'We could quibble with each other whether there were 25 terrorists killed or 250 killed.' 'The message is more that India undertook such an aerial attack and this attack has actually changed the paradigm.' 'The change in paradigm is that India has shown by the surgical strike in 2016 and the aerial strike of 2019 that we will not just sit back and tolerate terrorism which killed so many of our people.' 'We will hit back and by hitting back we will raise the costs of such activities.'
The India-Japan 2+2 dialogue added strategic heft to the special relationship in the wake of growing Chinese assertiveness on regional affairs, points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
For the first time, China has come out openly backing Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence saying the spy agency could not have been involved in the recent attack on an Indian consulate in Afghanistan.
Pakistan on Monday summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner and lodged a protest over alleged ceasefire violations by Indian troops along the border which authorities in Islamabad claim killed three civilians.
'Foreign ministry sources in Delhi discount the official version of the story, in which Modi made an impromptu request to stop over at Lahore, during the course of a birthday telephone call to Nawaz Sharif. In fact, this stopover had been carefully considered in Delhi, as a way to galvanise the peace process further.'
The PM said that countries sponsoring, aiding and funding terrorism must be held accountable.
Terming frequent violations of the ceasefire as a "matter of serious concern", Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday expressed hope that the Centre would reconsider its decision of cancelling talks with Pakistan in order to end the border hostilities.
'Though the prime minister has talked somewhat needlessly of pilot projects and the real stuff to come, India cannot be sure of a clean victory in any full-fledged conflict -- even if there is reason to engage in such,' points out T N Ninan.
General McMaster reffirms India's Major Defence Partner status.
"Our relationship is so big that it is no longer a bilateral relationship. It has global dimensions," the report quoted Jaishankar as saying.
Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed's detention may help ease India-Pakistan tension, media reports in Islamabad said on Tuesday even as supporters of the Mumbai attack mastermind launched protests across major cities against the government's decision which they say was taken under pressure from the US and India.
'Islamabad receives billions in aid from the US but continues to harbour terrorists,' he said.
Our desire for good neighbourly relations with India has not been reciprocated, said Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif.
A simultaneous announcement about the meeting was made from New Delhi and Islamabad on Wednesday after Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh and her Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry had a telephonic conversation.
India's assessment is that the Kartarpur project was being implemented with alacrity and military zeal under the supervision of the Pakistan army as it has the strategic objective to use the corridor to encourage separatism in Punjab, say government sources.
'The Pakistani defence minister talks of throwing a nuclear bomb on India. And if someone throws ink on your face, you call it violence?'
'In his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, like a true statesman, offered a holistic view of the world, focusing on development, democracy, peace and the need to eliminate terrorism.'
The US also termed the release of Mumbai-terror attack accused Hafiz Saeed as "a step backward" in that direction.
India's most powerful prime minister in five decades gets publicly admonished -- if gently -- by the US vice-president. The question is, would this make him reflect on how and why, or which ones of his government and party's missteps exposed his flank like this? asks Shekhar Gupta.
"Pakistan is committed to the decisions agreed at Ufa between the prime ministers," foreign office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah said.
'In India foreign policy is generally handled by the prime minister.' 'One can clearly see the Vajpayee stamp on all this.' 'Only a person with poetic imagination can weave such a complex web,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Identifying terror emanating from Pakistan as the "greatest threat" to regional peace and stability, India and Afghanistan have said that setting up an effective counter-terror framework to deal with the challenge will be a major focus at the two-day Heart of Asia conference beginning Saturday.
The outcome of the Bangkok NSA-level talks underscores that Pakistan has got exactly what it wanted -- talks at different levels, talks on Kashmir, talks on mutual concerns regarding terrorism, talks on ceasefire on the border. What if any has been India's gains remains unexplained, says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Chinese envoy recommends an early harvest on the border issue while maintaining peace and tranquillity in the border areas, reports Ajai Shukla.
The demand for a probe comes amid reports that Pyongyang had clandestinely received nuclear enrichment technology from Pakistan when A Q Khan was at the helm of Islamabad's nuclear programme.
Calling for an end to the arms race in the region, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asked India to join Pakistan in taking steps to cut defence expenditure.
The Opposition in the Pakistan Punjab assembly on Tuesday staged a walkout to protest against Saeed's detention.
Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi launched a verbal dual against India.
The Afghan deputy foreign minister explains how his nation's President became disillusioned with Pakistan. Ajai Shukla listens in.
The time is ripe to extend the confrontation with the Chinese to the maritime domain, says former RA&W officer Krishan Varma.
'China physically occupies about 45,000 sq km of J&K as claimed by India, including 3,000 sq km captured in the 1962 War and never returned; and 5,180 sq km ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963.' 'It is hard to justify remaining silent about the return of China occupied Ladakh,' observes Ajay Shukla.
In one his strongest remarks on Kashmir, Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday said it is an "unfinished agenda" of the partition in 1947 and Pakistan and Kashmir are "inseparable".
The daring action is in retaliation to the ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the LoC on Saturday.
Majority of the 15 members said there should not be any statement or outcome issued after the consultations and their will prevailed, leaving China to come out and make a statement in its national capacity followed by Pakistan.
Khan said Kashmir is the 'core' issue between the two countries and it should be resolved through talks.
Both Messrs Imran Khan and Tahirul Qadri claim to march independently, but most of Pakistan believes they are marching to the Army's tune
China, a veto-wielding member of the UNSC, has blocked the move by India and other member nations three times in the past to designate Azhar.
He also sought setting up of a global fund to contain terrorism.
Being attended by nearly 40 countries and leading groupings like the European Union, the annual conference of the Heart of Asia -- Istanbul Process is deliberating on various challenges facing Afghanistan, including revival of a peace process in the conflict-ridden country.
Breaking the logjam in their ties, India and Pakistan on Wednesday announced that they have decided to engage in a "comprehensive" dialogue that will include peace and security and Jammu and Kashmir.
