Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said the government has no other option but to extend President's Rule in Jammu and Kashmir as the Election Commission wants to hold assembly elections in the state by the end of 2019.
'Attempts at long-term rapprochement have been rather feeble from both sides. The primary cause of the lack of progress is that these efforts do not appear to have the support of the Pakistan army,' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
If the aim is to become a player with some strategic space of its own, not just in the Indian Ocean region but also in the adjoining region, then greater interaction with China is desirable, even necessary.
'The Modi government's pusillanimity vis-a-vis Pakistan makes almost certain that India will, in the coming weeks and months, be confronted with cross border terrorist actions of increasing intensity,' warns Satish Chandra, former deputy national security adviser.
'Building on the potential for closer ties is the changing narrative in each country about the other. The Chinese narrative on India has become significantly more positive over the past few years,' says Walter Andersen and Zhong Zhenming.
The fate of the BJP-PDP alliance may be known on Monday as PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti talks tough.
With the continuing stand-off in Ladakh casting a shadow over the Sino-India talks, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday raised 'serious concerns' over the repeated incidents along the border and sought an early settlement of the boundary question.
Talmiz Ahmad is a former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE. In an interview with Aditi Phadnis, he says the disequilibrium in Iraq will continue to prevail. Ahmad also says there are indications that the US is now anxious to avoid intervening militarily in West Asia, and that this is the appropriate moment for Asia to assume responsibility for its own security. Edited excerpts:
Kashmir remained on the edge with six more persons, including a cop getting killed in violence on Sunday.
'After more than 20 years of understanding, nothing much seems to have been achieved. What the two countries have been trying to do is to manage the recurrence of border incursions. The two sides must address the disease, and not the symptom of the disease,' says Rup Narayan Das.
The PDP said the party will take a call on government formation in the state as and when it is confident that it can fulfill the vision and mission of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.
To those who feel that Dhadak doesn't measure up to Sairat, Kshamaya Daniel, 19, has one piece of advice: We're talking about wine here, not scotch.
'India's military posture has become significantly stronger than China's on the 3,500-kilometre Line of Actual Control.' 'This is enhancing confrontation between the two sides,' points out Ajai Shukla.
Modi should bluntly ask Chinese President Xi Jinping why he was willing to put his neck in the Pakistani noose, ignoring all that is known of Pakistan's perfidy, says B S Raghavan.
Once again an Indian prime minister has realised that with Pakistan and China, things will not move as he wishes.
Despite criticism of a lack of transparency and communication from the Modi-led government, BJP leaders point to "good beginnings" on several fronts to defend its performance. Sheela Bhatt/Rediff.com reports.
'But Russia is well aware of Pakistan's nuisance power on its border.'
If the chemistry between Modi and Xi Jinping goes well, it will herald a new future not just for the region but for the world, says Tarun Vijay.
India and China on Wednesday signed in all nine agreements, including the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement and one on strengthening cooperation on trans-border rivers, after restricted and delegation-level talks that lasted over two hours as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Premier Li Keqiang met for the second time this year for talks which the Indian leader described as "fruitful and productive".
'We should not flatter ourselves that China is fixated on encircling India. She has greater goals, becoming the pre-eminent power in the world, and India as a major power is dealt with as part of that strategy.'
It is time the new government, unencumbered with the burden of past, initiates a wide ranging review and open debate on the security issues to rectify our short term and long term shortcomings. It has taken some wise steps but has to go beyond this to identify the structural weakness and create systems, says Colonel (retd) Anil Athale.
'Even if such a thing happens, it will not prolong for many days like Doklam did.' 'That is because both the leaders do not want it.'
'Modi wants to be pragmatic -- acknowledge the problem of Pakistan and that full reconciliation is essentially a non-starter, but at the same time grab the low-hanging fruits (such as trade) to put things on a more even keel, to engender enough stability in the relationship to allow him to focus on other priorities.'
A sensational interview on India-China ties, with the man most qualified to answer.
