'He will be constrained if and when he tries to set the foreign policy agenda that is not to the liking of the army.'
A tug of war was witnessed in a Delhi court between the National Investigation Agency and the Special Cell of Delhi Police for seeking the custody of top Indian Mujahideen operatives Tehseen Akhtar and Zia-ur-Rehman alias Waqas.
There are several books that Aakar Patel wishes were being written but aren't. Fortunately, there's plenty coming up this year that he's eagerly awaiting.
Historian Stanley Wolpert, author of several books on India, passed into the ages recently. We remember Professor Wolpert with Rajeev Srinivasan's March 1997 interview published on the occasion of his controversial book on Jawaharlal Nehru.
In the caste-based politics of Uttar Pradesh, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav felt it necessary to bring in a strong leader to retrieve the party's eroding Thakur support base. Sharat Pradhan reports
Controversial Uttar Pradesh politician Raghuraj Pratap Singh -- better known as Raja Bhaiya -- who was dropped from the Akhilesh Yadav ministry, is all set to be re-inducted into the government on Friday.
Qualifier Nepal caused the first major upset of the World Cup, shocking New Zealand by 32 runs in a Group D match in Fatullah on Thursday.
'A collapsing Pakistan may well unleash its nuclear weapons as the last throw of the dice. With a nuclear arsenal of over 50 bombs, even a regional nuclear exchange can devastate the world.'
Afghanistan caused a major upset in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup when it defeated three-time champion and last edition runner-up Australia by 36 runs at Abu Dhabi Oval 2 on Monday.
'The only quality required in this tenure is to be the military's yes man and that he has the capacity to do so.'
'If India employed a strategy of a 'thousand cuts', Pakistan will wither away.'
'India can replicate what Pakistan did to Kulbhushan Jadhav should the need arise.' 'Hopefully, Pakistan will see reason before that transpires,' says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, former high commissioner to Pakistan.
The Bangladesh government on Sunday claimed the attackers who slaughtered 20 hostages inside a cafe in Dhaka in the country's worst terror attack were members of "homegrown" Islamist terrorist outfits and not Islamic State of Syria and Iraq militants.
The plan hinged on two critical assumptions: India would not be able to replenish supplies quickly to launch a counter-attack. India could not respond in enough strength to dislodge the Pakistanis. Both assumptions would be proved wrong due to the ferocity of the Indian response, reveals former RAW officer Tilak Devasher in his new book, Pakistan At The Helm.
'The biggest advantage for India was its seasoned and experienced political leadership who had spent decades struggling against the Raj and had spent years behind bars.' 'Not a single prominent leader of the Muslim League spent one day in jail.' 'Gandhiji, Nehru and Sardar Patel were intelligent, shrewd men with their hands on the popular pulse.'
'While Piyush Goel, Dharmendra Pradhan, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and a clutch of former bureaucrats including R K Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri and K J Alphons are loyal BJP members, none of them fit the mould of party apparatchiks.' 'In fact, many of the latter kind have been shown the door or have been given reduced charges.' 'That goes to show the prime minister's comfort level in dealing with professionals and administrators and the trust he reposes in them,' says Shreekant Sambrani.
A new logo, colour and tagline were unveiled last month.
Much of Bangladesh was paralysed on Monday by the latest strike called by Jamaat-e-Islami, with two powerful explosions rocking Shahbag Square, the epicentre of a massive campaign demanding toughest punishment for leaders of the fundamentalist party for war crimes during the 1971 war.
During a war, there are just four possibilities a soldier faces. One: Victorious and safe. Two: Wounded. Three: Killed in action. Four: Prisoner of War. It was my fate to face the fourth, says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd) on the year spent as a prisoner of war in Pakistan during the 1971 War.
Abbasi will run the government until Sharif's brother Shehbaz is elected as member of parliament
Top Indian Mujahideen operative Tehsin Akhtar alias Monu, one of the alleged masterminds of a string of terror attacks in India, was on Wednesday remanded to police custody till April 2 by a Delhi court.
Indian Mujahideen co-founder Yasin Bhatkal and his aide Asadullah Akhtar were on Monday refused bail in connection with a September 2008 Delhi serial blasts case by a court in New Delhi which allowed the plea of police seeking 15 days time to complete its probe against them.
Four Indians and an American, were killed during the five-hour long siege that ended early Thursday morning.
'What we are today witnessing is the final act of the Pakistani army trying to retain its turf,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'Kulbhushan Jadhav is a very sad case.' 'I think Pakistan handled this issue very clumsily.' 'They gave too much of publicity and also said that they will hang him.' 'Now obviously, they are not going to hang him.'
'She is a genuine, real, person who wants to be with girls who are suffering the way she suffered.'
The known unknowns in Prime Minister Modi's Saudi visit assume great significance, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Chief Pakistan prosecutor in the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, Chaudhry Azhar says the bail will lead to unusual delays in the case. Shahzad Raza reports from Islamabad.
'The top-most functionaries and destiny-makers of the nation have thrown away the pretensions of statesmanship.' 'They seem to have made a categorical announcement that the next general election will be fought on the solo plank of Hindutva, rather than on good governance, economic development, and employment to youth', says Mohammad Sajjad.
Iran's unbeaten streak in the ongoing Kabaddi World Cup came to a grinding halt after they were stunned by minnows Polland 25-41 in their league clash at the TransStadia in Ahmedabad on Monday.
'A new doctrine now needs to be evolved for a new situation, and the army will do it.' 'You won't see more Kashmiris driven in front of army columns.' 'Nor will the army massacre hundreds, Dyer style,' says Shekhar Gupta.
'It's unclear whether she is the target of the investigation, or what agents were searching for. The officials said it is an ongoing investigation and no charges have been filed,' reports CNN.com, while the Post adds that "the exact nature of the investigation involving Raphel remains unclear. She has not been charged.'
'Civilian casualties are something that could change the mood overnight, and therefore should be avoided by every means.'
Bilawal Bhutto's political inheritance is his biggest asset as well as the biggest liability as he tries to make his mark in Pakistan politics. Challenging the Taliban militants is part of that strategy, though it matches with his political ideology. Shahzad Raza profiles the son of Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari.
If you don't have power in a game you are masters of, the world will walk all over you, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Pakistan's powerful army chief has stepped in to mediate between the embattled government and the protesters seeking resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, bringing the military back into the centre stage and signaling a possible end to the high-political drama.
'Pakistan is full of 'religious entrepreneurs' like Hafeez Saeed who poison the minds of the young so that they can be motivated to become terrorists. They work in concert with the rulers of Pakistan. It is a private-public partnership.'
'If a bloodbath of this nature can occur in a high security area like Gulshan, I shudder to think how vulnerable other parts of this country are.'
The Sheikh Hasina-Narendra Modi summit put India-Bangladesh ties on a firmer pitch. Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd) takes stock.
'The devious minds across the border will test us to the hilt, but in the course of that will offer us opportunities for which we must be prepared,' says Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd), who commanded the Uri Brigade, the Baramulla Division and the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps.
