'Imran Khan would only have spoken with the full awareness of Modi's complex political personality.' 'He has the great advantage of being privy to the confidential exchanges between then Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Modi during the latter's celebrated surprise visit to Lahore in December 2015 as well as the 'back channel' conversations between the national security advisors of the two countries,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Kuwaiti authorities are conducting DNA tests on the bodies of those killed in the devastating fire incident in southern Kuwait's Mangaf area and an Indian Air Force aircraft is on standby to bring back the mortal remains of Indians killed in the incident, officials said on Thursday.
The sudden arrest and immediate release of Kashmiri separatist leaders who are to meet Pakistan National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz introduced an intriguing element into the scheduled talks he will have with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on terror on next week.
India is set to press for early disengagement of troops from the remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh at a fresh round of high-level military talks with China on August 14, people familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
The meeting came after terrorists carried out a series of targeted killings in the Kashmir Valley that include non-Muslims, security personnel, an artist and local civilians.
The Centre on Monday extended the ban on terrorist group Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for five years for its involvement in fomenting terrorism and disturbing peace and communal harmony in the country.
"Vishwaguru has created a new model of democracy where there are symbols and buildings of democracy but the soil of democracy is now missing," he said.
'The ISI is bound to exploit narcoterrorism.'
The upcoming Indo-Pak National Security Adviser-level talks appeared to be on the verge of being aborted with both sides locked in a confrontation over Kashmiri separatist leaders.
Most deaths were due to smoke inhalation while residents were sleeping, and a significant number of occupants were evacuated, they added. The fire started in a kitchen in the six-storey building in the Mangaf area in Kuwait's southern Ahmadi Governorate, officials said, adding that the building reportedly had 195 people living in it, who are workers of the same company.
Pakistan's permanent representative at the UN Maleeha Lodhi was instructed to contact the UN leadership to discuss the rejection of dialogue by India.
'With continued focus on votes, upcoming by-polls and purchasing politicians, the political hierarchy has little time for national defence.' 'They would do well to heed a veteran scholar, who says, "There will be war with China in the next few years. The next full scale war will have the involvement of Pakistan and terror elements, insurgents and intelligence assets operating inside India",' warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg are being finalised, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday but did not give a direct reply on the possibility of a meeting between Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
It was also decided at the meeting to further enhance cooperation with the neighbouring countries of Ukraine to expedite the evacuation of Indian students, they said.
Top Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, were on Thursday put under house arrest only to be released within hours in actions that were linked to their proposed meeting with Pakistani National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz in Delhi on Sunday.
China has said it will not attend the regional security dialogue on Afghanistan being hosted by India on November 10 due to a 'scheduling issue,' sources said.
"Due to scheduling reasons, it is inconvenient for China to attend the meeting," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told mediapersons.
The visit by Gen Rawat, Ajit Doval and Vijay Gokhale was the first such high-level trip from India to Bhutan after the Doklam standoff.
Modi told the delegation that urgent action was needed against those supporting and sponsoring terrorism.
In his memoir Four Stars of Destiny, Naravane recounts Singh's direction as well as a flurry of phone calls between the defence minister, external affairs minister, the national security advisor and the chief of defence staff that night on the sensitive situation.
Inputs have been received by the security and spy agencies that terrorist groups have been asked to carry out an attack on forces.
Putin made these remarks on Thursday at a forum in Moscow organised by Russia's Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI).
The military brass is learnt to have apprised Modi about the evolving situation in eastern Ladakh, though officials maintained that the agenda of the pre-scheduled meeting was to discuss the ambitious military reforms and ways to boost India's combat prowess.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday visited the Palam airbase in New Delhi and paid his last respects to Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and other 11 armed force personnel who lost their lives in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu on Wednesday.
Senior commanders of the two armies held intense negotiations for nearly 11 hours on Sunday at a designated meeting point in Moldo on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control.
Chinese equipment contracts had been given by many public sector undertakings and government companies for their networks, even in sensitive places such as the north east.
Over 68,000 Army soldiers, around 90 tanks and other weapon systems were airlifted by the Indian Air Force to eastern Ladakh from across the country for rapid deployment along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) after the deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley, top sources in defence and security establishment said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting to review India's security preparedness and the prevailing global scenario in the context of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, government sources said.
Asserting that there are no problems which cannot be resolved, India on Tuesday said it would like to address all its issues with Pakistan through talks while having an "effective deterrence" to deal with terrorism emanating from there.
The home ministry will make a presentation before National Security Advisor Ajit Doval on the status of the case related to the killing of Kerala fishermen by two Italian marines after Rome's plea for 'quick positive outcome' on the long pending issue.
Doval, who is said to have been closely involved in planning Tuesday's operation along the India-Myanmar border, will undertake the visit
India's security concerns will be the "first and foremost" and at the"front and centre" for Washington, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said Wednesday on New Delhi's apprehensions about the spill over of terrorist activity from Afghanistan.
Doval said it is time for closer consultations, greater cooperation and coordination among the regional countries to deal with the challenges emanating from Afghanistan.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday discussed with top officials, including National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, the security situation in the country, including the tension at National Institute of Technology Srinagar and the denial of permission to the National Investigation Agency team to visit Pakistan in connection with the Pathankot attack.
'China has forcibly occupied territory it had never occupied before, blocked Indian patrols' access to areas they had patrolled for decades and, most provocatively, killed 20 Indian soldiers.' 'Most countries would regard these as acts of war.' 'New Delhi has apparently taken off the table the option of evicting the PLA with force,' observes Ajai Shukla.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday spoke to newly appointed United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken during which they expressed commitment to consolidate and expand the India-US strategic partnership and reiterated commitment to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific region.
Late last year, the Cabinet Committee on Security had cleared the proposal for the creation of the post.
There is no dearth of political will today to act against corruption and officers should take action against the corrupt, however powerful, without any hesitation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.
The meeting will be attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Brazil's Jair Bolsonaro, according to the MEA.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday reviewed the situation prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir, including the security arrangements along the border with Pakistan, officials said.
