'We caught General Pervez Musharraf talking over the phone with his Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Mohammad Aziz. Musharraf was visiting China; Aziz was in Rawalpindi.'
According to Mr Babar, within four days of this interview the Mumbai terror attack was underway, bringing the two countries closest to war in years -- 'The warmongers shattered Zardari's dream of peace with India'.
'Tarique Rahman's refrain during the electoral campaign was that the minorities are safe under BNP. He has to honour that promise.'
The spectre of Islamic radicals overthrowing Musharraf has also limited the Bush administration's policy options.
The Musharraf episode in the recent history of the subcontinent has convinced many realists in India that the hope of establishing peace with Pakistan is like accepting a dinner invitation from cannibals and expecting to live to tell the tale, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
If the only superpower, which calls India an ally, sees the region through an India-Pakistan prism, it is unacceptable. Rather than endorse India's sphere of influence, this undermines it, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Chastened by the Kargil conflict, Pervez Musharraf will be remembered for gradually lowering the profile of terrorism and seeking a realistically negotiated settlement to the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's high commissioner to Pakistan when Musharraf seized power in a coup in October 1999.
'Pakistan's only concern has been while they were on the FATF watch list was to distance their State institutions and organs from any direct connection with the actual execution of militancy inside Kashmir.'
In an interview to NDTV, the Pak president expressed willingness to lead the peace talks with India.
The Democrats, especially the Biden administration, wanted to deliver a sharper message to Mr Modi than would be possible in a formal summit setting. So, why not get the most prominent Democrat in decades to deliver it?, explains Shekhar Gupta.
'Could the Chinese have taken a leaf out of our book?' 'That their unprecedented build-up is their attempt at coercive diplomacy with India?' 'And if so, what is it that they could be expecting as a quid pro quo?' asks Shekhar Gupta.
'I was present at a meeting where he decided to permit the IAF to strike at Pakistan positions in Kargil, with the caveat that they should not cross the LoC.' 'Confident that the Indian Army would succeed, Mr Vajpayee was positioning himself to tell the world after the Kargil conflict was won that India did not violate the 'sanctity' of the LoC,' recalls Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's envoy in Islamabad in that eventful year, 1999.
Chef par excellence Satish Arora recalls his days working as a chef to prime ministers to Chandrima Pal.
The only thing that might justify a response is the desperate state of Pakistan's economy and how its people are suffering. But it's better to be heartless for now, argues Shekhar Gupta.
If the Taliban have proved one thing over these two decades, it is that they are way smarter than their big brother, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'A close look at the time-lines tells you that exactly as the back-channel negotiations were in their most crucial stage, "somebody" was planning the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai,' says Shekhar Gupta questioning Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's account of a peace deal with India.
New Delhi has repeatedly missed opportunities for political engagement in Kashmir in the past. It must seize the next one, says Ajai Shukla.
'What the interview with Modi told me was that now he is open to granting interviews.' 'And in this connection let me offer our credentials for being considered in this election season,' says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
'The generals couldn't care less about political corruption, being complicit themselves.' 'Coup d'etats are out of fashion.' 'Their only desire is backroom control,' says Sunil Sethi.
The Prime Minister reserved comment on whether LoC would be converted to permanent border.
'The two NSAs, who have been mandated to address mutual concerns on terrorism, will need to devise credible and irreversible measures to see that the likes of Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar do not ever get a free hand to run riot again,' says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, India's former high commissioner in Pakistan.
Both Messrs Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri claim to march independently, but most of Pakistan believes they are marching to the Army's tune
'When economic policies were attacked by people on his own side, he went ahead despite all the criticisms in the coalition, within the party and the Sangh Parivar.'
'There is a sense of realism in the Pakistan army that if they needled India during the Ladakh standoff, they would have seen a strong retaliation.' 'Pakistan was hoping that India would come out looking weaker in the region and get embarrassed, but that obviously has not happened.'
Heeding his party's wishes, Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday decided to contest the September 6 Presidential election, but the ruling coalition appeared to be heading for a deeper crisis over the issue of reinstatement of judges sacked by former President Pervez Musharraf.However, the crisis in the government, triggered by the second largest partner of the coalition Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif threatening to pull out .
'Crucial intelligence was obtained by a R&AW operative from a couple of moles inside the camps four days before the Balakot operation.'
The government and people of Pakistan extend their 'heartfelt condolences' to Vajpayee's family and to the government and people of India, the spokesman said.
The Pakistani batsman received a staggering Rs 65 lakh in cash awards and a car for his performance in 2006.
In the past six months, (Pakistan President Prevez) Musharraf has been seriously weakened, the major non-religious political figures have been diminished, and the US has been publicly involved in the deal-making leading to Pakistan's next government. The biggest security challenge for the US, however, comes from the newly emboldened violent extremists who are challenging the authority of the Pakistani state
Kulsoom, the wife of Sharif, died on Tuesday in London after a long battle with cancer. She was 68. Her body will be brought back and buried in the Jati Umra Lahore residence of the Sharif family.
Amit Shah now enters an unfamiliar and interesting phase of his political career. His success or failure will henceforth be assessed based on his performance as a key minister, points out Shekhar Gupta.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says improving ties with India is "my favourite subject" even as he once again sought America's intervention in the Kashmir issue.
'Both reflect prejudice and short-sightedness peculiar to Mr Modi's way of thinking.'
Shah reviewed the party's preparations and strategy for the Lok Sabha election due next year.
Read what the ex-chief of R&AW, A S Dulat, told our readers on Rediff Chat!
Being a son of Nehru's dentist is not the only connection that Alvi has with India. He is yet another president whose family migrated to Pakistan from India after partition. His predecessors Mamnoon Hussain's family came from Agra and Pervez Musharraf's parents migrated from New Delhi.
'Whatever the result on December 18, Rahul has succeeded.' 'He has taken the battle to the rival's territory, and forced him to take him more seriously than he has done so far, or would have wished to.' 'A party, dominating and powerful as the BJP today, is spending all its time attacking the leader of one with just 46 seats in the Lok Sabha, and in the woods in Gujarat for 22 years.' 'This isn't the script the BJP had written,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Days after the Congress praised A B Vajpayee to target Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial Narendra Modi, the party did a U-turn on Monday, calling the BJP veteran "the weakest PM India ever had", a taunt often directed at Manmohan Singh by the opposition party.
'New Delhi feels that given the internal dynamics in Pakistan and the overwhelming powers wielded by the army, one will have to wait for better times to see any meaningful progress in the India-Pakistan relationship,' says Ambassador G Parthasarthy.
