In an exclusive interview to Rediff.com, Khurshid refuted reports that the flag-level talks were not moving forward. He also dismissed suggestions that he should call off his visit to Beijing if there's no progress in the talks.
China dismissed as "entirely groundless" Indian Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh's assertion that PLA soldiers were present in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Army on Thursday briefed its former chiefs on the current security and operational scenario faced by the 1.3 million-strong force but V K Singh could not attend the meet due to 'previous commitments'.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the suspension of the sub divisional magistrate, circle officer and all other policemen present at the spot in Durjanpur village in Ballia's Reoti area, police said.
Kherar, a sleepy village in Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, has been re-named as Shernagar in honour of slain soldier Lance Naik Hemraj, who was killed during a skirmish with Pakistani soldiers in Mandher sector along the Line of Control on January 8.
Army chief General Bikram Singh will pay a visit to the family members of martyr Lance Naik Sudhakar Singh at his native Dadhiya village in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh on January 18.
Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the new government activism is to deny the Bharatiya Janata Party any gains from the killing of two soldiers along the Line of Control by Pakistan, writes B Raman
Pakistan on Tuesday said it did not want to vitiate the 'already tense situation' along the Line of Control by making 'irresponsible statements' in the wake of a string of violations of a nine-year-old ceasefire.
"We are told that Chinese soldiers are there to provide protection to their ongoing projects related to their railways, road and hydro-electric projects and it is basically for security purposes," the Army Chief said in an interaction with media persons.
Army chief General Bikram Singh on Thursday said the Army fully supports the parents of Kargil hero Capt Saurabh Kalia, who was captured by the Pakistan Army in 1999 and subjected to brutal torture, in pursuing their son's case at International Court of Justice at Hague.
The army on Friday made it clear to Pakistan that it cannot keep the tap of exporting terrorism to India open and hope for confidence-building measures with it.
Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh is expected to take up the issue of raising an offensive Corps including around one lakh soldiers along the China border in a presentation soon to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the shortages faced by the 1.3 million-strong force.
The time is 'not right' for the removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act from Jammu and Kashmir, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh said on Friday, emphasising that any decision on this 'should not be politicised'.
Defence minister A K Antony on Sunday visited a forward post in north Kashmir's Kupwara sector.
Notwithstanding stiff opposition from the Air Force, government has decided to give the control of attack helicopters to the Army. "We have received a letter from the defence ministry and we have been given the attack helicopters by the government," Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh said.
The appointment of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag as the next army chief will not be affected by the change of government, said new Defence Minister Arun Jaitley whose party BJP had strongly opposed the United Progressive Alliance government for elevating him to the top post.
Army Chief General Bikram Singh will visit the home of Lance Naik Hemraj who was beheaded by Pakistan army last week amid demands that the head of the soldier be brought back.
Dr N K Kalia, father of Captain Saurabh Kalia who laid down his life for the country during the 1999 Kargil war, has welcomed the words of appreciation spoken by Army Chief General Bikram Singh on the Army Day.
Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh on Tuesday asserted that the Indian Army is prepared to face all challenges to national security and foil the designs of the enemy against the backdrop of nationwide anger over the beheading of a soldier by Pakistani troops on the Line of Control.
Notwithstanding Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh's tough talk on Pakistan on the recent ceasefire violations on the LoC, the government on Monday said it will try its best to ensure that the peace process was not derailed.
Into the sixth day of their fast, the family of Hemraj on Monday declared that they will not end their protest till Army Chief General Bikram Singh visits their house and assures them that the martyred soldier's severed head will be brought back. Hemraj's wife Dharamvati, mother Meena and cousin Narendra have been put on intravenous fluid after their condition deteriorated. Doctors are keeping a close watch on them and examining them at regular intervals.
The Jammu and Kashmir high court on Thursday adjourned for two weeks the hearing of the alleged fake encounter case involving Army Chief designate General Bikram Singh.
Congress leader and Union Minister Sachin Pilot will be commissioned into the Territorial Army as a regular officer in New Delhi on Thursday by Army Chief General Bikram Singh.
There was no connection between the suicide of an army soldier and the stand-off between officers and jawans in an armoured unit in Samba sector in Jammu and Kashmir, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh said on Thursday.
Four army personnel, including a major, have been indicted by a court of inquiry into a case of alleged sexual exploitation of women in Congo during their deployment under a United Nations mission in 2007-08.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Saturday arrived in Srinagar on a two-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir during which he will review the security situation in the Valley and also interact with troops deployed in forward locations.
During a crucial meeting on Monday held to discuss the Army's annual acquisition plan, Antony asked the Army chief to streamline procedures within the Army HQ so that proposals for new acquisitions could be processed faster
During a crucial meeting on Monday held to discuss the Army's annual acquisition plan, Antony asked the Army chief to streamline procedures within the Army HQ so that proposals for new acquisitions could be processed faster
Overturning the decision of his predecessor Gen V K Singh, Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh has lifted the ban on promotion of Lt Gen Dalbir Singh Suhag clearing the way for his appointment as Eastern Army Commander.
Sachin Pilot on Thursday became the first Union minister to be commissioned as a regular officer in the Territorial Army, fulfilling his desire to follow his father's footsteps to be in the armed forces.
The public interest litigation filed in the Supreme Court against the selection of Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next chief of the Indian Army has been dumped by the court.
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation challenging the appointment of Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next army chief but made it clear that its order would not affect any pending proceedings against him in cases including an alleged encounter in Jammu and Kashmir.
The AAP leader did not clarify whether 300 units of free electricity will be given per month as Punjab has a two-month billing cycle.
"Let us continue to be a secular and apolitical force and do our job the way it should be done," 59-year-old Singh told media persons after inspecting a guard of honour, a day after taking charge of the force from Gen V K Singh whose tenure was mired in controversies.
General V K Singh, who took over the reins of the Indian Army 26 months ago with the image of an anti-corruption crusader, will retire as the army chief on Thursday, bringing to an end a controversial tenure that was marred by rows over his age and fissures among the military brass.
A petition was on Tuesday filed in the Supreme Court by a former naval chief and top retired bureaucrats seeking review of its order dismissing a PIL challenging the appointment of Lt Gen Bikram Singh as the next army chief.
A day before retirement, Army Chief Gen V K Singh has issued show cause notice to a Lt Gen, who could head the force in two years, for censure on account of lapses on his part in handling a case of a failed intelligence operation in Assam's Jorhat district last year.
After the Opposition, now Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and two MLAs of the party have questioned their government's decision of giving jobs to sons of two legislators and urged Chief Minister Amarinder Sigh to roll back the 'ill-advised' move.
Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh was on Monday suddenly called in by Defence Minister A K Antony to brief him about the ceasefire violations by Pakistan on the Line of Control, days after the prime minister voiced concern over the handling of Keran operations.
'The distrust of traditional political parties in Punjab is an advantage for AAP.'