'We were in a heavily nuclearised environment. China had tested for Pakistan in the 1980s and helped their missile programme stay just one step behind us.'
The Uttar Pradesh excise department arrested climate activist Harjeet Singh for allegedly possessing excess liquor after the ED searched his premises in connection with a foreign exchange violation case. The ED is investigating the misuse of funds received from abroad and Singh's visits to Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Pakistan on Tuesday said nuclear scientist A Q Khan, under house arrest after admitting to proliferating atomic secrets four years ago, has no official position and can no longer indulge in proliferation. Asserting Pakistan's commitment to non-proliferation, a statement issued by the office of the national security advisor to the prime minister said the country "will continue to support global efforts in this area with full commitment."
'The heat shield technology for re-entry vehicles was first mastered in DRDO for the Agni missile.' 'This is why the Americans were so opposed to Agni in the 1980s, unlike other missiles -- it was a re-entry vehicle.'
Appreciating its 'responsible' behaviour, the United States has said it will not push India to sign the Non Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty 'for quite some time,' but sought New Delhi's cooperation to strengthen the global non-proliferation regime.
Aziz said Pakistan is committed not to transfer nuclear weapons to other states or assist others to acquire nuclear weapons and consistently supported the goal of a nuclear-weapons-free world.
'It is typical of China's strategic deception of making virtue out of necessity,' observes Rup Narayan Das.
For the first time, representatives from India and Pakistan have been invited to the meeting of the newly constituted International Nuclear Disarmament Commission, which is working towards rectifying the NPT to make it more acceptable.
India, Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan were the four UN member states which have not signed the NPT, the international pact aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
"This Friday in Vienna a plenary session of the NSG will be held. Our position is subject to no change as of date," China said.
This will be the fourth visit of Modi to China after he came to power in 2014.
On the backdrop of surgical strike, the US advised caution given the heavy militarisation between the two neighbours.
'It was India's good fortune to have a Vajpayee lead the government at this crucial moment in history.' 'By taking the N-decision he saved future generations of Indians from being 'Kosovoed' or 'Iraqed',' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Sweden's backing to India was conveyed to President Pranab Mukherjee, who is in Stockholm on a state visit.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi will meet in Hyderabad in November first week for informal dialogue on the state of bilateral relations
However, there will be no bilateral meetings between Swaraj, Sitharaman with their Pakistani counterparts.
Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif may meet PM Narendra Modi in Washington on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit, a top aide to Pakistan Premier said on Tuesday.
Expressing grave concern over a US nuclear-powered submarine sustaining damage in the disputed South China Sea, China on Friday demanded Washington to reveal the details and the location of the accident and blamed America's frequent air and naval sorties in the Indo-Pacific to assert the "freedom of navigation" as the "root cause" of the incident.
"Both India and China are victims of terrorism and the region was suffering from the menace. The prime minister said no country is immune from terrorism and on this issue, we cannot afford to have any differences," MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup told reporters after the meeting.
'I was present at a meeting where he decided to permit the IAF to strike at Pakistan positions in Kargil, with the caveat that they should not cross the LoC.' 'Confident that the Indian Army would succeed, Mr Vajpayee was positioning himself to tell the world after the Kargil conflict was won that India did not violate the 'sanctity' of the LoC,' recalls Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's envoy in Islamabad in that eventful year, 1999.
Friends of India in the US hope that New Delhi will receive a presidential waiver, given that Trump Administration has recognised India as a major defence partner and is in advance stage of selling billions of dollars' worth of equipment to India in the next few years.
'Trump forgets that Kim is not one who likes to be treated publicly as a pauper; he wants to come to the table as an equal, and from a position of perceived strength, not as a suppliant,' says Dr Rajaram Panda.
'In the Asean market, the train left at the same time for India and China, but while India's ride has been symbolic of India's rickety railways, it seems that China's has been on a bullet train,' note Renjini V R, Manmeet Ajmani and Devesh Roy.
Education inflation abroad is high and the depreciation of the rupee can also set you back, says Vishal Dhawan
20 years ago this day, May 11, 1998, India conducted its second nuclear test at Pokharan in Rajasthan. In a fascinating interview on Rediff.com, K Subrahmanyam revealed how Indian PMs reacted to nuclear ambitions.
It is time the new government, unencumbered with the burden of past, initiates a wide ranging review and open debate on the security issues to rectify our short term and long term shortcomings. It has taken some wise steps but has to go beyond this to identify the structural weakness and create systems, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
'Given the present force levels, India cannot fight and win.' 'India can't hope to terminate the conflict on India's terms and impose the nation's will upon the adversaries,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
With Jaitley preferring continuity over change, good days might take a little longer to arrive, says Shankar Acharya.
'India alone cannot walk the path of peace. It also has to be Pakistan's journey to make,' says Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the government's geo-political flagship initiative "Raisina Dialogue-II".
It asked all nations to work together to expedite the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN General Assembly without any further delay.
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