planning a road map with the 'big picture' in mind, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pinarayi is exploring the potentials of 'socialism with Indian characteristics'. The next five years under Pinarayi's watch will be a transformative period for Kerala's development, observes M K Bhadrakumar.
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