Former Australia speedster Brett Lee would love to see India and Pakistan clashing in a T20 World Cup blockbuster in Colombo on February 15.
New Delhi might have loudly welcomed an age of multipolarity, hedging and strategic autonomy. But it seems the winner in that game is Islamabad, not us, points out Mihir S Sharma.
'There is no substantive basis for Bangladesh-Pakistan relations. The only real link they can have is mischief, with Pakistan's intelligence agency using Bangladesh to create trouble along our eastern borders.'
'Pakistan has found itself in a favourable position after Operation Sindoor by appreciating the mediation as claimed by Trump and recommending him for the Nobel Peace Prize.'
A Pakistan that is more secure in its relations with the US is also one that might well wish to indulge in another cross-border misadventure.
'Trump has personally weighed in to overcome doubts and reservations about Pakistan among his top advisors.'
'We need to be very vigilant as we are passing through some fraught times.'
The recent conflict between India and Pakistan was among the issues figured during a phone call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump, according to a Kremlin aide.
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.
'It could take the form of sporadic LoC violation through heavy artillery and mortar fire, focusing on border villages where the Hindu Dogra population is predominant.'
Sharif, 70, has been in London since November last year after the Lahore High Court granted him permission to go abroad for four weeks for treatment.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has called opposition PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif a "confused" person who is confusing the people over the premier's conviction of contempt by Pakistan's supreme court.
'I am worried that Pakistan will still feel compelled to take substantive military action beyond this apparent drone activity.' 'If so, the crisis could persist for a while more and dangerous days are still ahead.'
'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.'
According to the short order, Sharif will have to submit two surety bonds worth Rs 10 million each for his release in the case.
The Shahbaz Sharif family (his two wives and their children) invested PkRs 277 crore in 13 companies without having known sources of income.
Even as Nawaz Sharif struck a deal with United States President Bill Clinton in July, 1999, to end the Kargil conflict with India, the then premier believed that the powerful Pakistani army would 'get' him for brokering a truce.
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.
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.
'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 fundamental construct of India's neighbourhood policy still needs to be what Vajpayee postulated, Manmohan Singh embraced, and Modi energised. It's just that we need to junk domestic politics and excessive religiosity, while acquiring much humility and a renewed respectfulness towards our neighbours, recommends Shekhar Gupta.
Last year on this day, Modi had made a huge gesture by travelling to Lahore on an unscheduled visit to wish Sharif personally and attend the marriage ceremony of his kin.
The 66-year-old leader was recovering after the operation at Princess Grace Hospital in London and was expected to be conscious in a few hours.
The Pakistani premier (eBay item no 162037014813) currently stands at a 66,200 (Rs 62 lakh) bidding price. So far, 100 bids have been made.
Asif Ali Zardari was overwhelmingly elected as the 14th President of Pakistan on Saturday, becoming the only civilian President of the coup-prone country for a second time.
We invited readers to share stories of how they met their spouses and interesting anecdotes about their wedding day. Ejaj Khairatkar shares his account of how he met his wife Shaista and after almost six years of not seeing her, finally married her!
While Sharif's office has released a read-out of his conversation with Trump, the US president-elect's team has issued bare minimum information, triggering much bemusement both in mainstream and social media.
'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.
Recalling his visit to Pakistan during college days in 1980s, Barack Obama on Wednesday told Nawaz Sharif that he knows how to cook daal and keema, taught by the mother of his Pakistani roommates.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought Hindi into vogue in the external affairs ministry and managed a diplomatic coup by inviting SAARC leaders, including Nawaz Sharif, to New Delhi for his swearing-in. Sheela Bhatt's impressions of the Indian prime minister's first day in office.
The United States of America sought Pakistan's help in 1998 to prevent Osama bin Laden from launching an Al Qaeda attack against it, with then President Bill Clinton asking Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to personally use his influence to prevail over the Taliban in averting the imminent strike.
'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.
External Affairs minister S Jaishankar in New York praised the leadership skills of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while recalling the attack on the Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan near the Indian consulate and while India was coordinating evacuations from the country.
The Pakistan army is staring at the greatest, scariest, existential threat to its power in their country. This threat has come from a populist riding democratic power, observes 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.
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 Rahul's yatra makes a political statement from the other side of the aisle and Shah Rukh's success underlines a more relaxed popular mood, Mr Modi and Mr Bhagwat's cues to their followers are coming from another place, observes Shekhar Gupta.
'If it hits the right notes, actors will start trusting me with new stories.'
The War of the Tiranga is a metaphor for a new battle of ideas in national politics, observes Shekhar Gupta.
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