'Today with Taliban at our doorsteps literally, we can't even put up our national flag. Only Allah knows, what will happen to Afghanistan now'
Amid deepening concerns in China over the regrouping of the ETIM, blamed by Beijing for all the violent attacks in its volatile Xinjiang province and elsewhere in the country, Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Mullah Baradar at Tianjin and sought to prevail on him to build a 'positive image and establish a broad and inclusive political structure that suits Afghanistan's national realities'.
'It was always anticipated that the return of the Taliban would embolden armed Islamists including anti-India groups like the Lashkar and Jaish.'
The US actions can be seen as a riposte to India's neutral position on the Ukraine crisis, its continuing import of Russian arms and oil thus undermining Western sanctions, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The alacrity with which regional States responded to Delhi's invite signals that expectations are high regarding an Indian role in the efforts to stabilise the situation in Afghanistan, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
For Kohli, in probably his last three matches as T20 captain of India, one would expect some prudent team selections and it starts with the question of repeatedly ignoring a player of Ashwin's calibre.
The Council adopted the resolution proposed by France, the United Kingdom and the United States with 13 Council members voting in favour and Russia and China abstaining.
"You expect wickets to turn in the sub-continent, and after this, we will be playing an important series against Australia where wickets are expected to turn," Rathour said on the eve of the second and final Test in Mirpur.
India is one of the few countries in the region that enjoys good relations with both Israel and Saudi Arabia, and IMEC would allow it to recreate the old Spice Route to Europe. All this is in jeopardy now, notes Rajeev Srinivasan.
'Siddiqui was alive when the Taliban captured him. The Taliban verified Siddiqui's identity and then executed him, as well as those with him'
The simmering tension between India and Pakistan cricket boards was palpable after PCB chief Najam Sethi took a sarcastic jibe at BCCI secretary Jay Shah.
The NCB has widened its probe into a recent seizure of about 50 kg of heroin from a house in south Delhi's Shaheen Bagh area with the arrest of three more people on Friday, officials said.
"Militants operating out of Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to threaten Afghan stability as well as stoke tensions between Pakistan and India," Gen Votel said.
Pakistan's western front continues to remain unstable and it fishing in troubled waters of Afghanistan is going to come and bite it in the future, Army Chief General M M Naravane said on Thursday.
The sanctions list subjected him to a travel ban, assets freeze and an arms embargo.
Mr Modi might have questions to ask himself on the most formidable strategic challenge before India that he inherited from the United Progressive Alliance: The triangulation between China and Pakistan. The failure to break out of it, or even loosen it a bit, is something to reflect on, notes Shekhar Gupta.
Pakistan's Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Monday said the government can consider importing vegetables and other edible items from India following the destruction of standing crops due to massive floods, three years after Islamabad downgraded trade ties with New Delhi over the Kashmir issue.
Pakistan is making efforts at multiple levels for the Taliban government to have a soft landing, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India is apprehensive about the Taliban's return as it would mean loss of access to Baluch rebels and help to the restive tribals of Waziristan. This would be a setback to the Indian strategy of returning the compliments of death by a thousand cuts to Pakistan, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
After two decades, the SCO appears to be at a cross-roads with the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, asserts Srikanth Kondapalli, the leading China expert.
The Taliban will view India through the eyes of the ISI and can be relied upon to undertake hostile actions against this country, warns Virendra Kapoor.
The US military efforts in Afghanistan were akin to filling a bucket that had gaping holes, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India believes no country would emerge victorious in the Russia-Ukraine war as all will suffer losses and there will be a "more serious" impact on developing and poor countries, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday after holding talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as both leaders reiterated the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that he had a productive meeting with visiting External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during which they discussed the bilateral ties, COVID-19 relief efforts, India-China border situation and Afghanistan and vowed to work together to address areas of shared concern.
Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is 'simply a deterrent' to protect the country and there will no longer be any need for it once the Kashmir issue is resolved, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said as he asserted that if the Americans have the resolve and the will, the issue can be sorted out.
'But an overthrow of the Afghan government would really embolden regional militant groups in a big way.' 'LeT and JeM could be emboldened, and prompted to replicate in Kashmir what the Taliban did in Afghanistan.'
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'The worst case scenario for Pakistan is a full-scale Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.' 'Pakistani militants would be inspired and emboldened and seek to replicate the Taliban's successes in Pakistan.'
Amid news of a fuel shortage in some parts of the country and wider unrest over fuel issues in the neighbourhood, an analysis of the data from international tracker globalpetrolprices.com shows that the per litre price of petrol is higher in India than in seven out of its nine neighbours.
'From what evidence has come up, General Bajwa somehow managed to tell the Americans that I was anti-American.' 'And so, it [the plan to oust me] wasn't imported from there. It was exported from here to there.'
Hobart will stage the fifth Ashes Test between Australia and England in place of Perth, which was stripped of the hosting rights on Monday because of Western Australia border controls, Cricket Australia said on Saturday.
There is no conceivable reason for any big power to put road blocks on the path of an India-Pakistan normalisation process, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
He also said that terrorists are constantly finding new ways to carry out violence, radicalise youth and raise financial resources and the darknet is being used by terrorists to spread radical content and conceal their identities.
Due to political uncertainty following the collapse of the former government to the Taliban, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Saturday estimated that 500,000 Afghans will leave the country in the next four months.
The meeting was attended by a group of Taliban leaders where JeM sought their support in 'India-Centric' operations. All states have been alerted to conduct security drills and keep anti-terror units on high alert.
India has the ability in all respects to be a great power and address our security challenges in the best national interests, says Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday left for a five-day visit to Russia and China.
Once Mazar-i-Sharif falls, some isolate pockets of resistance may remain, which the Taliban would tackle through political work or coercion, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
According to a notification issued by the ministry, the JKGF has been involved in infiltration bids, narcotics and weapon smuggling, terror attacks in the Union territory, and threats to security forces.
In a surprise military shake-up, the Pakistan Army on Wednesday announced that the powerful spy agency ISI chief Lt Gen Faiz Hameed has been appointed as Peshawar Corps Commander -- a crucial position in view of the Taliban's takeover of neighbouring Afghanistan.
