As suspense mounted over holding of the Indo-Pakistan National Security Advisor-level talks after both sides hardened their positions on the issue of Kashmiri separatists, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday called a press conference in New Delhi.
'China knows the best way of twisting the knife in its dealings with India: By launching a major incursion into Indian territory,' says Rajeev Sharma.
The Indian agenda for the talks has put extra stress on the "most important" issue of breach of ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir
'Openness is a great weapon in the armoury of more open societies. That's why the fight with Pakistan isn't just about India be six times bigger, but equally bitter and insecure Pakistan,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
The India card is now almost obsolete. There are more pressing challenges. People of Pakistan are fed up with years of bad governance, corruption and broken promises of successive governments. However, the politicians and former generals are still provoking sentiments on what is happening on the Line of Control for petty political gains, says Shahzad Raza.
Ignoring India's opposition, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan will hold dialogue with Kashmiri separatists to take them into confidence before engaging in peace talks with India.
'Here in Delhi, the Modi government is supposedly looking at 'options' to hit back at Pakistan in any whichever way it can, while in Washington, the Obama administration is looking for ways to strengthen US military cooperation with Pakistan,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
S Jaishankar called Basit to his South Block office and lodged a strong protest over the issue as he made a specific reference to LeT terrorist and Pakistani national Bahadur Ali.
Acting tough, India on Monday called off foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan next week and conveyed a blunt message that it was interfering in India's internal affairs by holding talks with Kashmiri separatists which was "unacceptable".
India on Wednesday commemorated the sixth anniversary of the Mumbai attack with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders paying homage to the victims, recalling the "horror" over which the country still felt "endless pain" for the loss of 166 lives.
Swarup said India looks forward to the prompt and decisive action promised by Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to his counterpart Narendra Modi.
Pakistani media outlets on Sunday said the brazen attack by terrorists at a key Indian Air Force base will pose a "challenge to attempts to resurrect" the dialogue process between the two neighbours despite the goodwill generated by recent high-level meetings between their leaders.
"Pakistan is committed to the decisions agreed at Ufa between the prime ministers," foreign office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said.
'Checkmating India by its nukes, Pakistan can pursue terrorism against India in the Kashmir Valley and also resume launching Mumbai 2008 style attacks.' 'The military oligarchy in Pakistan has a totally different view of what is desirable and possible in the subcontinent.'
Both sides will discuss the ongoing incidents of ceasefire violations at the border, the resolution of which will be given topmost priority
Here are the highlights of United States Secretary of State John Kerry's town hall at IIT-Delhi.
Schools across the country observed a two-minute silence on Wednesday in a show of solidarity with Pakistan following an appeal from Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the dastardly terror attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar.
India on Friday made it clear to Pakistan that it should not go ahead with the meeting of its NSA Sartaz Aziz with Hurriyat representatives in New Delhi when he comes to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, saying it will not be "appropriate".
"The stand of the government, I have told you very clearly and categorically, is that it is a talk on terror," Telecom minister said.
''At this stage we are closer to military confrontation than at any time since 1971.' 'Given the known positions of the two governments, it will not be surprising if this happens sooner rather than later,' says Vice Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
Basit also dwelt on the challenges faced by Pakistan on the economic front and its "fight" against terrorism.
On a day Punjab's border district of Gurdaspur was hit by a terror strike, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said India wants to have cordial relations with Pakistan but will give a befitting reply if national pride is challenged.
He also said it was for India to decide on dates for Foreign Secretary-level talks, postponed in the wake of the terror strike.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has ordered formation of a high-profile joint investigation team to investigate the links of the Pathankot air base attackers with Pakistan, a media report said on Monday.
India and China on Monday decided to deepen bilateral defence ties and maintain peace and tranquillity at the Line of Actual Control besides strengthening cooperation against terror, including at the international level.
Any settlement with Pakistan won't last unless it comes with big power guarantees, says Shekhar Gupta.
Former Pakistan captain and batting great, Javed Miandad believes that the Pakistan Cricket Board should tread carefully while dealing with the Indian cricket board over the planned bilateral series in December.
Breaking the logjam in their ties, India and Pakistan on Wednesday announced that they have decided to engage in a "comprehensive" dialogue that will include peace and security and Jammu and Kashmir.
Borrowing from Narendra Modi's phraseology, Pakistan on Tuesday said 'acche din aa rahe hain' for bilateral ties with India.
The external affairs minister said India will continue to take all necessary steps to safeguard the nation's security and safety of all citizens.
Gujarati popular dish kela methi nu shaak, mouth-watering chicken chettinad from Tamil Nadu, Punjab's dal makhani and Bengali dish Potol Dorma will be served at a private dinner hosted by President Pranab Mukherjee for visiting foreign dignitaries on Monday.
Even as demonetisation continued to be the hot topic in Parliament, forcing adjournments in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, other topics too were discussed in Parliament. Here are the other issues that were discussed.
Only on Wednesday, in his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Modi said he wants to resolve the Kashmir issue through Vajpayee's doctrine of "Insaniyat, Kashmiriyat, Jamhooriyat" - a testimony to the former PM's lasting legacy.
'Despite Modi's high-flown rhetoric about good-neighbourly relationships in South Asia, he lacks a road map how to proceed -- be it with Bangladesh or with Sri Lanka and Pakistan... But a deeper question arises here: Did he duck on his own accord or under the diktat from the RSS, asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Amid escalating tensions at the Indo-Pak border, Pakistan's national security advisor Sartaj Aziz has said it is "too early" to speculate on the timing of his visit to New Delhi to hold talks with his Indian counterpart as agreed at Ufa.
Barely a week after Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan broke the deadlock and decided to re-engage, the two countries were back to a blame game over ceasefire violations with both sides lodging protest with each other.
Raising questions over the role of Pakistan's powerful military in the Pathankot terror attack, a former ambassador to India has said that the army does not appreciate Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's attempts to decide on the country's policy towards India.
Pakistan on Thursday alleged that India was involved in creating instability through "subversive and terrorist activities" in Karachi and Balochistan province.
Aziz said all issues, including Kashmir, would be part of the peace talks under the agreed formula for the fresh re-engagement with India.
The Malda riots occurred on January 3, a day after the Pathankot terror attack. Common sense must dictate that an attack on the nation deserves more coverage than a local riot, says Syed Firdaus Ashraf.
