Officials were surprised at how quickly smugglers appraised the Covid situation to recruit jobless migrant workers to ship gold.
The consignment was imported by a trading company registered in Vijaywada in Andhra Pradesh.
The Taliban is highly pragmatic and would regard it wasteful to resume military offensive to capture Panjshir. The Taliban's preference, historically, has been to keep the military option as the last resort, explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
Rediff.com's Hitesh Harisinghani tells us what makes this quaint seaside town worth a visit.
The "exponential increase is largely due to the recent inflow of people brought in from Taftan after a purported quarantine".
Pakistan's efforts for the peace process in Afghanistan would be remembered for long, he said.
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
A day after Dhaka was liberated on December 16, 1971, then US President Richard Nixon was told by his strategic advisor Henry Kissinger that he had 'saved West Pakistan,' according to confidential papers since declassified by the US department of state.
Syed Firdaus Ashraf on the futility of the 'who is a Hindu?' debate.
Russia and China are tight-fisted and Iran is broke and none of them has the political will or capacity to bankroll the Afghan economy, which only the US can, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Internal strife and tribalism is endemic to Afghanistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Given all the turbulence created by Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi's unexpected tirade against Saudi Arabia, it is likely to be business as usual between the two countries, albeit with a bit of caution on the part of both, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Remember the US withdrawal agreement was signed in February 2020. In the intervening period, a proper evacuation plan ought to have been in place. It was not. Consequently, tens of thousands of Afghans who had worked as interpreters, drivers, suppliers of goods and services, etc, face brutal retribution from the Taliban, Virendra Kapoor points out.
The Congress hit out at the BJP, demanding the immediate arrest of those who have defamed India at the international level instead of enacting a "drama of action".
Cut off from the world and having to contend with an orthodox and repressive Taliban government, Afghans are facing the brunt of Pakistan's decades old policy of nurturing militant groups, note Harsh V Pant and Kriti M Shah four months after the Taliban took Kabul.
Brent crude oil price surged 4 per cent on Friday, following tension between Iran and the US. Airlines, however, have been unable to pass on the price increase to customers due to the soft demand.
Shehbaz, the younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, received 174 votes -- two more than the simple majority of 172.
But why should India be talking to the Taliban in the first place? There is no love lost there. India will never forget or forgive the humiliation to which the Taliban subjected it in the IC-814 hijack, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Taking part in the first meeting of Foreign Ministers of the neighbouring countries on Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will provide Afghanistan with 200 million yuan ($31 million) worth of grains, winter supplies, vaccines and medicines as per its requirements, official media in Beijing reported.
The US military efforts in Afghanistan were akin to filling a bucket that had gaping holes, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India is apprehensive about the Taliban's return as it would mean loss of access to Baluch rebels and help to the restive tribals of Waziristan. This would be a setback to the Indian strategy of returning the compliments of death by a thousand cuts to Pakistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Imran Khan knows Pakistan is holding a strong hand and doesn't have to flaunt it while claiming victory. But Pakistan has learned from the experience of the 1990s -- high risk of going out on a limb, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
You aren't dealing with a normal, civilised, law. The NDPS Act, in its preconditions for bail, and insistence on evidence of innocence rather than guilt, is worse than UAPA. Imagine yourself or your child at the other end of this, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the accolades for the Indian kabaddi team after it triumphed in the 2016 World Cup, its third in a row, on the back of a memorable second-half fightback against Iran, in Ahmedabad, on Saturday.
Two Pakistani soldiers were killed on Saturday when a car bomb hit a paramilitary van escorting a bus of pilgrims in the country's restive Balochistan province.
India requested Pakistan to let Modi's aircraft fly over its airspace when he travels to Bishkek. Pakistan accorded an "in principle" approval to India's request.
Though Bajwa met Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Saudi Arabia's military chief of staff General Fayyad bin Hamid Al-Ruwaili, he failed to meet the crown prince.
India maintains that it wants to be part of the project but cannot go ahead till its concerns with regard to security and issues related to pricing of gas are addressed.
"We reject the unwarranted and gratuitous comments made by Pakistan on the judgement of the Supreme Court of India on a civil matter that is completely internal to India," Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
The terrible beauty of Doval's initiative is that it is all about a new journey rather than about a set compass pointing toward a pre-determined destination, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Taliban have postponed the formation of a new government in Afghanistan for next week, their spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on Saturday, as the insurgent group struggles to give shape to a broad-based and inclusive administration acceptable to the international community.
China may accord recognition to the new government in Kabul at an early opportunity, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar
Aseem Chhabra tell us how he watched 302 films in 365 days on airplanes, on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Google, Hulu, DVDs and even on YouTube.
The Middle East's power house is about to get a new ruler who is only 31 and he may lead Saudi Arabia for decades, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Ayub Khan told foreign powers who wanted him to help India that the fact that Pakistan did not take advantage of India's vulnerability was a form of assistance and a sufficient gesture. This and more in veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar's latest book, Beyond the Lines: An Autobiography
In his brief address, the external affairs minister said India's friendship with Afghanistan is "strong and unshaken" and that no part of the country is untouched by New Delhi's development programmes.
'Even as discord over US-India trade and commerce colours diplomatic relations, defence relations between the two countries remain on a firm footing,' points out Ajai Shukla.
The administration of President Barack Obama has as badly misjudged the gathering storm in Egypt before the riots broke out as the administration of then President Jimmy Carter had misjudged the gathering storm in Teheran in 1978 before the fall of the Shah of Iran, believes B Raman
Only a leader with sufficient moral authority with voters can pull off such experiments, notes T N Ninan.
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