India and Pakistan on Saturday agreed to adopt a forward-looking approach in normalising their ties, while recognising the need to "expeditiously" bring perpetrators of the 2008 Mumbai attack to justice. Both External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar emphasised the need for the two countries to set the sight on the future and not be held "hostage" by the past.
India and Pakistan on Saturday signed the much-awaited liberalised visa agreement, introducing for the first time group tourist and pilgrim visas, separate visas for businessmen and visa on arrival for those over 65 years of age. The new pact, signed between External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik, replaces a 38-year-old restrictive visa agreement and will pave the way for time-bound visa approval.
For India and Pakistan, the divergence on traditional issues remains, but there is a search for new areas of convergence, believes B Raman
Making a strong pitch for its full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, India on Thursday said it sees a larger role for the security grouping in Afghanistan and evinced keen interest in participating in its counter-terrorism structure to combat challenges of extremism. India, Pakistan, Mongolia and Iran have the status of observer states. Afghanistan has been admitted as new observer during this summit. Belarus and Sri Lanka are the dialogue partners.
Pakistan is keen to sign a new visa agreement during External Affairs Minister S M Krishna's visit to Islamabad during September 7-9 for talks with Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, official sources said on Friday.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will visit Pakistan for three days from September 7 to review the last round of the bilateral dialogue process with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar, the Foreign Office announced on Friday. Krishna will be visiting Pakistan for "holding a review meeting with the Foreign Minister at her invitation," the Foreign Office said in a brief statement.
Ahead of Thursday's meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Asif Ali Zardari, India on Thursday said it was sure that Pakistan would not fail to take note of the Supreme Court verdict upholding the death sentence of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist in the 26/11 attacks.
Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who is on a death row for alleged involvement in a string of bombings in Pakistani cities in 1990, has signed a fresh mercy petition to be sent to President Asif Ali Zardari.
British Prime Minister David Cameron visited the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, paying homage on Thursday in New Delhi. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave Cameron a warm welcome at the Indian Presidential Place. He also met India''s Foreign Minister S M Krishna with his delegation to hold discussions.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the religious body of the Sikh community, met Union External Affairs Minister S M Krishna in New Delhi on Tuesday, to express their anger over the massacre at a Wisconsin gurdwara on Sunday.
Neatly dressed, the outgoing Minister of External Affairs S M Krishna held his composure as he met media persons in his house on Tyagraj marg in the capital on Saturday morning.
Welcoming the Indo-Pak efforts to improve their bilateral relations, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Friday said the two countries should persist with their efforts to resolve outstanding issues and advocated peaceful resolution of Kashmir issue while respecting the "wills" of people there.
Twenty three fishermen from Tamil Nadu, arrested by the Sri Lankan Navy on July 22 when they were fishing near Katchatheevu in the Palk Straits, have been released, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said on Friday.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna will undertake a three-day visit to Pakistan from September 7 to review the second round of the composite dialogue with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar, reports Amir Mir.
Russia pressed for "proper treatment" of its companies operating in India, voicing concern over problems faced by its Sistema company which invested about USD three billion in Indian telecom sector but lost its licence under the Supreme Court in the 2G case.
After External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, another Union minister from Karnataka has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding a review of the decision of the Cauvery River Authority asking the state to provide Tamil Nadu with 9,000 cusecs of water daily.
The foreign ministers of India, Russia and China on Friday held discussions on key regional and international issues, including situation in Iran, North Korean rocket launch and terrorism during a trilateral meet in Moscow.
Expressing happiness over meeting his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar at a reception on Tuesday, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said such social exchanges will go a long way in normalising relations with the neighbouring country.
Highlighting the "grim" situation in Cauvery basin, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Saturday appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stop further release of water to Tamil Nadu and to seek a report from the team that has been deputed to assess the water situation.
India on Tuesday said it did not expect Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to rake up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations General Assembly, affirming that the state is its integral part.
India on Monday hit out at Pakistan for making an "unwarranted" reference to Jammu and Kashmir at the United Nations, asserting that the state was an integral part of the country.
For all of the euphoria by both sides over the third US-India strategic dialogue in Washington, DC last month that was co-chaired by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and External Affairs Minister S M Krishna, and the several collaborations announced in various areas and agreements initialed, when it comes to the totalisation agreement where over $1 billion has been contributed each year by Indian temporary workers in the US as social security payments over decades that h
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Krishna's official visit to Dushnabe is being seen as part of attempts by New Delhi to re-engage the strategically-located Central Asian country, which shares borders with Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China.
Refusing to get into a "slanging match" with Pakistan Interior Ministry Chief Rehman Malik, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Thursday asserted that mutual recrimination has to cease.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party government in Karnataka of sending "doctored and concocted" information to a Supreme Court appointed panel on illegal mining, saying it was a deliberate attempt to 'defame' him.
India on Wednesday requested Pakistan to release death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh after Islamabad in a midnight twist said it had taken steps for the release of another Indian prisoner named Surjeet Singh who has been jailed for three decades.
Some of the prominent United Progressive Alliance ministers on Sunday came under fire from Team Anna at the fast venue of Anna Hazare with the activist's close aide Arvind Kejriwal claiming that cases could have been registered against 14 ministers if there was a Lokpal.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Friday appealed to the bickering Indian tennis players to shed "individual egos" and instead play to bring laurels for the country in London Olympics.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Monday sought a report from the Indian mission on US child service authorities in New Jersey restricting an Indian couple access to their one-year-old son after he underwent surgery for an injury.
India and Pakistan signalled a desire beyond the rancour of the past by inking a pact for a liberalised visa regime though several core issues of both countries had not been addressed by the peace process that resumed last year, the Pakistani media said on Sunday.
Over 'ghazals' by maestro Ghulam Ali, foreign ministers of India and Pakistan dined at the end of their hectic deliberations on various bilateral issues in Islamabad.
India on Saturday refused to give a firm commitment on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Pakistan, saying that the atmosphere has to be "ripe" and something "worthwhile" should come out from such a trip. Making it clear that Dr Singh was "not shying away" from visiting Pakistan, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said the Indian premier had never put conditions for his Pakistan visit.
Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt, who is travelling with External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on his three-day tour of Pakistan, compares the new visa agreement to the old one
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna began crucial talks with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar on Saturday to review the second round of resumed dialogue with issues like terrorism to be on top of the agenda. He pushed for justice for 26/11 victims.
A move by India and Pakistan to ease their decades-old visa regime to benefit tourists, senior citizens and businessmen was hailed on Saturday as a milestone in a "nascent" peace process, with the media in Islamabad calling it the first major outcome of the dialogue that resumed last year.
Hinting at Pakistan, India on Monday said terrorism emanating from outside Afghan borders posed potent threat to Afghanistan and warned that the war-torn country could "slip back" by interference in its internal affairs.
Bringing some hope to the family of Sarabjit Singh, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday assured India that he will consider the case of the Indian prisoner who has been on death row in the country for over 20 years.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, who will hold talks with her Indian counterpart S M Krishna over the weekend, on Friday expressed hope that the two Asian neighbours would normalise relations.
External Affairs Minister S M Krishna on Friday arrived in Islamabad on a three-day visit to Pakistan to hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart Hina Rabbani Khar, saying he had come with a mandate for building trust and confidence between the two countries. "I wish to reiterate the desire of India to see a stable and prosperous Pakistan living in peace with itself and the world. That would be in the best interest of everyone," Krishna said in an arrival statement.
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