'We spent Rs 59,000 crore on acquiring 36 Rafales and we do not know if we will ever use them. The chances are that we never will,' argues Aakar Patel.
India is witnessing trailers of future conflicts and its adversaries will continue with efforts to achieve their strategic aims, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane said on Thursday delving into national security challenges emanating from China and Pakistan.
The Welsh cities of Newport and Cardiff have been invaded by 10,000 police personnel as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit takes over. Starting on Thursday, a terrorist's shopping list of targets will arrive in Wales with NATO leaders and some 60 other leaders of partner nations arriving in the small peaceful country.
It is understood that India and the United States are not on the same page on the Ukrainian crisis.
As North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's forces prepare their exit strategy in Afghanistan in 2014, Russia on Sunday raised concerns about a "new wave of terrorism" that could emerge in the region and affect India. Thousands of terrorists and fundamentalists could seek refuge in Afghanistan and this could change the situation drastically for countries such as Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, warned Russia.
The UK government has taken the unusual step of making a formal statement to warn of a Russian plot to install a pro-Kremlin leader in Ukraine amid growing tensions in the region.
China, the Ukraine crisis and Quad will dominate the discussions, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Pakistan would want to take full advantage of the situation to direct Taliban trained terrorists into the Kashmir Valley, alert Lieutenant General Ashok Joshi (retd) and Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Premier Li, replying to a question on China's refusal to criticise Russia's military action against Ukraine, said that utmost efforts should be made to support Russia and Ukraine in carrying forward ceasefire negotiations.
Taliban fighters attacked a truck carrying supplies for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces in the restive Khyber tribal region of Pakistan on Monday, killing its driver, officials said.
Pakistan's largest grouping of religious and extremist groups today said it would organise a 'long march' from Lahore to Islamabad on July 8 to protest the government's decision to reopen North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply routes to Afghanistan.
Efforts are on to persuade India to undertake a more high-profile role in embattled Afghanistan as India's external affairs minister arrives in London on Tuesday to participate in the one-day meet on Afghanistan.
'You are an instrument at the hands of one man with one ambition -- to resurrect the Soviet Union... For ambitions of one man, we are paying a very high price.'
Pakistan is about to resume normal arrangement of trucks with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supplies passing through its territory, the country's top diplomat in Islamabad has said, amidst reports that Pakistan officials for the first time in six months have allowed four trucks to go to Afghanistan.
Pakistan may earn $365 million annually under an agreement with the United States, following the reopening of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's supply routes for American troops in Afghanistan.
The United States on Monday said it had made "considerable progress" with Pakistan in negotiations on the re-opening of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply routes to Afghanistan, on the eve of crucial meetings in Pakistan to discuss the issue.
No alcohol, no prostitutes. This is the stern message the head of the United States Northern Command has sent to his troops supporting the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organisation summit in Chicago, the hometown of President Barack Obama.
India cannot choose its geography and devise regional strategies to dovetail into the Western Indian Ocean hypothesis conceived in the Pentagon, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Continuing its tirade against the successful launch of Agni V, Chinese state media has again accused New Delhi of buckling under pressure from the North Atlantic Treaty organisation to cut down the missile's range from 9,000 km to 5,000 km.
Newly-elected Conservative Party leader and prime minister in waiting Liz Truss is among the senior British politicians known for championing deeper India-UK strategic and economic ties, describing them as a "sweet spot" of global trade dynamics.
Pakistan's national interests will be the basis for a decision on reopening the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation supply routes to Afghanistan that were closed last year, President Asif Ali Zardari has said.
The US president is deeply grateful for the honour, courage and determination of the US' men and women who served in Afghanistan for almost two decades, as well as the sacrifices made not just by those troops, but also by their families, a senior Biden administration official told reporters during a conference call.
'The Russian attack might be a wakeup call for Europe.'
China, which has territorial disputes with many countries in the strategic Indo-Pacific region, has been opposing the Quad alliance since its formation.
Asserting that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers was a "military engagement", the United States has said it is carrying out a crucial investigation to determine the circumstances that led to the tragic incident but Islamabad has refused to participate in the probe.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Afghanistan forces came under fire from across the Pakistan border before they called in a deadly air strike on two Pakistani military posts that left 24 soldiers dead, media reports quoted Afghan and western officials as saying.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will brief parliamentary leaders of various political parties on August 26 on the developments in war-torn Afghanistan.
After wrapping up a summit with United States President Joe Biden, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday said that the American and Russian ambassadors will return to their diplomatic posts and take up their functions, adding that when that would happen is a 'purely technical one'.
In what is seen as the first sign of China's exasperation over Russia's Ukraine war, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday raised 'questions and concerns' over the conflict in his meeting in Samarkand with Russian President Vladimir Putin who thanked Beijing for its 'balanced position' on the crisis.
The designation means that Pakistan will join an exclusive club of nations that are given preferential treatment by the US in areas of foreign aid and defence cooperation.
Putin warned other countries that any attempt to interfere with the Russian action would lead to 'consequences'.
'If the Russian forces do capture Kyiv and set up some sort of provisional government, they might run into an insurgency, for which the geography is just right, it could prove costly for them.' 'In that event, the whole exercise could turn out to be counter-productive -- and costly in both foreign policy and domestic terms.'
Mattis also warned Pakistan of global "diplomatic isolation" and losing its Non-NATO ally status if it failed to take action against safe havens to terrorists on its soil.
'Which will not happen.' 'Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has expressly refuted Beijing's statement that normalcy was returning to Sino-Indian relations.'
The Indian Navy has decided that the twin-seat Rafale will not be disqualified on the basis of its inability to operate from an aircraft carrier.
"The deal is being implemented. We witnessed attempts on the part of the US to undermine this cooperation and make India obey the American orders to follow the American vision of how this region should be developed," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
While the Indian government has blamed Pakistan for morphing images and spreading them to create panic among the members of the northeastern community, the other side to this story is quite alarming. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
We can make a beginning by openly acknowledging the Russian help in 1971 victory when President Putin visits India on 6 December 2021. Showing gratitude to a friend is part of our DNA, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Pakistan government has approved a draft agreement with the United States on transportation of supplies to foreign forces in Afghanistan, weeks after it ended a seven-month blockade of the crucial routes.
Pakistan has agreed to reopen vital supply routes into Afghanistan blocked since a deadly cross border North Atlantic Treaty Organisation attack in November that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday, as she apologised for the loss of Pakistani military lives.
