The alacrity with which regional States responded to Delhi's invite signals that expectations are high regarding an Indian role in the efforts to stabilise the situation in Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Poe alleged that Taliban is still based in Pakistan and it came as no surprise when a US drone strike killed Taliban leader Mullah Mansoor.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for 'spreading lies and canards' against the Trinamool Congress government, and said voters, this time, would witness 'Didi versus BJP' fight in all 294 constituencies of the poll-bound state.
The group was banned for five years under anti-terror law on grounds that it was "in close touch" with militant outfits and is expected to "escalate secessionist movement" in the state.
Have we been allowed to forget Partition? Isn't Partition the reason many Hindus cannot bring themselves to trust Muslims? So many Muslims born after 1947 have told me with anguish: "How long will we be blamed for Partition?" notes Jyoti Punwani.
The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted a resolution, introduced by Pakistan's ambassador Munir Akram under agenda item culture of peace, to proclaim March 15 as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
Seeking to wriggle out of the FATF's grey list, Pakistan has imposed tough financial sanctions on 88 banned terror groups and their leaders, including Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Dawood Ibrahim, by ordering the seizure of all of their properties and freezing of bank accounts, a media report said.
'The sooner Pakistan and India face these geopolitical realities, the better it will be for their own security and prosperity,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A Bharatiya Janata Party MP on Wednesday dubbed the opposition members protesting in Rajya Sabha as 'Omicrons,' alleging they were a threat to democracy, and asked them to get the 'Modi vaccine' for protection against the new coronavirus variant.
Narendra Modi government is working for 'making India' whereas the Congress is working for 'breaking India'.
Strongly rebutting the charges, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the Gulf countries are deeply committed to friendly relations with India and they are even seeking bilateral talks on the post-COVID-19 economic recovery. Talking about India's close and traditional ties with the Arab countries, he said New Delhi is ensuring uninterrupted supply of food and essential commodities to the region during Ramzan as part of its deep-rooted friendship.
President Maithripala Sirisena has issued a gazette notice banning three Islamic extremist organisations, including National Thowheeth Jama'ath that was blamed for the Easter bombings.
The JuD will contest the election on the platform of a little known "dormant" political entity, Allaha-u-Akbar Tehreek.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday underlined the threat posed by the 'Do it Yourself' breed of terrorists who gain information in bomb-making and suicide attacks over the internet to perpetrate terror acts.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has ordered a probe into the matter.
The Taliban is showing its strong discontent as the high hopes given to it by the Pakistani military have been dashed, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
''I had no idea that my life would turn into a horror show.' 'I was stuck as the Russians kept bombing Kyiv non-stop.'
The current question is about the BJP-ruled Centre, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, like its predecessors, not arguing the Union of India's case effectively and continuously, whenever the matter came up in the past, if its case still was that Rajiv's killing was an 'act of terror', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
In a significant policy statement on the Taliban which is making big gains in its offensive in Afghanistan, China has asked it to make a "clean break" from all terrorist forces, especially the Al Qaida-backed Uyghur Muslim militant group ETIM fighting for the volatile Xinjiang province's independence.
'Tension is being created in society because of this green flag, which is not even an Islamic flag.' 'There is no history of such a green flag being used in the Muslim world.'
On Tuesday, yoga guru Ramdev Baba became the first non-Muslim cleric addressed the annual convention of Islamic seminaries under the guidance of Islamic organisation Jamait-e-Ulema Hind at the historic seminary in Deoband, about 500 km from Lucknow, which is known for its sweeping influence over majority of Sunni Muslims in the country.
The Indian authorities have to reconfirm that Prabhakaran is dead. It may require seeking assistance from Interpol and also involve the re-opening of the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, and more so, the investigations, formally or otherwise, asserts N Sathiya Moorthy.
The two, whose names have been withheld, were being questioned by a joint team of intelligence agencies.
The noted screenwriter and lyricist said he finds many commonalities between the mindsets of the Taliban and the Hindu right-wing.
The diplomatic crisis between Pakistan and Afghanistan deepened on Sunday after Kabul announced that it will withdraw its ambassador and other senior staff from Islamabad after the abduction and torture of the daughter of its envoy to Pakistan.
Having failed to wear down the protesters, the government has now resorted to a bare-knuckle campaign to discredit them by portraying them as pawns in a wider plot bankrolled by shadowy 'anti-national' and 'Islamist' forces, notes Hasan Suroor.
Unless the Taliban goofs up in a big way, which seems highly unlikely, we are looking at a regime that will be around for quite a long while and present a level of governance that the puppets of the richest and most advanced countries failed to provide, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'We will certainly perform and take India to newer heights. We will really like to see India become a world power in every sense of the term and build a strong and robust economy that is capable of employment generation on a scale required for a country like India,' BJP ideologue Vinay Sahasrabuddhe tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com
'Islamist terror groups have never been challenged ideologically. As long as their ideology survives, like cancer, these groups will sprout somewhere else, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
In an interview with rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa, the president of All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat says people will denounce Rushdie and hurl shoes at him if they find him. The blasphemer should be ready for such a reception, he adds.
The silence is specially deafening from three parties that symbolised hope for Muslims: The Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Samajwadi Party. 'What fear prevents these leaders from at least talking about the way our community is being targeted?' 'Will they really lose Hindu votes if they do so?'
'The idea of a 'Hindu Rashtra' only emerged in the 1920s and 1930s.' 'The context at that time was the clear British attempt at 'divide and rule' between Hindus and Muslims and within Hindus on caste lines,' argues military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
TheWhat led to Pakistan not taking advantage of India's difficulty is the hold that the US has over the Pakistani ruling elite, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The dreaded Islamic State militant group on Thursday claimed responsibility for the attack on a Pakistani media house that had injured one person.
The key is to act and not wait and watch before the limited window of opportunity shuts, argues Shanthie Mariet D'Souza.
In and around November 2007, office bearers and functionaries of SIMI, a banned organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967, entered into a criminal conspiracy in Choral, Indore, Madhya Pradesh to conduct training camps for their active cadres.
Leading Islamic seminary Darul Uloom on Monday said it would continue to fight against terrorism in the country and its recent edict on the menace has no underlying meaning. "Muslim clerics will continue to fight against terrorism in the country," Darul Uloom's deputy vice- chancellor Maulana Usman said.
ISIS's online propaganda radicalises Muslim youth in Kerala. A revealing excerpt from Stanly Johny's new book, The ISIS Caliphate From Syria to the Doorsteps of India.
A special court on Monday refused bail to 14 suspected Islamic State operatives, arrested from across the country.
