The home ministry has sent a detailed sequence of events to the Prime Minister's Office, primarily blaming the ministry of defence for the inordinate delay, reports RS Chauhan
about the recent remarks by Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg assigning a major role for China in South Asia and saying that India has a role to play in East Asia, National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon said that in today's globalised world, this was no big deal
The United Progressive Alliance government has decided to make its intelligence agencies accountable to Parliament for scrutiny in the wake of several goof-ups, failures and misuse of the unlimited funds placed at their disposal.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj has apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of discussions with Sri Lankan leadership during the visit of a MPs' delegation led by her to look into the resettlement and rehabilitation process of displaced Tamils there.
Gilani wants power from Punjab and fought hard to get India MFN status. Nikhil Lakshman listens in on Air India One
Gilani wants power from Punjab and fought hard to get India MFN status. Nikhil Lakshman listens in on Air India One
Against the backdrop of the killing of Al Qeada leader Osama bin Laden and the situation in Pakistan, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Monday took stock of the country's overall security scenario with the military top brass.
Pakistan said on Thursday that India should help it investigate the Mumbai attacks instead of accusing the country's institutions of being involved in the terrorist incident.
National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon and United States Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian and Central Asian Affairs Richard Boucher agreed that there was a need for Pakistan to eliminate Lashkar-e-Tayiba, but differed on the tactics to be adopted for such an exercise.American embassy diplomatic cables leaked by the whistle-blowing web site WikiLeaks reveal that US diplomats made repeated efforts to reassure their often frustrated Indian counterparts.
India's unilateral offer was again relayed by the then Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon in his meeting with the Special US Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke on February 16, 2009 in New Delhi, wherein the latter praised India's developmental role in Afghanistan.
PM Manmohan Singh, Minister of External Affairs, SM Krishna, National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon and other senior officials will be in New York from September 22 to 26 to attend the high-level segment of the 66th UNGA. Sahim Salim reports.
India and China on Sunday discussed the possibility of working in collaborative projects in third countries, including joint initiatives in Afghanistan to tap large mineral resources, as part of efforts to broad base their relationship.
The prime minister's office has approved setting up of a Strategic Programme Staff to function under the National Security Advisor. This unique back up to National Security Advisor will be headed by a secretary level officer, to be packed with directors and deputy secretaries as staff members.
Speaking at the Cariappa memorial lecture on 'The role of militaries in international relations', National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon said that force was an inescapable factor in international relations, whether through its actual use or in the threat of its use.
No decision has yet been taken, however, on which match the general would witness.
In his meeting with Richard Holbrooke on February 16, 2009 in New Delhi, the then Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon also thanked the Special Representative for US' role in pressing Pakistan to act on India's dossier on Mumbai attacks and said that it was "remarkable that we got this far".
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit Pakistan, while the latter renewed his invitation to the former to visit India during their meeting in New York. Briefing reporters, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said both leaders accepted each other's invitation, but dates have not been decided yet.
Indicating that Dr Singh will take up with Zardari the issue of continued cross-border terrorism and ceasefire violations, Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon asserted that an atmosphere free of violence and terror was necessary for the dialogue process between the two countries to move ahead.
Displaying anger at the Kabul embassy blast in which "elements" based in Pakistan were involved, New Delhi on Monday said the incident had vitiated the atmosphere putting the dialogue process "under stress" and asked Islamabad to address its concerns.
Though the main focus of talks between Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir is on peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir and CBMs, other issues like release of prisoners, visa relaxation, trade and commerce will also come up for discussions.
India on Friday urged the Sri Lankan government to cease its offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and declare a truce in the conflict zone. The Centre also rushed National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon to Colombo to step up its diplomatic pressure.The decision was taken at a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday, attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
"There are individual areas where we think there are activities and infrastructure development. We have ways of dealing with this and it has always been successful," Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon told media persons during a briefing on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's maiden visit to Beijing beginning Sunday.
President Obama was seen patting Saran's back after the Copenhagen negotiations, but he characteristically laughed it away when I mentioned it in my TV conversation with him. Saran will be missed in the government, but he will be a welcome addition to the strategic community, which will benefit from his immense experience and innate wisdom
"The two delegations engaged in productive discussions on working together to address global challenges. They examined new and expanded areas for India-US cooperation," sources said.
Menon will on Tuesday hold discussions with the US Under Secretary Nicholas Burns amid 'frustration' in the US at the slow pace of negotiations and India's insistence on right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel.
The 58-year-old diplomat, who was ambassador to China before her new assignment, will have tenure of 17 months as the top foreign ministry official. Prior to her stint in China, she has served in various key positions, including India's High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and was the first woman spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry.
Was that an invitation or a signal that the process of regular interactions between foreign secretaries, home secretaries, director generals of military intelligence will be back on track is anybody's guess.
"We want to take relations forward," Menon said in his opening remarks.
The draft 123 Agreement will be given to the American side by Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon on Tuesday when he visits Washington for the High Technology Cooperation Group meeting.
The Nation quoted Kasuri as saying in Islamabad that Pakistan welcomed the statement by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make Siachen 'a mountain of peace'.
An image of the Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries in New Delhi.
India and Pakistan are expected to tale up issues like terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir besides confidence building measures.
'Bush can climb over a tower and scream that Syed Salahuddin is a terrorist. But nobody would listen to him,' says the Hizbul Mujahideen leader.
In diplomacy, it is inadvisable to be a straggler, as you may end up crawling back on a pitiless greasy pole.
Backing Iran's right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, India has said that "no country can put pressure" on Tehran in that respect as it sought establishment of strategic partnership with the oil-rich Persian country.
Previously, for nearly a decade, we had no body for analysis, assessment and follow-up action. Today we have three --- the JIC of the old vintage, the NSCS of the 1998-99 creation and the National Security Advisory Board, which came into existence in 1999 as a body of non-governmental analysts and advisers on national security. From a state of practically no analysis, we have gravitated to one of a plethora of analysis.
India has offered $10 million for the victims of a series of landslides in south-eastern Bangladesh that killed at least 123 people earlier this month, a foreign office spokesman said in Dhaka on Friday.
The two sides will seek to wind up the year-long negotiations ahead of the meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and US President George W Bush in Germany next week on the sidelines of the G-8 Summit.
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