Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir who spoke to the media at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi on Thursday after meeting his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao said his country desired better ties with India but said Pakistan did not wants talks in which it is lectured to by India.
Hinting at Pakistani link to the Kabul embassy attack, India on Saturday said Afghanistan faces threat from terrorists and their "patrons residing across the border" and that the blast was handiwork of those who want to undermine Indo-Afghan friendship.
For the last eight years, since the Taliban fled from Kabul in November 2001, India has staunchly opposed a dialogue with any section of it. India's position has remained: there is no purpose in talking to the Taliban; there is no such thing as a moderate Taliban.
On the eve of crucial talks between Indo-Pak Foreign Ministers, top diplomats of the two countries met in New York on Saturday to prepare ground for the parleys, where India is expected to demand speedy probe into the Mumbai attacks and decisive action against their mastermind, Jamaat-ud-Dawaah chief Hafiz Mohd Saeed.
With India offering to hold foreign secretary level talks, Pakistan's High Commissioner Shahid Malik on Friday met Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao to finalise the dates for the meeting.India has proposed two set of dates in February and is awaiting a response from Pakistan over them, sources said. Reflecting a thaw in bilateral relations, Rao had telephoned her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir about a week ago to invite him to Delhi for talks.Bashir had welcomed the offer.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he would adopt a "positive approach" for his meeting with his Indian counterpart S M Krishna on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao met her US counterpart William Burns and discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, including counter-terrorism and the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's proposed visit to America in November.
"We hope and expect that Pakistan will focus in a meaningful manner on our concerns on terrorism. It is our hope and expectation that Pakistan fulfills all its commitments," Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said.
India on Thursday put on Pakistan the onus of unveiling the conspiracy behind the terror attack on Mumbai and ruled out meaningful dialogue till concrete action is taken against those responsible. The firm message was sent out by External Affairs Minister S M Krishna. "It is in our vital interest to normalise our relations with Pakistan. However, we are at a stage where it is for Pakistan to determine the kind of relationship that it wants to have with India," Krishna said.
An official of the Indian Embassy in China, on Wednesday, met the 21 Indians detained there for alleged diamond smuggling and legal help is being arranged for them, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said.
India handed over "additional information" on Mumbai attacks to Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik, who met Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao in New Delhi on Friday. During the meeting held following a request by Malik, additional information on the 26/11 terror attacks including inputs on some of the key aspects and accused involved was given by Rao.
A 10 to 12 week-old foetus was found during autopsy of the Delhi-based journalist Nirupama Pathak, whose death at her home at Tilaya in Jharkhand is being suspected as a case of honour killing, Koderma civil surgeon B Mohan said on Wednesday.
Indian Consul General in Chicago Ashok Atri, embroiled in a controversy over visa issued to Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Tahawwur Hussain Rana, has met Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and said that no rules had been violated in giving him the travel document, as he had submitted all proper papers for the same.
India said on Sunday that it is yet to get access to Lashkar-e Taiba operative David Headley but negotiations are underway on this issue and it is "satisfied" with the progress of discussions.
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao will travel to the United States next week to hold discussions with top officials of the Obama Administration on a wide range of bi-lateral and regional issues.
So, what is in a menu, you might ask. Oh, a world and more. Especially, if it is to do with a high-profile lunch hosted by the Indian foreign office for a Pakistani delegation.The lunch hosted on Thursday at Hyderabad House in central Delhi by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao is as elaborate as the menu is carefully chosen. There is Gosht curry (lamb preparation). That itself is significant.
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai on Friday assured India that a thorough investigation would be conducted into the suicide bomb attack near the Indian embassy in Kabul to ascertain who was behind it.
The delegation, a virtual mini-India with sprinkling of youngsters from every part of the country, comprises 'distinguished young persons' under diverse categories, including Chinese language and studies, National Service Scheme, academics, panchayati raj, media, culture and sports. He said that possibility of exchange of young entrepreneurs and civil society volunteers between the two sides was also being explored.
External affairs Minister SM Krishna has taken on Lashkar-e-Tayiba founder and Jama'at-Ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed saying India believes Saeed is the "brain" behind the Mumbai attacks of November 2008, telling Pakistan's government that if it wants to prove its seriousness on tackling terror, it must tackle Saeed.
"The next round of talks has not been scheduled as yet. It will be done shortly. We hope to finalise the agreement at the earliest," said Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao when asked about the status of the procedural agreement under the 123 civil-nuclear pact between India and the US.
The Indians in Beijing celebrated the Independence Day on Friday with Ambassador Nirupama Rao hoisting the tri-colour at a function at the embassy. Indian Olympic Association president Suresh Kalmadi and other key Indian Olympic Association members also attended the ceremony.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on Wednesday, kick-starting his four-day visit to China, during which the boundary row and irritants surrounding it are expected to dominate his talks with the leadership in Beijing.
The Prime Minister, who advanced his departure to avoid Delhi fog, will utilise the time for making a visit to the Olympic games stadium and a meeting with Indian businessmen for a briefing on issues that would come up during his discussions with the Chinese leadership on the economic side.
An India Chair has been established in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department at Shenzen University in southern China.A Memorandum of Understanding on the Chair was signed between the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and SZU by India's Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao and University President Professor Zhang Bigong in Shenzen.Under the MoU, Shenzen University would host a visiting Indian professor in the capacity of a Chair in Humanities and Social Sciences.
Beijing's words of appreciation were conveyed to India's Ambassador Nirupama Rao by Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi during her visit to the Foreign Office to write in the condolence book opened for foreign diplomats on Monday as the country began a three-day national mourning in memory of the earthquake victims.
The Centre has agreed to release a package for kin of militants killed in Jammu and Kashmir during past 18 years, an NGO has claimed.
India Currents, a monthly publication from Bay Area, said in an editorial on Tuesday that it endorsed Clinton as it felt "intense outrage" after the resurfacing of an old video of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Senior journalists and writers have called upon the people of Assam and the North East to defy the diktat of militant outfits and celebrate India's 58th Republic Day. Four militant outfits of North East, including the Liberation Front of Asom, have slapped a ban on Republic Day celebrations and called for a general strike on that day to protest the 'colonial Indian occupation of the region'.
In diplomacy, it is inadvisable to be a straggler, as you may end up crawling back on a pitiless greasy pole.
Recounting the fear and shock following the derailment of the Rajdhani Express, passengers of the New Delhi-Dibrugarh train on Wednesday said it was a "night to forget".
India and China will commemorate in 2008 the 70th anniversary of the arrival of revered Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis in China in an effort to inspire future generations of the two countries to work for the needy.
Indian Ambassador to China Nirupama Rao and her Chinese counterpart in India, San Yu Si, are among the 19 delegates who will assist the special representatives in the talks.
Though no official announcement has been made regarding Suri's successor, it is reported that the Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Nirupama Rao is likely to be the next ambassador in Beijing.
A study has proved that homeopathy helped ward off infections in HIV positive people.
India's total medal count stood at 252 (132 gold, 79 silver, 41 bronze), leaving behind hosts Nepal and Sri Lanka behind. Nepal has won 165 medals (45 gold, 44 silver, 76 bronze) while Sri Lanka have collected 197 medals (36 gold, 68 silver, 93 bronze).
Indo-Sri Lanka trade, which has reached $1.73 billion, is set to receive a boost with the two countries working on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, India's top envoy said in Colombo on Thursday.
'India and China have the wise and sage leadership to steer this complex relationship in the coming decades.'
Get your lowdown on what's happening in the Tamil film industry, right here!
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances