General Bajwa, unlike many of his predecessors, believes the Pakistan army's long-term interests lie in reducing tensions with India, reports Ajai Shukla.
Naga insurgent group NSCN-IM has threatened to break its 27-year-old ceasefire agreement with the government and return to its "armed struggle" if its demands for a separate "national flag and constitution" are not met.
On February 24, India and Pakistan released a joint statement saying that they have held discussions regarding establishing a mechanism for hotline contact among both nations.
A series of explosions rocked Lebanon and Beirut on Wednesday with the health ministry confirming nine deaths while news agencies put the toll at higher. The fresh round of blast came just a day after a deadly attack involving exploding pagers claimed the lives of at least 12 people.
Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said as many as 5,133 incidents of ceasefire violations were reported in 2020; 3,479 in 2019; and 2,140 in 2018.
When asked the reason for India's abstention from a resolution in the UN General Assembly on October 27, 2023, regarding the protection of civilians and upholding legal and humanitarian obligations, Jaishankar said there were many resolutions in the UN General Assembly and in some India abstained and in some, it voted in favour.
Indian Army retaliated befittingly to the unprovoked ceasefire violations.
The NSCN-K had signed a ceasefire with the Centre in 2001 but unilaterally abrogated it in 2015 when the then 'chairman' of the group, S S Khaplang, was alive. Sumi is the prime accused in the killing of 18 Indian Army soldiers in Manipur in 2015 and the National Investigation Agency had announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for his head.
The Russian forces have blockaded the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, said Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko, according to a media report on Saturday.
India on Saturday 'strongly pressed' the Russian and Ukrainian governments through multiple channels for an immediate ceasefire in Sumy to ensure a safe passage for around 700 Indian students stuck there as it keeps focus on their evacuation from the war-hit city in eastern Ukraine.
India is primarily focusing on evacuating its nationals from conflict zones in eastern Ukraine including Kharkiv and Sumy, and that the total number of Indians still stuck in the battle-scarred nation is roughly in the range of 2,000 to 3,000.
The ceasefire, which followed mounting pressure from the United States, Egypt and other international brokers to halt the violence, came into effect on Friday.
The Centre is unlikely to announce an agreement over payment mechanism with Russia until a ceasefire is declared in the Ukraine war, said people in the know. An inter-ministerial group headed by the finance ministry has been meeting regularly for over a month to analyse and discuss payment mechanisms that can work under the current circumstances and ensure the trade between India and Russia is not disrupted. The US had recently said that there would be consequences for countries actively attempting to "circumvent or backfill" American sanctions against Russia.
Over the years, India has enjoyed bipartisan support in the US and this asset must be kept intact and nurtured through across the board political and civil society engagement, suggests former foreign secretary Shyam Saran.
The tensions between the two countries continue to remain high as several suspected drones launched from Lebanon were shot down by Israeli air defences on Sunday, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said.
Delivering the sermon, he said election and "resolution of the Kashmir issue" were two different things.
In a statement, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said, 'Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorise the world.' The IDF said that alongside Nasrallah, the commander of Hezbollah's so-called Southern Front, Ali Karaki, was also killed, along with other commanders, Times of Israel reported.
'When the Indian Army carries out anti-infiltration ops, the Pakistan army willy-nilly will get involved in some way. So, it is imperative for the Pakistan army to act against militant groups.'
India and Pakistan have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC) and other sectors, according to a joint statement on Thursday.
Earlier in response to Iran's rocket barrage on Israel on Tuesday night the UN Chief had said, "I condemn the broadening of the Middle East conflict with escalation after escalation. This must stop. We absolutely need a ceasefire.."
The leaders also noted the "negative impacts" of the war in Ukraine with regard to global food and energy security, especially for developing and least-developed countries.
