'It will be a long time before we will see the likes of Vajpayee again.'
Media reports also cited the US aid restrictions over the F-16 fighter jets deal between the two countries.
There is growing acceptance of the idea in the international community that engaging the Taliban government is a far better approach than ostracising it, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistani authorities agreed during talks with Afghan peace negotiators toc release several Afghan Taliban prisoners to give a push to Kabul's troubled reconciliation process, according to a media report.
'Washington is telegraphing here is its willingness to support a low-grade, limited use of force meant to send a strong message to Pakistan.' 'Perhaps something along the lines of the surgical strikes in 2016, or perhaps something a bit more -- but not much more.'
'Any 'de-escalation' that brings down tensions will deprive the BJP of a plank with seamless possibilities to project PM Modi as the 'Iron prime minister' and hype up jingoism in the upcoming election campaign,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Imran said the previous Pakistani governments "should not have pledged what they could not deliver."
Beijing's growing assertiveness as kingmaker in Kabul has suffered a setback with Washington quietly moving in, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
But it is less adventurous. It seems, at last, that in its eighth decade, Pakistan has settled into being a parliamentary democracy just like Bangladesh has and like we have always been, observes Aakar Patel.
'The Delhi-Washington stalemate can end only if India's concern over trans-border terrorism is addressed.' 'The Indian security establishment expects a spike in terrorist attacks in the months ahead.' 'And there is every likelihood that India may retaliate against Pakistan at some point,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan is making efforts at multiple levels for the Taliban government to have a soft landing, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The foreign minister acknowledged that he spoke with Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz and India should not make it an issue.
'The decision has been taken in view of the regional security environment.'
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday made his first address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president and Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, 70, who is the Opposition's candidate for the new prime minister, will announce his possible government priorities after taking the oath.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Tuesday that he would like to have a TV debate with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to resolve differences between the two neighbouring countries.
In the past, India strongly rejected references made to Jammu and Kashmir in a previous joint statement by Pakistan and China.
"Hindustan jeevay, Pakistan jeevay," he chanted while reading a verse.
A defiant Pakistan high commissioner on Wednesday justified his meetings with Kashmiri separatists notwithstanding India's protestation, asserting that engagement with all stakeholders have been the "bottomline" of Islamabad's efforts to find a solution to the Kashmir issue.
Khan claimed he was informed by late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former foreign minister Natwar Singh during a conference that Kashmir would have been resolved if the BJP had not lost the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
"We will soon find out. I'm in no rush. There's no testing... If you look at the end of the Obama administration, it was a disaster. What was going on. You don't have that right now. It's a much different feeling. I think people have...there's always danger, but I think people have much different feeling," he said.
India and Pakistan in a surprise announcement said on February 25 that they have agreed to strictly observe all agreements on ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and other sectors.
FO spokesman Mohammad Faisal said that "Pakistan takes exception to the factually incorrect statement issued by US State Department on today's phone call between Prime Minister Khan and Secretary Pompeo".
The statement comes Days after Trump sought Imran Khan's help in the Afghan peace process.
There is no doubt that if peace prevails between India and Pakistan there is no dearth of benefits to be derived, but even one terrorist attack could derail the whole process, says Alok Bansal.
Minister for Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony Noor-Ul-Haq Qadri was seen seated near Saeed as he addressed an All Parties Conference organised by the Difa-e-Pakistan Council on Sunday.
One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, the spokesman said.
Earlier, Pakistani military spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor claimed that two Indian Air Force pilots were arrested. One pilot is injured and has been shifted to a hospital, while another one is unhurt, the spokesman had said.
The external affairs minister said PM Modi had discussed with his Pakistani counterpart of re-engaging with each other."
Speaking about the Thursday's foreign secretary-level talks, Bashir said: "We want to move to the actual talks and not just keep talking about talks. We should not be losing time. Let's not be diverted or get detracted. Let's get back on the highway to peace."
Nawaz Sharif may have permitted the trial of Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists for the Pathankot attack. But this fell apart because of General Raheel Shareef's keenness to make Kulbhushan Jadhav the centerpiece of global attention. Ambassador G Parthasarthy, a former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, reveals the Pakistan army chief's gambit against India.
On Khan's statement as to why India and Pakistan could not be friends when Germany and France could be good neighbours, he said the neighbouring country first needed to see its internal condition. "They have turned Pakistan into an Islamic country. If they want cordial relations with India, they will have to develop themselves as a secular state," Rawat said.
'No prime minister of India is averse to normalise relations with Pakistan, if it is possible to do so without altering our fundamental position on Jammu and Kashmir,' notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
'We're paying them nothing because that's what they've done to help us. Nothing'
Pakistan's army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Monday emphasised the need to avoid a conflict with India in the wake of the Mumbai attacks as China launched a diplomatic initiative to ease tensions by dispatching a top diplomat to Islamabad. Kayani's comments, believed to be his first on the situation, came during his talks with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei, who is in Islamabad.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai will arrive in Islamabad on Monday on a one-day trip to discuss the frayed ties with Pakistan and seek release of Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Barader as a confidence building measure.
India and Pakistan met again to decrease the huge trust deficit. There was no breakthrough as expected, but, it was not a bad news because both sides are talking, and talking a lot, says Sheela Bhatt, while reporting from Islamabad.
