India and France on Monday inked an Inter-Governmental Agreement on the sale of 36 French fighter jets, Rafale, but were unable to sign the final deal due to some "financial" aspects, which are expected to be sorted out in "couple of days".
The United States has been successful in engaging with India on tracking money used by radical groups to penetrate into the country, the Barack Obama administration has said as it praised Indian Muslims for demonstrating a great deal of "resilience" against overtures by terrorist groups.
A recent study on Naxalism in India has concluded that Naxal fighters spend roughly Rs 140 crore annually to wage war against the Indian State.
Bangladeshi-Canadian Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and dismissed army officer Syed Md Ziaul Haque have been identified as the brains behind the two terror attacks.
The only thing that may salvage Narendra Modi's trip to the US is his meetings with CEOs, such as those of Blackstone, First Solar, Qualcomm, Adobe, and General Atomics, asserts Rajeev Srinivasan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is said to have expressed his 'unhappiness' over the media coverage on violent protests in Kashmir Valley following killing of Burhan Wani saying the Hizbul Mujahideen militant has been portrayed as a "hero".
'The most unfortunate part is that after precipitating the crisis situation on Tuesday, the government ducked and took help from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to 'de-escalate' the situation.' 'Make no mistake, this fateful move has grave implications.' 'You don't take help from the wolf to guard the sheep, right?' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Delhi police claims Ejaz Sheikh handed over ammunition for the German Bakery blasts to Yasin Bhatkal. In reality, Shaikh never knew Bhatkal.
A large number of people worldwide have lost their lives because of America's mistakes, President Donald Trump has said as he defended his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by equating his actions with those of the US government.
Have the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh and ULFA's Paresh Barua faction joined forces?
Four people have been arrested by the National Investigation Agency from Bihar's Lakhisarai district on Saturday in connection with the serial blasts in Patna, according to state police officials.
The question really is whether the US can be persuaded to embark on a path of calibrated and stronger sanctions on Pakistan.
'Pakistan's trump card is that it is the only credible guarantor on the horizon who can reasonably assure the Western world that Afghanistan will not again become the revolving door for international terrorism.' 'Trust Pakistan to play this card optimally,' explains Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The Pakistani military has encouraged and supported terrorist organisations, especially in Kashmir, as a means of waging proxy war against the Indian military and the country's superior economic resources.' 'The evidence is irrefutable with the recent killing of 46 paramilitary troops being just the latest example.'
With the maulana fully committed and PML (N) cadres prepared to court arrest, this would be the first time where both Punjabis and Pakhtuns would be standing up against the Pakistan army, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
'Is Trump going to play a mediating role? Can he play a mediating role? It's out of the question.' 'Kashmir is an Indian responsibility.'
The reimposition of sanctions on Iran will have major impact on countries like India, with which it has traditional and historic trade relationship.
The Enforcement Directorate has managed to sniff out over Rs 9,000 crore as suspected haul from money laundering in a decade, but it has yet to link those against anyone successfully in a court.
'If there's one administration that would be likely to put the squeeze on Pakistan, it's the Trump administration.' 'This is an administration that views terrorists as a black and white issue (kill them all, no questions asked), and will have little patience for Pakistan's selective policy toward terrorism.'
'Pakistan may have moved back from this devilish plot in 2007, but there is no guarantee it won't be on the drawing boards again,' warns Rajeev Sharma.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has met US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and discussed a range of issues, including the strategic Indo-US partnership and future areas of bilateral security cooperation.
The recent sanctions imposed by the US on Lashkar front organisation Jamaat-ud-Dawa completely expose Pakistan that has consistently maintained that JuD is a charity organisation. The ban will also limit the donations to JuD, a major chunk of which is pumped into terror funds. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
Obama also said he had emphasised the need for religious tolerance and the right to practise one's own faith during closed door talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his last trip to India in 2015.
Asserting that there was growing scourge of terrorism in view of fast growing linkages of terrorist groups across the globe, India on Tuesday strongly advocated stepped up cooperation through intelligence exchange and training with 54 African countries.
'The attack on the Pathankot base constituted an act of war. Yet Modi's only public comment up until now on that attack has been to blame it on "enemies of humanity".' 'Modi came to power talking tough about Pakistan. But in office, he has pursued a Pakistan policy that has lost both direction and purpose,' argues Brahma Chellaney.
The Jamaat-ud-Dawa not only collected funds for charity and diverted it to the Lashkar-e-Tayiba, but also helped the outfit legitimise money collected through extortion, counterfeiting, smuggling and animal skin trade. Vicky Nanjappa/Rediff.com reports
"I am sure that the attempts to stall development and throttle democracy at gunpoint will not be successful ever," the home minister said at the meeting, being held two weeks after 25 paramilitary personnel were killed by a band of Maoists in Chhattisgarh.
'Local support is very important, without it the terror attack couldn't have taken place.' 'Explosives were secured, the IED was manufactured, the boy was brainwashed and converted into a suicide bomber... it takes a lot of planning and hard work.'
'Why do we continue giving them money when we know of all the bad things they are doing?'
India's national security strategy needs to be revised periodically since the global and regional geopolitical situation is dynamic, points out Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
'Islamabad receives billions in aid from the US but continues to harbour terrorists,' he said.
India and the United Kingdom are set to sign a "package of deliverables" during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first visit here that will also see discussions over cooperation in sectors like nuclear energy and defence.
'While military acts such as the Uri surgical strikes are one option, cultural, economic and diplomatic isolation should also be part of the arsenal,' argues Sankrant Sanu.
'Collateral damage during operations needs to be avoided.' 'Such an objective can be achieved more easily should stone throwers not gear up to en masse oppose security forces.' 'With the conditions being quite sensitive at this stage, the death of one of these boys could easily serve the terrorists in instigating violence,' notes Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
Make no mistake, the Bangladeshi and Afghan missions in Chanakyapuri would report verbatim to their capitals the abrasive remarks attributed to the Indian leadership, casting a slur on their countries' political culture and national honour, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
It would be foolish for Pakistan to assume that India would not act no matter what the provocation is, just because it is militarily more powerful than Myanmar and is armed with nuclear weapons, says Anand Kumar.
Furthering Indo-US cooperation on terrorism, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama on Tuesday agreed to make "joint and concerted efforts" to dismantle safe havens for terror and criminal networks like Lashkar-e-Tayib, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Dawood-company, Al Qaeda and the Haqqani network.
Reaffirming his commitment to destroy the Islamic State, United States President Barack Obama said America will destroy any militant organisation that tried to harm its people but ruled out sending large scale troops on the ground as done in the case of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The government is in no mood to buy the privacy and security argument pitched by WhatsApp, whereas the American firm says traceability will undermine end-to-end encryption and the private nature of the app, creating potential for serious abuse.
