Pakistan lashed out at the International Cricket Council on Friday for suspending three of its players facing 'spot-fixing' charges and sought to insinuate that its president, Sharad Pawar, had a hand in the decision.
Jammu and Kashmir unit of Vishwa Hindu Parishad termed the invite by Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to Kashmiri separatists as "strange and ironical," saying the neighbouring country is playing with the sovereignty of India.
How to conduct the mock exercise with active public participation of people was discussed threadbare at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan. Top civil and police officers of the country participated in the meeting, official sources said.
Pakistan High Commissioner to Britain Wajid S Hassan on Friday gave a new twist to the spot-fixing scandal involving the Pakistan cricket team, saying the three accused players were 'innocent' and Indian bookmakers were involved in the whole murky episode.
Pakistan on Friday said that its foreign minister will be travelling to India in July to take forward the bilateral peace process. "What we can deliver at this stage is that our foreign minister will be visiting New Delhi in July," said Pakistan High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik. On the ongoing foreign secretary-level talks, Malik said, "They are going well." Pakistan currently has Hina Rabbani Khar as minister of state for foreign affairs.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Thursday expressed his "strong desire" to build "further momentum" to carry forward relations with India in a constructive manner. Gilani made the remarks when Pakistan's High Commissioner-designate to India, Salman Bashir, called on him before his departure to New Delhi to assume his new assignment.
The Pakistan high commission has invited Kashmiri separatist leaders for consultations with Sartaj Aziz ahead of the National Security Advisor-level talks with India in New Delhi next week.
India on Friday handed over to Pakistan the replies to the 30 questions, about the terror attack on Mumbai in November last year, posed by that country. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee handed over India' reply to Pakistan High Commissioner Sahid Malik. Earlier, Home Minister P Chidambaram had handed over the document along with evidence to Mukherjee. He had added that each and every question posed by Islamabad had been answered adequately.
Terming as 'unfortunate' the stalled talks between the two countries, Pakistan has advocated de-linking the resumption of composite dialogue from the 26/11 probe, saying it was 'seriously' pursuing all the leads provided by India. "Both Pakistan and India are today at a stage unfortunately where there is no dialogue between them. If we are seated across the table and agree to disagree, even that is an improvement over the current state of affairs," said Pak envoy Shahid Malik
Pakistan high commission sources said it has been an usual practice to invite the Kashmiri separatist leaders on such occasions.
Pakistan decision to withdraw Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif from the tour of England was on the advice of the International Cricket Council.
Pakistan has to do more to dismantle the terror infrastructure on its soil if it wants to resume the peace process with New Delhi, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in New Delhi on Tuesday."As far as the composite dialogue is concerned, it has been paused. We expect Pakistan to do more to dismantle the terror infrastructure," Mukherjee told reporters. Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik had met Mukherjee on Monday.
The Pakistani government has not confirmed his appointment.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik was "a bit surprised" when the issue of torture of Kargil hero Capt Saurabh Kalia was raised by India, Pakistan High Commissioner Salman Bashir said on Tuesday, insisting that Islamabad is yet to take a position on the matter.
Pakistan's High Commissioner Salman Bashir met Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai in New Delhi on Wednesday during which the latter lodged a protest against Tuesday's attack in which Pakistani troops crossed over the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Poonch District and killed two soldiers.
Akbar said around 30 members belonging to various constituents of the Geelani's faction have been invited by the Pakistan High Commission. They include Geelani, Ashraf Sehrai, Shabir Shah and Nayeem Khan.
They also emphasised that Pakistan should play an "active role in highlighting the human rights violations" in Jammu and Kashmir at international fora.
Ahead of the Indo-Pak Home Secretary talks, Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik on Friday hoped that dialogue between the two countries on all issues, including Siachen and Sir Creek, will make progress.
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.
Contradicting Defence Minister Chaudhary Mukhtar Ahmad, Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Shahid Malik on Wednesday said that Jaish-e-Mohmmad chief Maulana Masood Azhar, one of India's most-wanted terrorists, was not under house arrest and his whereabouts were not known to them."We are looking for him. He is not under house arrest. As far as I know, it (news reports of Azhar's house arrest) is wrong. He is not in Pakistan...We don't know where he is," Malik said.
India and Pakistan should move from confrontation to cooperation, Pakistan's High Commissioner Abdul Basit on Tuesday said while adding that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is keen to normalise bilateral relations.
An explosion occurred outside a temple in Amritsar, Punjab, India, when a motorcycle-borne person threw an explosive device towards it, damaging a portion of its wall and shattering window panes. While no one was hurt in the incident, the explosion caused panic among residents. The incident has sparked concern about law and order in the state and led to accusations against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government. The police are investigating the incident and have collected samples from the site to identify the material used in the explosion.
India on Tuesday protested to Pakistan over the unprovoked firing from across the border to give cover to infiltrators when its Deputy High Commissioner was summoned for the fourth time in just over a week over alleged "unprovoked ceasefire violations".
Sources said Bisaria is back in Delhi as Pakistan did not heed to India's request to review its decision to downgrade diplomatic ties.
A confident and well-adjusted India would look to capitalise on an unpredictable Pakistan during Sunday's T20 World Cup match.
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 has called off foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan next week sending a blunt message that it was interfering in India's internal affairs by holding talks with Kashmiri separatists.
K D Sharma, former high commissioner to Pakistan, shot himself dead in his east Delhi apartment on Thursday morning apparently depressed over his poor health conditions, the police said.
In a tit-for-tat, Bangladesh and Pakistan have reportedly detained each other's diplomatic staff amid a spat between them over the 1971 war crimes trial.
The sudden arrest and immediate release of Kashmiri separatist leaders who are to meet Pakistan National Security Advisor Sartaj Aziz introduced an intriguing element into the scheduled talks he will have with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on terror on next week.
Pakistani daily The News hinted that the name of Aziz Ahmed Khan, foreign office spokesman, has been forwarded to India for approval.
Janjua will replace incumbent foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, who will be taking charge as Pakistan's new ambassador to the US, Foreign Office said on Monday night.
Signalling a fresh slide in ties, Pakistan and India may temporarily recall their high commissioners and scale down the size of diplomatic staff in each other's missions in the wake of the latest diplomatic spat over the spying episode, a media report said on Friday.
A delegation of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders on Tuesday met the Pakistan High Commissioner to India and submitted a memorandum to register their protest against the demolition of a temple in Karachi and the plight of Hindu minorities in the neighbouring country.
On Tuesday, Karachi Chamber of Commerce cancelled an event of Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Gautam Bambawale at the last minute, apparently over his remarks on Pakistan's interference in Kashmir.
'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.
'Nine missiles from India had been pointed towards Pakistan, to be launched any time that day'
Indians hoping to study in Canada should think twice because many students have ended up in substandard colleges with no job prospects despite spending lakhs of rupees, resulting in depression and suicide, India's top envoy there says.
'On the Kashmir and Pakistan question, it is startling that Vajpayee and Advani did more than anybody in Indian history.'
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