This is the first time such a bilateral dialogue focusing on Central Asia where the two countries have long and historical ties was held, reflecting deepening diplomatic engagement between the two neighbours even as they try to sort out friction resulting from recent reported incursions by Chinese troops along the Ladakh border
'If the US intention was to use the FATF platform to isolate Pakistan and impose sanctions against it, that is not going to work when influential countries such as Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia will not lend support to the US campaign,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Its internal economic rot and corrupt political elite have made the resurgent supremacy of the military establishment more invincible,' says Sunil Sethi.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday attacked Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi for making an emotional pitch to garner votes and claimed he had been compelled to do so as he had nothing to drive home about UPA government's performance.
Israel on Monday unleashed more airstrikes on Gaza and shot down a drone used for the first time by Hamas militants even as international pressure mounted on both to end the week-long conflict that has killed 177 Palestinians.
Suddenly the sands are shifting and even friends are acting strange.
The United States decided not to inform Pakistan about its top-secret mission to kill Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad as it knew that elements in spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence maintained close ties with the al Qaeda and the Taliban, according to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
'When Modi was having his maiden meeting with Donald Trump, China is up to its old tricks again, by causing a distraction on the Doklam plateau,' says B S Raghavan, the distinguished civil servant.
'The war against ISIS is what earned the Kurds global recognition of being some of the best fighters that overshadowed regular armies,' points out Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
France and Germany will clash in the final of the Junior Men's Hockey World Cup. The French made history when they beat Malaysia via the penalty shoot-out in the first semi-final to make their maiden appearance in the final while the defending champions Germans got the better of the Netherlands 5-3.
India and China decided to seek a fair and rational solution to their border dispute on Saturday as they focused on the proposed border defence cooperation agreement to avert incursions like the one witnessed in Leh region last month.
'Whether it is the One Belt One Road project or building relationships in the Indian Ocean Region -- supposedly our area of concern -- the Chinese are seriously outpacing us,' points out Vice-Admiral Premvir Das (retd).
To bolster its arsenal amid recurring incidents of incursions by Chinese troops, India has sought the latest versions of unmanned aerial vehicles -- both the armed and surveillance -- from the United States.
'The Chinese being focussed more seawards is definitely better for India with China being the looming threat along our land borders,' says Brigadier S K Chatterji (retd).
China on Wednesday said the US' naval and air incursions in the artificial islands in the South China Sea will be counter-productive leading to "miscalculation" and "crisis", as Beijing summoned the American ambassador to protest the US Navy's sailing of a warship into the disputed waters.
Indo-United States defence ties will not be impacted due to the issue relating to Indian diplomat Devayani Khobragade, Defence Minister AK Antony on Tuesday said.
Right from conducting nuclear deterrence patrols in 2015 to its destructive space programme, from its back-tracking on economic commitments to its hardened positions on Sino-India border deal -- its approach with India spells Adversarial with a capital A, says Shehzad Poonawalla
Bibek Debroy highlights the importance of the Assam Rail Link Project.
'It is ironic that General Rawat, an infantry officer who the government chose because of his expertise in counter-insurgency, has made his first bold statement in the realm of warfighting and mechanised operations,' points out Colonel Ajai Shukla (retd).
'India should today tell China to provide proper facilities in Minsar for Indian yatris visiting Mt Kailash,' says Claude Arpi.
Instead, increases in foreign-direct-investment levels; and reforms to make labour, land and capital more mobile.
Pakistan's ruler Pervez Musharraf and his top diplomats made a U-turn on talks with India after the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee released Hurriyat leaders in early 2000 as part of his peace initiatives on Kashmir, according to a declassified US cable.
Israel on Wednesday stepped up its offensive in Gaza, asking 100,000 Palestinians to flee their homes and threatening ground operations, as the death toll in the airstrikes climbed to 208 with tensions escalating following failed Egyptian cease-fire efforts.
Negotiations are underway to have a "more practical and effective" mechanism to prevent face-offs between Indian and Chinese troops on the Line of Actual Control and efforts are being made to have confidence building measures, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Monday.
Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam lists the major operational takeaways from the 1971 War in his new book 'India's Wars, A Military History, 1947-1971'.
For the world and India, one of the most enduring challenges of the times is for Pakistan's nukes to be neutralised, before they are ever used by the State, their sponsored non-State actors or any rogue elements from the many terror tanzeems dotting Pakistan's unstable landscape, says Lieutenant General Kamal Davar (retd).
However, Denmark said it is difficult to conclude on the real intention behind this.
'All the political parties, should in order to deal with China, come together and formulate strategies to safeguard every single inch of Bharat.' RSS leader Indresh Kumar tells Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com why the Sangh wants the Modi government to convene an all-party meeting on the Chinese incursions into Indian territory.
Xi and Modi met soon after their arrival at a summit of the BRICS group of emerging powers. Xi said the two countries should join hands in setting global rules and suggested he attend the November meeting of the 21-nation APEC in Beijing, as well as take part in Chinese-led regional initiatives.
It emerges that not only does the CIDR project fails the test of fairness, justness and reasonableness besides the test of not being fanciful, oppressive or arbitrary; it also fails the test of Arthashastra, Hadith and the Bible.
Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy on Saturday found himself in a controversy over sharing on Twitter a screenshot of Pakistan's daily Dawn website carrying Nitish Kumar's ad of vote appeal, prompting the Janata Dal-United to launch a sharp attack on him and seek his immediate sacking.
Four top lawyers secretly worked on resolving sensitive legal issues including sending forces on Pakistani soil without its consent.
Attacking Lalu Prasad for going to the Muzaffarnagar riot relief camps a few days after Rahul Gandhi's visit, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav on Tuesday said the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader was a sycophant who was "licking the feet" of Congress leaders.
Nevertheless, border dispute will feature prominently on Modi's agenda but the matter won't be discussed at length. Nayanima Basu reports
Rubbishing reports that China has occupied Indian territory in Ladakh, Defence Minister A K Antony on Friday asserted that there is no question of ceding any part of the country and all steps are being taken to safeguard national security.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday told his military commanders that he saw a "rare" possibility of a full scale war but asked them to be ready for "invisible" enemy and challenges which will be "less predictable" in a changing world.
In an exclusive interview with rediff at his New Delhi residence this week, former Union Home Secretary G K Pillai categorically stated, "Smaller states have the advantage of effective administration as well as speedy development."
'Indira Gandhi proved herself a great war leader, but failed as a statesman,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
'In the last one year, it looks like there were bad things that didn't take place, and there were good things that didn't take place,' says Rajeev Srinivasan.