This election is different. It is no longer simply about governance or welfare. It is about identity, fear, and who belongs. The BJP has successfully shifted the terms of the debate from what the government has delivered to who the real Bengali is and who is an outsider, points out Ramesh Menon.
In its annual report to Congress on Tuesday on 'Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025', the US Department of War said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is actively considering and planning for additional military facilities.
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
'I want to show bearded men actually caring and loving for their sons or a woman from Pakistan in a position of power. How radical is that?'
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday met Pakistan Army Chief Asim Munir and discussed regional security, counter-terrorism and matters of mutual interest.
The Pakistan army is staring at the greatest, scariest, existential threat to its power in their country. This threat has come from a populist riding democratic power, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Punjab Police have dismantled a heroin trafficking network, arresting six individuals including an Army man and a dismissed police personnel. The operation uncovered links to Pakistan-based smugglers using drones to deliver heroin.
'In such a scenario, Iran could proclaim itself victor, rebuild, re-enforce its diminished regional proxies to further destabilise neighbouring nations and take control of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.'
Pakistan's former spy chief Faiz Hameed has been sentenced to 14 years in jail by a military court after being found guilty of violating the Official Secrets Act and engaging in political activities. This marks the first time a former ISI chief has been convicted.
Today's situation in the Shaksgam Valley is the consequence of what happened in Gilgit in 1947. But is India ready to militarily get back its territories? asks Claude Arpi.
Violence has surged in Balochistan in recent years, with the number of fatalities in the province rising from 787 to 956 last year.
Flash floods in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have resulted in a significant loss of life, with the death toll rising to 327 in the last 48 hours. The disaster has prompted relief efforts from the army and government agencies.
The family of Ranjit Singh, an accused in the murder of two policemen in Gurdaspur, who was killed in an encounter with police, staged a sit-in demanding a CBI probe into his death and a fresh autopsy.
'Pakistan's army has got a streak of democracy. It is more democratic than the country.'
There has always been a risk-taking edge to Imran Khan. Like him or hate him, it had to be someone like him to finally threaten to demolish the Pakistani establishment, explains Shekhar Gupta.
'Pakistan wanted India out of Afghanistan to which again the Taliban told Pakistan to take a walk.' 'Six months after they came back to power in 2021 India was back in Afghanistan at the request of the Taliban.' 'The Taliban realised that India has no agenda of its own in Afghanistan.'
The attack came less than three months after a suicide bomber killed 12 people in a blast outside a district and sessions court building in Islamabad.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a chargesheet against seven accused in the Pahalgam terror attack case, including Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its proxy The Resistance Front (TRF).
'If you fire two missiles at Jamnagar or ten missiles there, what do you think India will do?' 'India will fire 500 missiles on Tarbela and Mangla, destroy the Sukkur Barrage, destroy Karachi port.' 'When you start issuing threats, it should be with some sense and sensibility.' 'You shouldn't just shoot your mouth off just because you have appointed yourself field marshal.'
'Five hours of bombardment by the Pakistanis should not have happened.' 'India should have sent the air force to bomb the Pakistanis where they were raining fire on us.'
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the spokesperson for the Pakistan Army, is the son of a nuclear scientist who was sanctioned by the United Nations and the US for providing information and expertise to al-Qaeda, according to Indian officials. Chaudhry's father, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, allegedly provided insights into nuclear weapons infrastructure and raised funds for a fundamentalist organization linked to the Taliban. Mahmood was arrested in 2001 after admitting to meeting Osama bin Laden but was later released.
Where Dhurandhar leaned into aggressive bloodlust through its acerbic storytelling, Ikkis moves in the opposite direction, asking us to see people beyond uniforms, slogans, or sides, observes Mayur Sanap.
Records stretching back to 1947 suggest a consistent strategy by Pakistan's military and intelligence apparatus, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), of using terrorism as a state policy against India.
Sri Lankan players currently touring Pakistan for a three-match ODI series want to return home due to security concerns following a deadly suicide attack in Islamabad but PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi claimed that the rubber will continue, albeit with a rejigged schedule.
Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, along with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to discuss bilateral and regional cooperation. The meeting occurred during Sharif's visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit.
No group or individual claimed responsibility for the attack, but such strikes are usually carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistani (TTP).
Two senior players of the Sri Lankan cricket team, including skipper CharithAsalanka, currently touring Pakistan for a T20 tri-series will be returning home due to illness, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said on Monday.
In a culture where children take up the profession of their father, her becoming a politician was seen as natural and acceptable.
The Pakistan Army has accused India of attempting to manipulate history by creating fabricated narratives, following claims by the Indian Army regarding Pakistani casualties along the Line of Control.
Iran is fighting a different war: Older, slower, and in some ways more dangerous. Iran doesn't need to shoot down an F/A-18. It only needs to make the Strait of Hormuz feel dangerous long enough for insurance markets, shipping companies, and oil futures traders to do the rest. Prem Panicker continues his must-read daily blog on the war in the Middle East.
Former US President Donald Trump claims he can quickly resolve the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army chief Asim Munir. Tensions remain high despite recent talks.
In a statement after a meeting between Trump and Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir at the White House on Wednesday, the Inter-Services Public Relations -- the media wing of the Pakistan Army -- said they also discussed joint counterterrorism efforts.
Rahul Gandhi said that had an INDIA Bloc government negotiated the trade agreement with the US, it would have told US President Donald Trump that he should treat India as an equal.
Pakistan's Army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, has warned India of a decisive response to any provocation, emphasizing the dangers of war in a nuclear environment. He also accused India of using terrorism to destabilize Pakistan and urged the resolution of core issues.
If Xi Jinping can establish control over the PLA Ground Force, relations between India and China will settle down to an even keel. The next few weeks will show whether Xi has finally succeeded in gaining control over the PLA Ground Force. That could bring about the substantive shift in India-China relations that both our leaders have been working for, observes Ambassador Prabhat Shukla.
'It could be the Pakistan army's commercial interest, tactical or strategic interest or one of their leaders.' 'Even if you send a message that we have attempted to kill one of the Pakistani generals, that itself will serve the purpose.'
The Congress on Wednesday termed Chinese claims of mediation between India and Pakistan concerning and said the people of India need clarity on the issue.
German biathlete and double Olympic champion Laura Dahlmeier has been at least seriously injured in a mountaineering accident in Pakistan, German media said.
The real heroes of Operation Sindoor were not the armed forces or political leadership, but the ordinary citizens of India who refused to fall into the trap of communal provocation, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
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