Richard Holbrooke, the United States Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, has asserted that the Obama administration "believes that what happens in Afghanistan and Pakistan is of vital interest to our national security and that India is a country that we must keep in the closest consultations with."
The talks being held at an undisclosed location, involve high-level representatives of the Taliban authorised by the dominant Quetta Shura led by the groups elusive leader Mullah Omar, Washington Post reported quoting Afghan and Arab sources.
Representatives of the Afghanistan government and Taliban militia are set to hold talks in the Maldives on national reconciliation, their second such meeting this year. "The government of Maldives confirms that talks are being held this week in the Maldives between Afghan lawmakers and representatives from groups opposed to the Afghan government," President Mohammaed Nasheed's press secretary Mohamed Zuhair said. The Maldivian government has no involvement in the talks.
B'desh minister termed as "untrue" the allegations of minority repression in the country.
The US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins is stepping down, Secretary of State John Kerry today said amid a political crisis in the war-torn country.
Olson was responding to questions from the lawmakers who expressed concern over Pakistan being "selective" in taking actions against terrorist groups.
United States President Barack Obama has appointed Bruce Riedel, a veteran Central Investigative Agency analyst for nearly three decades, to chair an inter-agency policy review of US policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan.Obama's press spokesman Robert Gibbs said that this policy review chaired by Riedel would have to be completed before the summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in April.
"I'll tell you one thing--we are hitting the Taliban right now harder than they've ever been hit," Trump said.
Jadhav, 46, filed a mercy petition before Gen Bajwa last month, according to an Inter-Services Public Relations statement issued on June 22. The statement said that the former Indian Navy officer had filed the petition after the Military Appellate Court rejected his appeal.
The United States has said that it was aware of the unofficial talks between Taliban and Afghan representatives in Maldives, adding the Karzai government has confirmed that there is no official participant from its side.
Describing India's concerns as legitimate, a top United States official has said that there is no immediate danger of foreign fighters from Afghanistan moving towards the Indian border after 2014, when American troops leave the country.
The United States has asked Pakistan to prove its seriousness in fighting terrorism by matching their rhetoric with that of action on the ground than by mere "verbal commitment".
Yasin was also responsible for the 2009 attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
India has fleshed out its approach toward the peace talks with the Taliban taking into account the inputs from John Kerry's visit as well as the consultations in Delhi the US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan James Dobbins, says M K Bhadrakumar.
Akhil Gogoi, member of the legislative assembly from Sivasagar in Assam, is likely to be released from jail on Thursday as a special NIA court cleared him and his three associates of all charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their alleged role in the violent anti-Citizenship Amendment Act stir in Assam in December 2019.
'...but from those who control the narrative.' Powerful nations have mastered this art of narrative building. Those nations who aspire to become global powers must do so, observes Shanthie Mariet D'Souza.
The foreign ministers from Pakistan and Afghanistan are arriving in Washinton D.C next week for consultations, as part of United States' efforts to contact high-level leaders from the region to frame its new Afghan policy.
Five countries including India, Pakistan and Afghanistan accounted for more than half of the terror attacks that took place across the globe in 2015, a US official has said.
New Delhi's candidature was unanimously endorsed by the 55-member Asia-Pacific grouping, including China and Pakistan, in June last year.
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).
'One of R&AW's greatest achievements is in projecting itself as benign.' 'This work -- done in tandem with the Diaspora and the MEA -- sells a story of India as mostly the victim.'
After Modi became the prime minister, the Indo-US relationship has seen an upward trajectory, he said.
'As much as $4 billion in India's start-up companies has come from Chinese funds.' 'Government policy must not remain indifferent to the problems India's start-up ventures are likely to face after the change in FDI rules,' says A K Bhattacharya.
An MI-17 transport helicopter was on its way to Russia for maintenance when it crash landed on August 4 in a Taliban controlled area of Logar province. The rebels made the crew members as hostages.
"Tolerating the spiral of violence is not an option," Indian representative Vikram Doraiswami told the 15-member Security Council on Tuesday, as it considered the situation in Afghanistan.
The jump in the sale of American weapons to India comes at a time when sale of weapons from the US to other countries has dipped to USD 50.8 billion in 2020 from USD 55.7 billion in 2019.
The match is being organised to raise funds for stadia in the Caribbean, which were damaged due to hurricanes last year.
The SC issued notice to the Centre on the batch of pleas seeking stay on the operation of the law.
A day earlier, the House of Representatives voted 326-78 to pass a waiver exempting Austin from the seven-year 'cooling off period' for retired generals taking over as defence secretary. The senate approved the waiver by 69-27 votes.
A bill dubbing the Pakistan-based dreaded Haqqani Network the "most dangerous" Afghan insurgent group and seeking its designation as a foreign terrorist organisation is set to be taken up by the United States House of Representatives. The Haqqani Network is believed to be responsible for a number of terrorist attacks against United States facilities inside Afghanistan.
Condolences continued to pour in from world dignitaries for former external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj who breathed her last due to cardiac arrest on Tuesday night.
Special United States Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke said he would soon head towards the troubled region in South Asia to have a first-hand assessment of the situation on the ground.In his acceptance speech, soon after he was appointed as the Special US Representative for the troubled region by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Holbrooke termed the Pakistan situation as extremely complex.
The incoming player, who will be allowed to bat and bowl, must be deemed a "like for like" replacement approved by the match referee.
India will push hard for an early implementation of comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council and expansion in its membership when inter-governmental negotiations on the issue begin in New York on Thursday.
Continuation of drone strikes and US's reluctance to tender an apology over the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers proved to be stumbling blocks in the talks between United States and Pakistan, reports Tahir Ali
Oklahoma Representative John Bennett asked his constituents taking part in the state's third annual 'Muslim Day' to fill out the bizarre questionnaire.
Taking up the matter on Sunday, a bench comprising Chief Justice Govind Mathur and Justice Ramesh Sinha, termed the action of Uttar Pradesh authorities as "highly unjust" and said it was an absolute encroachment on personal liberty of individuals.
The United States at this point of time is not in a position to certify that there is no link between the Pakistan's spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence and the dreaded Haqqani network, a senior top American official has said.
A close lieutenant of slain Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has been sentenced to life in prison for multiple terrorism offences relating to his participation in the terror group's conspiracy to kill Americans overseas.
In further escalation of tension with the United States, Pakistan has asked for the visit of President Barack Obama's special envoy to be put on hold till it formulates its policies towards Washington, in the wake of the deadly strike by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, killing 24 Pakistani soldiers. Obama's Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Marc Grossman was scheduled to visit Pakistan as part of his ongoing tour to the region.
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