The BJP tweeted a video of Rahul Gandhi apparently at a nightclub in Nepal, inviting a strong response from the Congress which said he was in the friendly country to attend the marriage function of a journalist friend and that it is not a crime to attend weddings of family and friends.
'Clearly, the Modi government is proving to be far more willing than any previous government in Delhi to hitch India's wagons with the US' regional strategies.'
'Modi wants to be pragmatic -- acknowledge the problem of Pakistan and that full reconciliation is essentially a non-starter, but at the same time grab the low-hanging fruits (such as trade) to put things on a more even keel, to engender enough stability in the relationship to allow him to focus on other priorities.'
Denying the Pakistani investigators access to the Pathankot base on operational grounds would not, the government felt, compromise national security, reveals Rajeev Sharma.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf speaks to Haji Syed Salman Chisti, Gaddi Nashi, Dargah Ajmer Sharif, the hereditary custodian of the dargah and the 26th generation descendant of Khwaja Garib Nawaz (as the Pir is known) to understand the meaning and significance of the gesture.
Glimpses of the change Narendra Modi promised million of voters were visible at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Modi has now no excuse, but to perform and change India for the better. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports from the presidential palace. A feature on the swearing-in ceremony like none other.
'The world does not care about the tension on our border.' 'India has to emerge as a strong economic power.' 'Respect comes when the world sees a country with a direction and leadership that has a vision,' points out Ramesh Menon.
'Modi loves to keep others guessing and basks in the media glare, both traits that are politically helpful but are inimical to stable relations, especially in the fragile Indo-Pak equation.'
It is for the first time in the history of Independent India that not a single Muslim is part of the Union Cabinet.
Pakistan's Foreign Office has recommended Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to accept India's invitation to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi on May 26 in New Delhi, saying it will be a 'mistake' to let this opportunity go.
'The attack on the Pathankot base constituted an act of war. Yet Modi's only public comment up until now on that attack has been to blame it on "enemies of humanity".' 'Modi came to power talking tough about Pakistan. But in office, he has pursued a Pakistan policy that has lost both direction and purpose,' argues Brahma Chellaney.
Modi sarkar took few initiatives to uplift the poor strate of society.
'Pakistan is keen on a peaceful process. We would like to have a sustained and comprehensive dialogue process.' 'At one point Pakistan wanted no dialogues with India without the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue. That didn't work then nor will it work in the future.' Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit tells Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com what Islamabad expects from the new government in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday to attend his first SAARC Summit, being hosted by the Government of Nepal.
A list of all the foreign visits taken up by PM Narendra Modi this year and their outcomes.
Two years into power, there is very little to show for the Modi government by way of 'achievements' on the foreign policy front, and his China, Pakistan policies are gasping for breath, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
How much money the Modi government has already spent and is going to spend on all those foreign trips, muses Sunita Iyer
Sharif also thanked Modi for visiting Lahore last week.
'Diplomatic engagement will continue even as India keeps all its options open with respect to discretely targeting the Pakistani military and its terrorist proxies.'
'Pakistan's negativism should be seen as the reason for India losing interest in SAARC.'
'Both reflect prejudice and short-sightedness peculiar to Mr Modi's way of thinking.'
'We have never before seen an Indian prime minister's visit to the United States so heavily business-oriented and so packed with meetings with the US business community.' Aziz Haniffa/Rediff.com reports from Washington, DC.
Netizens turned witizens on Sunday as India thrashed Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup league game.
Obama's decision to visit India must be a result of his judgement that Modi is a man of action, feels Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
It is in Prime Minister Narendra Modi Modi, officials in Washington believe, US President Barack Obama has found an Indian leader who is willing to walk the talk to realise the common goals of the two countries. Lalit K Jha reports
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.
Friday's incident at Herat has dampened somewhat the spirit behind the invitation. It reminds Modi much before he officially becomes prime minister, of the challenge that awaits his government, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
Modi has been wrong in thinking that he can influence people and win friends in Pakistan through his high-octane brand of diplomacy. That is why his Pakistan policy that started off on the high note of saree-and-shawl diplomacy now threatens to end with a whimper with cloak-and-dagger games, says Rajeev Sharma.
'There is nothing that Pakistan has done which deserves a resumption of dialogue. The assurances made in Ufa contain no commitment except a whole range of talks, which could take place without the paraphernalia associated with a joint statement of prime ministers.'
As the representative of his government in India, Abdul Basit runs a tight ship at the Pakistan High Commission.
The outcome of the Bangkok NSA-level talks underscores that Pakistan has got exactly what it wanted -- talks at different levels, talks on Kashmir, talks on mutual concerns regarding terrorism, talks on ceasefire on the border. What if any has been India's gains remains unexplained, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
An excerpt from Fitness Secrets of the Stars.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed the UN General Assembly. Modi's 35-minute address covered a number of subjects such as terrorism, including its resurgence in West Asia, reforms of the United Nations, including the Security Council, and the need for a more inclusive global development.
Sadiq, who was the Speaker of the National Assembly during the PML-N government, made a similar statement earlier on Wednesday in Parliament that Foreign Minister Qureshi had said in an important meeting that if Varthaman was not released, India would attack Pakistan 'at 9 pm that night (sic)' and 'for God's sake we should let him go'.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday mounted a counter offensive against Bharatiya Janata Party prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, rapping him for "lowering the norms" of politics by indulging in personal attacks and stoking controversy on a "non-issue".
Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan claimed that Modi held 13 pre-Budget consultation meetings which were attended by top industrialists, but to none of these meetings Sitharaman was invited.
'Secretiveness and the element of surprise in announcing decisions marks the Modi style of diplomacy. From being a voluble politician, he became a reticent statesman... But the diplomatic dance is performed on thin ice and his adroitness is still to be proved,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The frosty Indo-Pak ties briefly gave way to some warmth when a smiling Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Thursday shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, but India cautioned against reading too much into such "courtesies".
'The Modi regime, after experimenting with its own versions of neighbourhood policy for 18 months, has now reached the exact stage where the Manmohan Singh government had left it in so far as our Pakistan policy is concerned,' says former senior RA&W officer Vappala Balachandran.
As the country readies to go to polls on July 25, one can't deny the role of the military, but there are other factors too.