If Trump wants peace with Iran, Pakistan will offer to help. If Trump seeks Pakistan's aid to spy on Iran, then too Munir will not hesitate to chip in. At the same time, the ISI will not hesitate to tip off Iran now and then, points out M R Narayan Swamy.
Doubts are emerging about Pakistan's role in mediating peace negotiations between the US and Iran, with suggestions that Islamabad's efforts are stalling and failing to secure a definitive response from the United States.
US President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Iran if a deal is not reached before the ceasefire ends, while Pakistan urged both sides to extend the truce and pursue diplomacy.
Western Army Commander Lieutenant General Manoj Kumar Katiyar reports a sustained decline in militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, emphasizing the army's readiness to respond to any misadventures by Pakistan and its support for terrorist activities.
'When we start describing somebody as an enemy that is the start of politics and emotion after which no business can take place.' 'We need to get out of this, allow Indian businessmen to do business with China.'
At Border Pillar 609 at Babliyan near Jaisalmer, the one thing that dominates the landscape is something entirely different, something central to our identity -- the Tiranga -- flying boldly above the blazing desert.
Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani (retd) has been appointed as India's next Chief of Defence Staff, succeeding Gen Anil Chauhan. Vice Admiral Krishna Swaminathan has been named the next Chief of the Naval Staff, succeeding Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi. Lt Gen Subramani's primary mandate will be to implement the military theaterisation plan and bolster tri-services synergy.
The plan includes three such formations: A China-focused Northern Theatre Command, a Pakistan-focused Western Theatre Command, and a Maritime Theatre Command.
Under Mission Sudarshan Chakra, the country's national security shield is to be expanded by 2035 to ensure comprehensive protection of both strategic and civilian critical infrastructure.
The government has appointed Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani (Retd) as the next Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), who shall also function as the secretary to the government of India, department of military affairs, with effect from the date of assumption of charge and until further orders.
We, Indians, forgot that for Pakistan, Kashmir dispute and blood feud with India is the raison detre for its existence. It is also the excuse with which the Pak army keeps its grip over the state. Peace in Kashmir and between India and Pakistan is against the interests of the Pak army, points out Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
Large parts of India are experiencing a severe heatwave, with temperatures soaring to dangerous levels. Authorities have issued alerts and health advisories as the heatwave intensifies across multiple states.
Chinese leaders, including its generals, will have to weigh whether they can win a war if they ever attack Taiwan and if at all, can they sustain the subsequent devastation, notes Rup Narayan Das.
The Congress party has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's diplomatic efforts following the ceasefire agreement between the US and Iran, facilitated in part by Pakistan. The party claims this development undermines Modi's strategy and exposes his perceived failures in foreign policy.
'We need to give Pakistan something serious to think about on its eastern front -- that is the only way to actually help Afghanistan right now.'
A new assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reveals that a power struggle within Iran's leadership, with hardliners gaining influence, could significantly impact future negotiations with the United States.
Pakistan's Foreign Office has refuted media reports suggesting that its efforts to facilitate peace talks between the US and Iran have stalled, calling the reports baseless and speculative.
'As result, Netanyahu 'convinced' Trump to go to war with the help of overoptimistic Israeli intelligence assessments, essentially explaining to him that they only need to bomb Iran for 3-4 days, and the regime would then collapse.' 'Rather unsurprisingly, Netanyahu is ever since blaming his own intel service for the entire operation failing.'
'She was not a yes person. She would tell the truth and her feelings to Indira Gandhi, and Indira Gandhi would value her opinion. The same was the case with Rajiv Gandhi who would value her opinion.'
Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi awarded Yudh Seva Medals to Vice Admiral A N Pramod and Vice Admiral Rahul Gokhale for their distinguished service during Operation Sindoor. The operation involved a strong naval response to security concerns, showcasing strategic planning and effective deployment of naval assets.
Islamabad's attempt to position itself as a mediator in the West Asia conflict has come to naught with the Iranian side refusing to meet any US-led delegation in Pakistan, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said the team is ready for the Pakistan T20I series despite a short, interrupted build-up, calling the tour vital preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup.
The clock on the ceasefire is running out. But everyone's already whispering about round two, possibly as soon as this weekend.
In Operation Sindoor, Pakistan had deployed additional squadrons of the Chinese-origin HQ-9 air defence systems, which could not do much against the Indian aircraft when they brought down multiple terror targets inside Pakistan.
Cooper Connolly's unbeaten 72 on IPL debut powered Punjab Kings to victory.
The core issues to be settled -- access to Hormuz, Israel's aggression in Lebanon, the question of Iran's nuclear programme, sanctions relief and compensation -- are thorny enough to require weeks of patient negotiation. The most likely outcome of the opening sessions is that both sides take the measure of each other, establish what is and is not negotiable, and return home without having broken anything. That would count as progress.
The ceasefire is still technically holding, to the extent that no overt hostilities have been reported yet, but the rhetoric has hardened dangerously. The week ahead will also clarify whether the Islamabad failure was a negotiating tactic or whether Washington has genuinely locked itself into a position from which the only exits are climb-down, escalation, or the slow bleed of a new status quo that nobody chose and nobody controls. Prem Panicker continues his must read blog on the Iran War.
Both sides have now revealed a preference for escalation over strategic defeat, and each new provocation narrows the space for the next pause. The Touska seizure, Iran's refusal to negotiate under blockade, Israel's strikes on Iranian oil infrastructure -- all of these add up to an increasingly untenable situation. This makes the wild card -- Trump and his motormouth -- more consequential than ever, notes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the Iran War.
The LPG squeeze on India's restaurant sector is the quotidian face of a deeper crisis.
Newly declassified documents from the United States National Security Archive have revealed that Pakistan's nuclear proliferation was a significant concern for both the US and Russia, with leaders expressing 'nervous' fears about the country's atomic stability.
'I want to show bearded men actually caring and loving for their sons or a woman from Pakistan in a position of power. How radical is that?'
'In such a scenario, Iran could proclaim itself victor, rebuild, re-enforce its diminished regional proxies to further destabilise neighbouring nations and take control of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.'
Saudi Arabia and the UAE are actively pushing Trump to take the war to its bitter finish and 'erase' Iran's presence in the geopolitics of the region. Simply put, the two most powerful Sunni Arab oligarchies are on the same page as Israel. Such interference increases the risk of a breakdown in dialogue between the US and Iran, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Was the five-day pause ever meant to hold, or was it simply another instrument of signaling, of positioning, of buying time in a war where even the pauses are tactical?' asks Prem Panicker in his must read daily blog on the Gulf War.
24 Indian-flagged vessels with 677 Indian seafarers were currently located west of the Strait of Hormuz, and four vessels with 101 Indian seafarers were stationed east of the strategic waterway.
Records stretching back to 1947 suggest a consistent strategy by Pakistan's military and intelligence apparatus, the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), of using terrorism as a state policy against India.
In the recent Bangladesh elections, four minority candidates, including two Hindus, secured parliamentary seats, highlighting the evolving political landscape and representation of minority communities within the BNP's victory.
'No, India and China were not about to go to all-out war over a few rocks of Galwan.' 'The full picture of what went on at the highest level between two heads of State will not be known for a very, very long time and rightly so,' points out Colonel Anil A Athale, former head of the history division, ministry of defence.
Political analysts express skepticism about the upcoming Bangladesh general election, citing concerns over manipulation, voter participation, and the influence of money and muscle in the changed political landscape.
What began as a mentor-protege relationship between UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has now evolved into a broader contest over influence, strategy, and leadership in the Middle East, points out Asif Ullah Khan.
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