Jamat ud Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed on Monday made a rare public appearance to lead the funeral prayers for Kashmiri leader Maulvi Showkat Ahmed Shah, killed in Srinagar last week, and used the occasion to rubbish the India-Pakistan cricket diplomacy while vowing for a "jihad" in Jammu and Kashmir.
Shortly after former President Pranab Mukherjee passed away, leaders, including President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, paid tributes to him.
India's soft power diplomacy came into play during this cataclysm affecting the world as the pandemic defies barriers and borders, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Nearly 250,000 classified United States documents procured by WikiLeaks give detail about a wide variety of secret diplomatic episodes and incidences of backroom bargaining, the New York Times reported on Sunday.
'The India-Pakistan relationship is in a deep freeze, though it could be a lot worse had there not been a new LoC ceasefire a year ago.' 'The India-Pakistan relationship will only start to thaw if the Pakistani military decides it's prepared to push for detente.'
Who knows, the moment of truth in Ladakh may also augur for a giant leap toward boundary settlement with China in the fulness of time. The news that the special representatives of the two countries are planning to meet gives a positive signal, suggests Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Monetising online readership, a deeper focus on content and getting revenue from the reader are ways to make the business future-proof, observes Vanita Kohli-Khandekar.
The reduction of tension on the Chinese border may have reduced the urgency of a Biden-Modi meeting, but the sooner Modi starts a bromance with Biden the better as he had done with Obama and Trump, suggests Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Kim did not rule out diplomacy with the Biden administration despite that Pyongyang called Biden a 'rabid dog' after Biden labelled Kim a 'thug'.
If the FATF lets Pakistan off the hook, which is to be expected, it would signify a big boost to Pakistan's standing in the fight against terrorism. Delhi, on the other hand, loses the propaganda advantage, states Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'This pandemic has given him a new platform to perform,' says a member of the government. 'He should feel lucky that he has got an opportunity now to demonstrate to the world his original talent.' 'He needs a visionary script to perform.' Sheela Bhatt reports on the politics of the pandemic.
Pakistan is growing restive with the below the radar screen diplomacy. This is the issue Modi and Sharif will grapple with at their Washington meeting, says Rajeev Sharma.
All governments indulge in spin. One should not, therefore, blame the government of Dr Manmohan Singh for indulging in spin in the case of David Coleman Headley, of the Chicago cell of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, and for trying to mislead the hapless Indian public with the help of obliging journalists that the plea bargain entered into by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with Headley was not a setback, but a great triumph for Indian diplomacy.
'In our many years together as colleagues in the Lok Sabha, we developed a warm personal relationship and I feel her loss greatly,' Gandhi said in her condolence letter to Swaraj's husband Swaraj Kaushal.
'Coupled with e-filing procedures it would really enhance the ability of the judiciary to provide speedier justice.'
The US State Department planners had included India among the countries to be visited by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her maiden trip to Asia, a prestigious American publication on foreign policy and diplomacy has reported.
Lobbying on the Hill is time consuming and cumbersome, but very effective to influence US government policies, asserts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, deputy chief of mission at the Indian embassy in Washington, DC after the 1998 nuclear tests and during the Kargil War.
The trust some people in India had that the Biden-Harris administration would be friendly to India has been eroded already, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Secretiveness and the element of surprise in announcing decisions marks the Modi style of diplomacy. From being a voluble politician, he became a reticent statesman... But the diplomatic dance is performed on thin ice and his adroitness is still to be proved,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Trump can afford to say that COVID-19 is a 'China virus', but we can't expect Modi to say that aloud while his actions may speak louder, says Rup Narayan Das.
On December 10, Kissinger began to encourage the Chinese to take action against India: 'If the People's Republic were to consider the situation on the Indian subcontinent a threat to security, and if it took measures to protect its security, the US would oppose efforts of others to interfere with the People's Republic.' On the 50th anniversary of India's greatest military victory, Claude Arpi recalls how the US suggested that China intervene militarily on Pakistan's side.
A top United States senator has unveiled an 18-point plan, including enhancing military ties with India, to hold the Chinese government accountable for its "lies, deception, and cover-ups" that ultimately led to the global COVID-19 pandemic.
"This august forum witnessed a new low on its 75th anniversary. The leader of Pakistan today called for those who incite hate and violence to be outlawed. But as he went on, we were left wondering, was he referring to himself?" First Secretary in the Permanent Mission of India to the UN Mijito Vinito said, making India's Right of Reply.
Considering that Qatar is a trusted ally of Washington for decades, it is expected to be a steady influence on the Taliban leadership, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The ceremony on May 30 is all about Modi and there is the great risk that Imran Khan who is a rockstar among Indians might end up stealing the show,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Will Prime Minister Narendra Modi be able to continue political engagement with Pakistan against the inevitable upsurge of negative and hostile public sentiment?'
The description of his career by Ambassador Nazareth in his elegant language, judicious choice of details, without ego or malice to anyone, shows that it had its ups and downs, triumphs and tragedies and lucky and unlucky accidents. Ambassador T P Sreenivasan reviews A Ringside Seat to History.
Neel Mullick lists a few must-don'ts as well!
'A breakthrough in eastern Ladakh leading to disengagement and creation of a buffer zone will obviate the need of military deployment through the winter months ahead,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The new missile could deliver 2,000 to 3,500 kilograms of payload to any point in the continental US, notes Rajaram Panda.
Those who know Shiv Shankar Menon will vouch that he did lots of things, substantial in the immediate neighbourhood and widespread in South Asia, but without making things public. Twenty per cent of Menon's job was visible, while 80 per cemt of his job was not known to the public, says Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com
As the pandemic unfolded, the India-China relationship has come under severe stress. To restore normalcy, agreements between the two countries must be respected scrupulously in their entirety. Where the Line of Actual Control is concerned, any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo is unacceptable, declares External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
'What if Kim is alive as the latest reappearance suggests, but unable to rule?' 'Will his sister be installed as the leader to continue with the Kims's hereditary dynasty that began with the present ruler's grandfather?' asks Dr Rajaram Panda.
What the UK is getting out of the Serum Institute is what India is losing. And the responsibility of the Indian State ought to have been to dictate where Serum Institute's vaccine doses should go, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'We must compartmentalise issues, ensuring that one disagreement does not sour everything,' advises Ambassador Kishan S Rana.
The Washington Post reported that Trump called the conversation with Turnbull "the worst by far" of his calls with world leaders that day, and cut it short after 25 minutes.
Aditi Hardikar says she is proud to honour her parents' sacrifices by giving back to her community and country.
Both have been robustly muscular leaders who began as immensely charismatic politicians conveying an impression that they were makers of history, raring to go. Both have been hyperactive on the world stage. But in the final analysis, Abe is departing on a sombre note, unceremoniously and apologetically, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
