The SAARC has not lived up to its potential, the White House said.
'India needs to be cautious that its differences with Pakistan do not obstruct SCO's functioning,' says Sana Hashmi.
With most of the South East Asian countries hit by terrorism, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday said countries in the region have agreed to exchange of information and intelligence among them to combat the menace.
The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday said it has attached Indian assets of a Sri Lankan man and his son as part of a drugs-linked money laundering investigation against them.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time addressed the leaders of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation in Kathmandu in Nepal. Here are the top quotes from his speech:
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation is very much aligned with the foreign policy priorities of the Modi 2.0 government, says Sana Hashmi.
While Modi has spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor (270 days versus Dr Singh's 306), he has travelled more extensively and actively than any other Indian PM.
The terrorists opened fire on the army camp at Langate in Kupwara district at around 5 am, which was retaliated by the jawans, a senior army officer said.
Amid continued strain in ties, Pakistan on Wednesday said it does not see any prospect of having structured talks with India in the near future and made it clear that the ball is in India's court to initiate dialogue.
Ignoring India's opposition, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan will hold dialogue with Kashmiri separatists to take them into confidence before engaging in peace talks with India.
The five Indian fishermen, who were sentenced to death on charges of drug trafficking, have been released by the Sri Lankan authorities.
Jaishankar was among the first ministers to arrive for the SAARC ministerial meeting. He was in the meeting for over 45 minutes and then left.
Pakistan on Friday released 40 Indian prisoners, including fishermen, from a jail in karachi, officials said.
FM said every major terrorist incident in the world has a 'Pakistani footprint' around it.
Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar arrived in Kabul on Wednesday to hold talks with the Afghan leadership
PM Modi telephoned Imran Khan to congratulate him on his party's victory in the general elections
He did not mention the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.
Khan proposed a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this month.
Pakistan will not engage with India 'until and unless they lift the siege' in Kashmir, it said.
On a day when the sixth anniversary of Mumbai attack was being observed, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday told South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation leaders that India feels the 'endless pain' of lost lives and urged the eight- nation grouping to combat terrorism unitedly.
A day after a handshake with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said on Friday that talks with India should not be at the cost of his country's 'dignity, self-respect and reputation'.
The meeting comes as India continues its attempts to isolate Pakistan in the South Asian region after the attack on its army camp in Uri.
New Delhi has reached out to neighbours like seldom before while singling Islamabad for criticism at international forums.
India on Thursday pitched for unleashing the "collective strength" of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation as External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj underlined the need for a South Asian Economic Union with greater connectivity and forward movement on pending agreements on rail and motor vehicles.
She also said the Kartarpur corridor initiative was not linked to the dialogue process with Pakistan.
Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan is located across the river Ravi, about four kilometres from the Dera Baba Nanak shrine in Punjab's Gurdaspur district.
India's full membership of the grouping would extend its reach to the Central Asian region in whose peace and stability it is a major stakeholder, says Sana Hashmi.
It also asked Pakistan to act tough on terror.
India said it firmly believes that a peaceful and secure neighbourhood will yield "rich dividends" for SAARC nations.
India would not be seen to be anything but rude with the Pakistanis. In the big picture, who is the bigger adversary right now? Who is the bigger pain in the neck? And who is it that is keeping more than 3,000 km of our borders active, throwing our military posture and deployments into imbalance? asks Shekhar Gupta.
The prime minister is all set to break his record of spending most days in the country without travelling abroad.
On the sidelines of the SCO visit in Ufa, the two heads met and decided to revive dialogue and find ways to expedite the trial of the Mumbai attacks.
While Narendra Modi spent fewer days abroad than his predecessor -- 275 days versus Dr Singh's 306 - he has travelled more widely than any other Indian PM.
According to Bambawale, even while tensions were high between the two nations, there had been contacts at the operational level.
Connectivity is what SAARC needs the most but Pakistan is not interested, says Rajeev Sharma.
The frosty Indo-Pak ties briefly gave way to some warmth when a smiling Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif on Thursday shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, but India cautioned against reading too much into such "courtesies".
He suggested evolving specific plans for cooperation with the 10-memeber grouping in key areas of maritime security, counter-piracy and humanitarian and disaster relief.
It is important the SCO focus strongly on economic development and regional integration that leads to greater benefits for the least developed regions of member-countries, writes Sana Hashmi.
India will provide immediate medical visa for patient and an attendant coming for treatment as well as business visa for 3-5 years for SAARC nations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to the national capital on Thursday after a successful three-day visit to Nepal capital Kathmandu, where he attended the 18th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances