The US has shared with Pakistan "strong evidence" about involvement of Lashkar-e-Tayiba in the Mumbai attacks, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Thursday and asked Islamabad to hand over the perpetrators for which an extradition treaty is not required.
In a clear indication that it is against the appointment of an American special envoy for the sub-continent, India said on Tuesday that there was a bilateral mechanism to improve Indo-Pakistan ties and third party intervention would not make any difference.Asked about US media reports that the incoming Obama administration may appoint former President Bill Clinton or some other person as special envoy, Pranab Mukherjee said that such news reports were speculative.
India and China will hold a new round of negotiations on the vexed border issue which is an area of 'differences and divergences' despite bilateral relations having witnessed 'visible improvement', External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Tuesday. He said both countries have an established mechanism at the level of special representatives to deal with the border issue at the political level. "They have completed 12 rounds of talks," he said.
Amid a chill in Indo-Pak ties, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi called up External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and discussed the situation arising out of Mumbai terror attacks.
"The Narendra Modi government has not properly utilised funds for the construction of roads under the Gramya Sadak Yojna and the National Employment Guarantee Scheme," Mukherjee said. Speaking to reporters, Mukherjee said that though the Centre had allocated funds to Gujarat for the construction of 1,100 kms of roads under the Yojana, only 179 km roads had been laid.
India on Tuesday slammed Pakistan for trying to create 'war hysteria', saying it was aimed at diverting attention from the real issue of ending terrorism emanating from that country.Reacting to comments by Pakistan's Army Chief General Pervez Kayani that the armed forces had the right to defend borders in case of any aggression, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said, "The talk of war or creating war hysteria is diversionary."
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday indicated in Rajya Sabha that he might make a statement on Union Minorities Minister Abdul Rahman Antulay's remarks on Tuesday, the last day of the current Parliament session. The statement came after Bharatiya Janata Party members forced several adjournments.
"We expect Pakistan to do whatever it has committed. We want it to fulfill its promises, fulfill its commitments as a responsible nation of the international community," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told media persons, adding, "No responsible nation can escape its commitment."
Taking a tough stance, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that Pakistan had been given enough evidence regarding the Mumbai terror attacks and 'Islamabad must act'."We can deal only with the government of the day. Therefore, all arguments which are coming from the other side (Pakistan) are not really convincing," Mukherjee said.
Hinting at the Pakistani establishment's backing to terrorists who struck in Mumbai, India on Saturday said such strikes could be carried out with impunity only when the safety of the "handlers" of attackers has been assured.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India's participation in a new global consensus on non-proliferation would strengthen global efforts in this arena.
Angered by terror strikes in Mumbai, India on Friday bluntly told Pakistan that its intention to take a leap in bilateral relations would be impossible if outrages like the attacks in the financial capital do not stop. External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told his visiting Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi that he hoped Islamabad would take immediate action with regard to the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
With investigators suggesting involvement of some Hindu outfits in cross-border Samjhauta Express train blast, the issue is all set to figure in the Indo-Pak Foreign Ministerial and Home Secretary-level talks next week.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will undertake a three-day visit to India from November 26 during which the two countries are expected to discuss terrorism, Kashmir issue and confidence-building measures.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Harbin early on Wednesday for the third standalone meeting of the foreign ministers of India-Russia-China scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Rebuffing China's claim on Arunachal Pradesh, India on Sunday asserted that the north eastern state is its integral part and ruled out ceding any of its part.
"We (India) would need to develop more sophisticated ways of dealing with these new challenges (strategic and geopolitical) posed by China. We are today faced with a new China," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told the National Defence College in New Delhi on Monday.
Russia enjoys a very unique place in India's foreign relations with their strategic partnership covering the entire spectrum of the bilateral cooperation, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Moscow.
Against the backdrop of demands by political parties in Tamil Nadu to stop military aid to Sri Lanka, India today virtually ruled out that option saying the island nation's security is "connected" with its security and it would not like "international players in our backyard".
Pranab Mukherjee said India will undertake the civil nuclear cooperation with the US and any other country on the basis of bilateral agreements only and that the government has "no doubt" that Washington will fulfil its "commitments and obligations" specified in the agreement.
India has reaffirmed its strong commitment to the Non-Aligned Movement and stressed its "enduring relevance" in the current international situation.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met in New York on Thursday and reviewed bilateral relations across 'a gamut of items of cooperation'.
Reviewing the progress achieved by South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, leaders of the grouping have advocated greater cooperation among the members.
After the three armed forces, it is now the turn of the central police organisations (CPOs) and paramilitary forces (CPMFs) to raise a pitch for 'parity' in pay scales with their military counterparts.
India and the US may ink the landmark nuclear deal as early as Friday after President George W Bush signs into law the legislation on the initiative. The signing of the HR7081, the approval legislation for the US-India civilian nuclear agreement, into law by Bush on Wednesday will be followed by formal inking of the accord by the two countries, which will be done by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee.
The office of Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati has said he had offered advice as solicitor general to the then External Affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee and Telecom minister A Raja in 2007 on 2G spectrum issues but it was not written and there is no copy of it.
The issue of Pakistan high commissions' involvement in anti-India activities has been taken up with other countries, said Pranab Mukherjee.
A committee of secretaries is already looking into the issue of pricing, which companies like RIL, British Gas and British Petroleum have said should be market-determined.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday held discussions with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Adviser M K Narayanan on the deliberations in the Nuclear Suppliers Group where a consensus on a waiver for India is still elusive.
Three MPs, including former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, came on wheelchairs.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday reviewed the situation in Jammu and Kashmir where violence is continuing over the Amarnath land row.
India has received a positive response from the Non-Aligned Movement countries, which are members of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group on the Indo-US nuclear deal after it briefed them on the safeguards agreement, which the global nuclear watchdog will consider on Friday.
Making a strong defence of the nuclear deal during the debate on confidence motion, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee rejected the Left parties' allegations of betrayal and took potshots at leader of opposition Lal Kishenchand Advani, saying he should not "distort" facts in "over enthusiasm" to score political points.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Singapore Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo signed the agreement, calling it a 'landmark pact' for a regular forum.
In a statement issued in New Delhi, he said United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi will announce the name of the Congress candidate after consultations with allies and supporting parties.
India has said any unilateral armed action against Iran is totally 'unacceptable and undesirable' and should be disapproved of by the international community. "In respect of Iran, I entirely agree with the Egyptian Foreign Minister that there should be no armed engagement. In fact we are against any coercive engagement," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said after holding talks with his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul Gheit in Cairo on Thursday night.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday called for close cooperation between India and Bangladesh for building mutual trust to combat the threat of terrorism.
Their parleys, which staved off a breakdown between the Left and the ruling coalition for the time being, followed a series of meetings between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and top leaders of the party till late Thursday night.
The United Progressive Alliance-Left parties may have averted a showdown at the key meeting on Wednesday, but the hours preceding the meet were dramatic, and full of suspense.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee left for New Delhi on Tuesday concluding his first visit to Australia during which both the sides inked treaties on extradition and mutual legal assistance and reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties including the possible sale of uranium to India.
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