'With the US having entered the war, raising the risks of a wider conflict, those impacts could be even more damaging.'
Sections in the US State Department and Pentagon have always felt more comfortable dealing with all powerful Pakistani generals instead of elected civilians, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
'...without massive amounts of force.'
While Canada denies harbouring extremists or terrorists, Kugelman pointed out that India remains firm in its disagreement.
'Surgical strikes or air strikes, or both, are likely on the table.'
'Trump is likely being purposefully vague, hoping that this lack of clarity will pressure India, fearing the worst, to agree to scale back its imports of Russian oil.'
'A less tense US-China relationship would make Beijing less likely to provoke India -- including on the border -- in retaliation for its close defence ties with the US.'
'Trump's sons, and the son of Trump's Mideast envoy Steven Witkoff, are in the crypto business and recently signed deals with Pakistan's crypto council.' 'It may not be coincidental that not long before the Trump-Munir meeting, the head of Pakistan's crypto council met with Trump's White House crypto policy czar.'
'Trump administration wanted a positive tone at this summit, but there was still some anxiety that there could be some awkward moments -- and there were not.'
'Munir hopes to solidify his hold on power.'
'He is intrigued by the intractability of Kashmir issue. With his interest in dealmaking and peacebrokering, he sees it as an exciting challenge to tackle.'
'The border deal offers a hedge for India against Trump's unpredictability when it comes to his approach to competition with China.'
'Trump will absolutely back New Delhi on its position that Pakistan must do more to crack down on terrorists that threaten India.'
'Abstaining from the UN vote would not have sent a strong enough message to register the great concern India has about the plight of Palestinian civilians,' Michael Kugelman tells Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com
'Modi would not restrain himself if India suffered a major terror attack traced back to Pakistani terrorists. He has suggested this; his aides have suggested this; and the BJP's election manifesto has suggested this.' 'Modi would simply not be as restrained as his predecessor,' Michael Kugelman, an Asia expert at the Woodrow Wilson Centre think-tank in Washington, DC, tells Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com
Experts say Canada's allegations regarding the Indian government's involvement in the fatal shooting of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada 'could be most significant test of strength of US-India partnership since early 2000s'.
'He's charismatic, a populist, very popular, and indeed a cult of personality.' 'That ensures a powerful reaction from his support base -- even if it's not sustained, it will be quite intense, and that's worrisome for stability.'
'Forget about sending in troops or raining down missiles, but don't rule out occasional covert operations that target specific terrorist leaders.'
Scholar Michael Kugelman said that until Pakistan is willing to target extremists operating within the country, ordinary Pakistanis will continue to suffer.
'US officials must grapple with the possibility that one of its closest partners attempted an extrajudicial killing on its soil.' 'This is not something that friends typically do to friends.'
The US drone strike that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri has raised questions over Pakistan's possible role in the raid amid reports suggesting that the country's airspace could have been used for carrying out the precision strike on the Al Qaeda chief's safe house in Kabul.
'While the US-Pakistan relationship has been stabilised, it's still mired in uncertainty.'
'The senior army leadership has no interest in reconciling with Imran Khan, and no interest in seeing him return to power.'
'The last thing he would want is new tensions with India.'
'If Trudeau chooses to repeat his allegations in his UN speech on Friday, it would create a whole new escalation.'
The full-court press on India over Ukraine, the BBC 'documentary', the Oxfam report, the Hindenburg attack on Adani and obliquely on the Indian economy, and any number of other acts are signs that India is a target, warns Rajeev Srinivasan.
United States President Barack Obama's proposed visit to India in January next year is a great opportunity to strengthen and expand bilateral strategic partnership, top American administration officials and experts have said.
The relations between Pakistan and the US nosedived this January after US President Donald Trump accused Islamabad of giving nothing to Washington but "lies and deceit" and providing "safe haven" to terrorists.
To mark Prime Minister Modi's seventh meeting with Obama and his historic joint address to US Congress -- the sixth Indian PM to do so -- India Abroad, the newspaper published from New York and owned by rediff.com, reached out to diplomats and strategic thinkers in New Delhi and Washington, DC, to assess the current state of the US-India relationship and suggest a road map for the future.
They warned that Islamabad wants to send a 'strong message' to India against isolating it on the world stage.
'The killings are a worrisome escalation of tensions, but little is known about the immediate causes or results of the fight in Galwan and it is not possible, at this point, to assign blame'
'When it comes to India-Pakistan relations, seminal moments of progress invariably bring out saboteurs of peace -- whether we're talking about fresh provocations along the LoC, or even a terror attack in India.'
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her American counterpart Mike Pompeo have agreed to reschedule the postponed '2+2 dialogue'.
'Washington appears to be playing the long game, and making the argument to India that over the longer term, Russia -- sanctioned, cash-strapped, isolated by the West -- will no longer be a viable defence partner for India'
'Many senior officers are unhappy with him, but many lower level officers are still supportive.' 'This is also not something that has happened for a long time. So this is certainly a milestone.'
The attacks on Karachi airport and the Airport Security Force camp are growing signs how Pakistan's home-made monster, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, is growing stronger and is no longer under the tight grip of the Inter-Services-Intelligence, its godfather. Vicky Nanjappa reports how these attacks are just the beginning and there are many more to come.
'He could indeed survive [the no confidence vote] even as he faces his biggest political test.'
'Throughout the nearly 20-year US-led war, State sponsorship from Pakistan has been a constant.'
'It's waging an offensive with no seeming precedent.' 'The fact that it's now entering cities, as opposed to remaining massed around their perimeters, is a game changer.'
'We're going to see a defence relationship that really takes off -- now that India is a major defence partner of the US, the sky is the limit for arms sales.' 'The economic partnership will lag behind the security relationship, but the meeting and joint statement give cause to believe that it will progress more robustly than many of us would have expected.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances