Former Army chief Gen M M Naravane (retd) said India-China ties are "on the mend" with initiatives announced at political, diplomatic and military levels. He expressed hope that China will reciprocate India's goodwill as they move forward in discussing the boundary question.
Pakistan's former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Monday said his country will go to war if India denies Islamabad its fair share of water under the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
'India is too important to the United States for there to be any kind of a permanent bump in the relationship.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked the Congress to tell the nation who prevented India's military response after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks linked to Pakistan, and accused the party of weakening the fight against terrorism when in power.
Putin further described the Ukraine conflict as a mere "pretext" by Western powers to take these broader punitive measures against countries maintaining strong economic ties with Russia.
China firmly opposes the Trump administration's 50 percent tariffs on India as it is "unfair and unreasonable" and New Delhi and Beijing should scale up economic ties to jointly counter the challenge, Chinese ambassador Xu Feihong said on Monday.
India has slammed Pakistan at a UN debate by drawing attention to the heinous crimes of gross sexual violence against women in erstwhile East Pakistan in 1971, adding the pattern continues with impunity to this day.
Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has congratulated both the previous UPA government and the current dispensation for the extradition of Tahawwur Hussain Rana, the mastermind behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Sibal expressed confidence that the extradition will shed light on the involvement of individuals within Pakistan's establishment in the attacks. Rana is being questioned by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to uncover the full extent of the conspiracy behind the deadly 2008 terror strikes. Sibal highlighted the efforts of the UPA government in establishing the NIA and pursuing Rana's extradition, and also acknowledged the current government's success in bringing him back to India. The interrogation is expected to focus on Rana's potential ties to the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and his role in the Mumbai attacks.
The MiG-21 episode demonstrates that procurement is always strategic.
Choices about what aircraft to acquire, who builds them, who supplies the spares, who trains the pilots and technicians are decisions with political consequences lasting for decades.
The era where nations thrived through rigid alignments is giving way to an age where the connective State defines power. For India, that era has arrived, points out Dr Nishakant Ojha.
"Based on this consensus, the process of disengagement is almost complete. Our efforts will be to take the matter beyond disengagement; but for that, we will have to wait a little longer," he added.
One must wonder whether Mr Modi's efforts to wine and dine the Big Two of today's world were seen as a sign of weakness rather than a proffered arm of friendship, points out R Jagannathan.
United States Charge d'Affaires Natalie Baker on Wednesday met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar as part of efforts to de-escalate tensions with India following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 in which 26 people were killed.
As a protege of Shinzo Abe, Takaichi is expected to scale bilateral ties much higher. Trade and investment shall grow. People-to-people contacts shall be scaled up, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
'As one former Indian diplomat put it to me, Delhi has access to the White House, but Islamabad has access to Mar-a-Lago.'
Times have changed, situations have changed, but the basic nature of superpower geo-politics remains the same and so also India's diplomacy -- call it non-alignment, strategic autonomy or neutrality; it all depends on the time scale, notes Rup Narayan Das.
'If Washington has to balance Chinese power, she will have to turn to the third biggest power in the world which is India.' 'The United States and India will have to work together in order to keep Chinese ambitions in check.'
United States President Donald Trump has opened a two-week window for diplomacy with Iran before deciding on military action, aiming to restart stalled negotiations amid Israel's bombing campaign, CNN reported.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that it is imperative for the two sides to view each other as partners and opportunities rather than rivals or threats, and invest their valuable resources in development and revitalisation.
The Saudi statement came as tensions soared significantly, with Pakistan claiming that its three airbases were targeted by Indian missiles and drones early Saturday.
'America holds about 16% of IMF voting rights, giving it crucial influence over Pakistan's desperately needed bailout loans.'
Taking to social media platform X, Dmitriev said, "Russia confirms Putin-Trump summit may happen next week and summit preparations are ongoing. This can be a historic meeting. Dialogue will prevail."
Kuwait has executed 25 Indian nationals in the past five years.
Hindi Diwas was observed across India with leaders emphasizing Hindi's role as a unifying factor and the need to enrich all Indian languages. Events were held in India and abroad to promote the language.
Sections in the US State Department and Pentagon have always felt more comfortable dealing with all powerful Pakistani generals instead of elected civilians, points out Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W.
'However, we must implement a tit-for-tat approach -- reciprocating their conduct with precision.' 'If they demonstrate respect, we respond accordingly. If they adopt hostile positions, we mirror that hostility with equal intensity.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said he was proud of the manner in which the multi-party delegations presented India's views in various countries on the need to eradicate the menace of terrorism following the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.
Pakistan is holding a high-level security meeting to formulate a response to India's suspension of the Indus Water Treaty and downgrading of diplomatic ties. The meeting, convened by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, will include the National Security Committee, three services chiefs, and key ministers. The move comes after India blamed Pakistan for a terror attack in Pahalgam, which Pakistan has denied. Diplomatic observers warn that the escalation could further strain relations between the two countries.
'These efforts by Beijing can be weaponised one day with economic, security and political implications for India.'
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi expressed China's anticipation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, emphasizing the importance of strong India-China relations and mutual cooperation.
Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Tuesday said his article on Operation Sindoor's global outreach was not a sign of his 'leaping to join' Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party but a statement of national unity, interest and standing up for India.
Pakistan was waiting for an opportunity to bring the Jammu and Kashmir issue to the global agenda and resorted to the terrorism route to provoke India, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'Modi is such a Prime Minister who always thinks about Sikhs. All the pending issues of Sikhs, which have not been resolved to date, are being resolved, including the Kartarpur Sahib corridor. There should not be such protests against him, and no Sikh can tolerate this'
The eastern Ladakh military standoff between India and China began in May 2020 and a deadly clash at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in ties between the two neighbours.
India briefed envoys of the US, UK, France, China, Russia, Germany and several other countries on the Pahalgam terror attack and its link to cross-border terrorism. Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri apprised the diplomats about various aspects of the dastardly terror attack on innocent civilians and India's firm policy of "zero tolerance" against terrorism. The briefing was held a day after India announced a raft of measures against Pakistan including expulsion of Pakistani military attaches, suspension of the Indus Water Treaty of 1960 and immediate shutting down of the Attari land-transit post. The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi firmed up the punitive measures against Pakistan in view of the cross-border links to the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 people. Diplomats of Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Norway, Italy, Indonesia and Malaysia were also part of the briefing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi vowed to punish terrorists behind the strike and said India's spirit will never be broken by terrorism.
'As negotiations continue, the path forward demands not only diplomatic skill, but also vigilance against legal asymmetries embedded in America's trade playbook.'
Sources close to the top BJP leadership tell me that Tharoor has already had secret meetings with the BJP's top brass and is waiting patiently to make his next move, reports Ramesh Menon.
The post further read that "at a moment of heightened regional turbulence", President Trump "demonstrated great strategic foresight and stellar statesmanship through robust diplomatic engagement with both Islamabad and New Delhi," Dawn reported.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called on "brotherly" countries, including Saudi Arabia, to urge India to de-escalate tensions after the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Sharif met with ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Kuwait, reiterating Pakistan's commitment to peace in South Asia. He rejected India's accusations linking Pakistan to the attack, emphasizing Pakistan's own history as a victim of terrorism. The meeting comes amidst heightened tensions between the two countries.
'Operation Sindoor is still ongoing. The Prime Minister himself said that blood and water cannot flow together, that talks and terrorism cannot go together. So how can we have a cricket match with a country that indulges in terrorism?'
