'The United States loves working with dictators' 'Because then you don't have to worry about public opinion and you don't have to worry about the media anymore'
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday paid floral tributes at the city police headquarters to those who made the ultimate sacrifice while fighting terrorists during the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
New Delhi might have loudly welcomed an age of multipolarity, hedging and strategic autonomy. But it seems the winner in that game is Islamabad, not us, points out Mihir S Sharma.
India emerged from the war militarily bruised and strategically altered. The United States, under the guise of friendship, had succeeded in achieving what open alignment never could: The psychological and political repositioning of India within the Cold War order, points out Dr Kumar.
United States President Donald Trump will host Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir for lunch at the White House on Wednesday.
Pakistan has denied any connection to Tahawwur Rana, a key accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Rana, a Canadian national, has not renewed his Pakistani documents for over two decades, according to the Foreign Office spokesperson.
'Can a nuclear-armed nation sustain itself indefinitely under overt military rule without catastrophic consequences for itself and the region? History suggests otherwise.'
'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.'
The closed-door luncheon meeting came amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran with Trump exploring Washington's possible involvement.
In a key revelation, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer John Kiriakou has said that Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, who was the most wanted terrorist for the United States after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, had escaped from the Tora Bora hills in Afghanistan in the guise of a woman.
A Delhi court has sought the trial records of the 26/11 terror attack from a Mumbai court ahead of the expected extradition of the crime's alleged mastermind Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India from the US. The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for Rana's extradition, dismissing his final legal challenge against the move.
US reoccupation would need large troop deployments, break the Doha Agreement, and strain relations with Pakistan, Russia and Iran.
'The background for the Saudi-Pakistan agreement is the fact that the regional security order has collapsed due to the Israeli attack on Doha.' 'The Americans have largely abandoned their security guarantee for West Asia and the region has no choice but to look at alternatives.'
Can Imperial Japan be forgiven for what it did to Indian soldiers it was supposed to protect as PoWs?
'Pakistan has found itself in a favourable position after Operation Sindoor by appreciating the mediation as claimed by Trump and recommending him for the Nobel Peace Prize.'
'During the 5-day visit, Amir Khan Muttaqi would have, conceivably, bumped into our powerful security agencies one way or another and some interaction would have ensued, which, in turn, can lead to future dealings.' 'Indeed, this will be the one crucial template of the Indo-Afghan relationship that Pakistan will be monitoring closely,' points Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'What we need to watch is how Saudi Arabia's financial assistance will be used by Pakistan. If the funds go to build their military hardware and operations, it should worry us.'
'If 138 soldiers have been given a gallantry award as 'shaheed' (by Pakistan) for Operation Sindoor, how many would have been the actual casualties. This decides who won.
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.
'The way Abhishek and Shubman bat, it is like fire and ice.'
A multi-agency team has gone to the US and all paperwork and legal issues are being completed with US authorities to bring him to India, they said.
Sections in the US State Department and Pentagon have always felt more comfortable dealing with all powerful Pakistani generals instead of elected civilians, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
The United States has extradited Pakistani-Canadian Tahawwur Hussain Rana to India to face charges for his alleged involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. Rana, 64, was convicted in the US in 2011 for providing material support to Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani militant group responsible for the Mumbai attacks. The US Department of State said it has long supported India's efforts to bring those responsible for the attacks to justice and that the extradition is a critical step towards seeking justice for the victims. Rana's extradition comes after the US Supreme Court denied his last-ditch attempt to evade extradition. He will now face justice in India for his role in the attacks which killed 166 people, including six Americans.
The collective West has always opposed strong leaders and economic development in India, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The hugely significant development comes just days after Rana's last-resort attempt to evade extradition to India failed after the US Supreme Court justices denied his application, moving him closer to being handed over to Indian authorities to face justice in the dastardly attacks.
In a post on X, Sherman said that he 'emphasised to the Pakistani delegation the importance of combatting terrorism, and in particular, the group Jaish-e-Mohammed, who murdered my constituent Daniel Pearl in 2002'.
Bookstore owners were cautioned against keeping or distributing the books. Police personnel briefed the bookstore owners about the legal consequences of violating the ban.
'What the Americans want is to destabilise Iran. For destabilising Iran, you need access. 'One access is through Iraq. The other access is through Pakistan.'
Russia has a "special mechanism" to confront any challenge arising out of the US slapping punitive measures against India for its procurement of Russian crude oil, Russian charge d'affaires Roman Babushkin said on Wednesday.
The US Supreme Court has denied the application of Tahawwur Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin accused in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, seeking a stay on his extradition to India. Rana, currently detained in Los Angeles, had submitted the application after Associate Justice Elena Kagan initially denied it. Despite a renewed appeal, the Supreme Court ultimately rejected the request.
The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
'America holds about 16% of IMF voting rights, giving it crucial influence over Pakistan's desperately needed bailout loans.'
'...it should not delude itself into thinking that India's security or its great-power ambitions will be advanced by those partnerships.'
'Instead, what India should focus on is on riding out the next three-and-a-half years of Trump's presidency with minimal damage to itself.'
'If they can be duplicitous, we can be equally duplicitous.' 'If they offer friendship, we reciprocate.' 'If they choose hostility, we respond with equal hostility.'
'India is too important to the United States for there to be any kind of a permanent bump in the relationship.'
'However, we must implement a tit-for-tat approach -- reciprocating their conduct with precision.' 'If they demonstrate respect, we respond accordingly. If they adopt hostile positions, we mirror that hostility with equal intensity.'
This was Rana's last legal chance not to be extradited to India. Earlier, he lost a legal battle in several federal courts, including the US Court of Appeals for the North Circuit in San Francisco.
Trump's method are more destabilising than his policy. So, a good idea these couple of years is to sip Kool-Aid, and savour the joys of Trumplomacy, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
'But that was not our aim. Our objective was already achieved.'
The Chinese see no need to fight directly. They have an able and willing proxy in Pakistan, points out Shekhar Gupta.
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