A decision on the multi-billion dollar gas pipeline between Iran and India, which will pass through Pakistan will be made in two weeks, a senior Iranian minister said in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
India is against the pipeline passing through Pakistani territory.
ONGC and the Hinduja group are lining up investment of close to $20 billion in exploration assets in Iran and a refinery and LNG terminal in India.
The IHC, after hearing the arguments, ordered the government to send its order on Jadhav to India and adjourned the hearing until October 3 when the case would be heard again. Pakistan has introduced a special law to allow Jadhav to get his sentence reviewed as asked by the ICJ.
The ordinance was launched to implement the verdict of the ICJ which asked Pakistan to provide effective review of the sentence given to Jadhav my a military court. Jadhav, the 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of 'espionage and terrorism' in April 2017.
Jadhav, 47, was sentenced to death by the military court in April last year.
The Taliban knows that Washington holds the key, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"The Indian side has been also making incongruous demands of allowing an Indian lawyer to represent Commander Jadhav. "We have repeatedly told them only those lawyers can represent Commander Jadhav in the court who have a licence to practise law in Pakistan. This is in accordance with legal practice in other jurisdictions also," Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said.
Pakistan claimed that Jadhav had refused to file a review plea on the Pakistani court military court's judgment which awarded the death penalty to the former naval officer on charges of espionage. India said that he had been coerced into doing that.
"The FATF plenary decided continuation of Pakistan in 'Grey List' till its next meeting to be held in October," an official privy to the development told PTI.
As the majority of Pakistani airspace has remained closed for Indian airlines since the Balakot strike on February 26, the decision to avoid affected Iranian airspace on Saturday is going to further disturb the routes of their international flights towards middle-eastern and European countries, and the US.
The Foreign Office sources said that adequate security measures will be taken for complete safety of Jadhav's family.
The road ahead will be long and winding and much resistance can be expected from the high-flying 'hawks' in our skies. But that should not deter the policymakers from planning a road map with the 'big picture' in mind, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The FATF warned Pakistan that if it doesn't complete a full action plan by June, it could lead to consequences on its businesses
Jadhav, the 50-year-old retired Indian Navy officer, was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court on charges of 'espionage and terrorism' in April 2017. Weeks later, India approached the ICJ against Pakistan for denial of consular access to Jadhav and challenging the death sentence.
In the briefing, it was stated that Pakistan does not accept the international court's jurisdiction to order the state of Pakistan on issues that involve its national stability.
India also refutes Pak's claim of visa review for Jadhav's mother.
'The hardliners in Delhi are in for a big disappointment,' predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Faisal confirmed in a tweet that Jadhav's family had applied for visas.
Kulbhushan Jadhav's wife and mother will arrive in Islamabad on Monday to meet the Indian prisoner on death row, the Pakistan foreign office has said. They will arrive in Islamabad by a commercial flight and leave the same day after the meeting, it added.
After drastically cutting imports from Iran, India is hoping to win waiver from US financial sanctions on its oil trade with Iran so as to continue to getting supplies from the Persian Gulf nation.
Resisting US pressure to further scale down oil imports from sanction-hit Iran, India on Monday made it clear that it has to look at the issue involved beyond the energy trade as it has "vital" security stakes in the Gulf region.
Seeking a hat-trick of titles, India commence their campaign against Sri Lanka in the seventh junior men's Asia Cup hockey tournament, at Malacca, Malaysia, from May 3 to 13. India is placed in Group B along with arch-rivals Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China, while Group A comprises Korea, Malaysia, Japan and Iran.
The Afghan endgame is moving into a crucial phase. Much will depend on regional politics involving Pakistan, Iran, India and China. How far the US's 'divide-and-rule' strategy succeeds remains to be seen, says M K Bhadrakumar.
With the US and Europe imposing sanctions on Iran, India sees an opportunity to boost its trade with it by tapping the sectors which would be affected by the restrictions imposed by the West.
The strategic reality that confronts New Delhi in West Asia today is that India has far more significant interests to preserve in the Arab Gulf, and as tensions rise between the Sunni Arab regimes and Iran, India's larger stakes in the Arab world will continue to inhibit Indian-Iranian ties, says Harsh V Pant.
Afraid of US sanctions, State Bank declines payment facilitation for oil imports from Iran.
Under the scheme, National Iranian Oil Co, too, will open an account in a UAE or Turkey-based bank to receive direct money transfer from oil companies.
"We are exploring if Indian oil firms can open accounts in banks like Dubai-based Noor Islamic Bank so they can undertake a direct transfer of money for oil they buy from Iran," a senior government official said.
As settlement in dollars has become difficult due to sanctions imposed against Iran, India and Iran will explore other currencies like the euro, yen and dirham to resolve the stalemate over payment for oil imports at their meeting later this week in Tehran.
Pakistan said that Jadhav is not an ordinary person as he had entered the country with the intent of spying and carrying out sabotage activities.
Authorities also said the recovery rate of COVID-19 patients was improving consistently in India and it was in a much better position in handling the pandemic, which has seen more than 63 lakh people testing positive for this virus since its emergence in China last December and over 3.7 lakh having lost their lives.
The ICJ had asked Pakistan to submit its written response or memorial by December 13 before the court could start further proceedings.
In an apparent reference to Pakistan, Iran on Monday said the countries 'nurturing' terrorists have a responsibility of putting an end to such activities, even as it asked New Delhi and Islamabad to resolve their differences through talks without involving 'foreign forces'. Iranian Ambassador Seyed Mehdi Nabizadeh said his country could have a role in helping in the negotiations between India and Pakistan.
With the US reportedly asking Israel to prepare for an attack on Iran, India on Monday voiced its opposition to any military action against the Persian country, saying it would constitute "unacceptable international behaviour" and have "disastrous consequences" for the region.
Trump had accused Pakistan of providing safe havens to terrorists.
Whatever be India's course of action, it will have an impact on India-Iran ties, notes Aveek Sen.
"India is always against any armed intervention by any country in another country," Pranab said.
'The change of vocabulary in the India-US conversation was significant and refreshing.' 'It matched the styles of Trump and Modi.' 'The differences were not papered over, but there was determination to resolve them in the days ahead,' says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'It sent a clear message to the Americans that despite the Hyde Act, India would deal with Iran on the basis of its own lights.'
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