Biden's lengthy remarks on Afghanistan contained no condemnatory references to the Taliban, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar, who played a stellar role in beginning India's systemic dealings in Afghanistan in 1994.
National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon arrived in Beijing on Sunday to hold the crucial Special Representatives border talks with China to resolve the long-running boundary dispute between the two countries and lay the ground for Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to New Delhi in December.
The sources said the ongoing engagement and dialogue at military and diplomatic levels have resulted in complete disengagement of troops at patrolling point 14, 15 and 17 A in eastern Ladakh.
Seeking to downplay the Headley controversy, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon said on Tuesday, that the access given by the US to the Pakistani-American terrorist was "unprecendented", saying such cooperation may not have been possible five years ago.
'We see India as a cornerstone of our engagement with this hugely important region of the world.'
Obama arrives in India on the 6th, spends the 6th and part of the 7th in Mumbai, part of the 7th and the 8th in New Delhi.
Warning of the possibility of a limited war under a nuclear backdrop in the future, India on Thursday sought a new 'open, balanced and inclusive' global security architecture that corresponds to modern threats such as hi-tech terrorism and cyber conflicts.
Two top United States security officials are traveling to Pakistan on Tuesday to meet the country's civil and military leadership and press for more aggressive action against Al Qaeda-allied groups. Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta and the National Security Advisor General James Jones, who are embarking on a visit to Islamabad, will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, Army Chief General Ashfaq Kiyani.
In its effort to improve its ties with Pakistan, India played down the spurt in infiltration from the neighbouring country in 2008 -- the year in which Pakistan-based terrorists carried out the Mumbai terror attack, according to a secret United States cable released by WikiLeaks
Some five months before the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack, India had warned the United States about increasing "white faces" in terrorist camps along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and the attempt by jihadi groups to acquire fissile material to "fabricate a crude bomb beyond a dirty bomb".
"Pakistan is now waiting for India's response to the proposed dates," Sartaj Aziz, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's adviser on foreign affairs, said.
Amid escalating tensions at the Indo-Pak border, Pakistan's national security advisor Sartaj Aziz has said it is "too early" to speculate on the timing of his visit to New Delhi to hold talks with his Indian counterpart as agreed at Ufa.
With an eye on beefing up maritime security, India is negotiating a deal with 24 countries for exchange of neutral merchant shipping data as it rolls out a national hub to tackle all aspects of coastal security to prevent another 26/11-like attack.
The first high-level meeting between the two countries after the November visit of US President Barack Obama to India, Menon's Washington trip is considered as a preparatory one for the next round of India-US Strategic Dialogue to be held in New Delhi in April.
Pakistan slammed Afghan National Security Advisor Rangin Dadfar Spanta for alleging that the country and its military intelligence were linked to terrorists, saying it would not be "distracted by such unfair remarks".
India is expected to hold a high level meeting on the Tawwahur Rana trial once Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh returns from his Africa tour this Saturday. The matters to be discussed by senior officials are Headley's statements and also what stand to be taken on Rana, sources said.
It has emerged that a senior US government functionary offered to help India garner greater funding from the World Bank in return for protecting Dow Chemicals from possible legal fallout from the gas tragedy.
Sharma met US trade representative Ron Kirk, agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack and deputy assistant to the president and deputy national security advisor for International Economic Affairs Michael Froman and other senior Obama Administration officials.
"The rains are continuing, the great dam above Sindh is in danger. If it breaks, the situation will reach an even more catastrophic level. It's already exceeded in the number of people affected the 2005 earthquake, but not as many people dead -- of course, that was 75,000. It is a major international humanitarian catastrophe."
Sitting on a chair along with his top national security advisors in the Situation Room, located in the basement of the White House last Sunday afternoon, it was one of the longest 40 minutes of United States President Barack Obama's life.
The White House on Tuesday said that it was weighing whether to release pictures of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's corpse to put at rest speculation and disbeliefs in some quarters about the death of world's most wanted fugitive.
The plaintive strains of bugles sounding the last post broke through the hush, men in uniform clicked their heels and a 17-gun salute rang out as Gen Bipin Rawat and his wife were cremated on Friday evening -- the sun setting on a day written into India's military history and on the life of its most senior military officer.
The frequency of day and night operations by frontline fighter jets is a signal that India will continue to put pressure on China until the status quo ante is restored in all the areas in eastern Ladakh including Pangong Tso, Gogra and Hot Springs, government sources said.
"The message is clear. We're not going to stand by and let China or anyone else take the reins in terms of being the most powerful, dominant force, whether it's in that region or over here," White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told Fox News.
The major substantive lesson that we should draw from the foreign minister-level talks is that Pakistan is not serious about addressing our concerns on terrorism. This should have been clear to us long ago because we have been talking to Pakistan on terrorism ever since 1997, says former deputy national security advisor Satish Chandra.
During the meetings, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Special Envoy on Afghanistan and Pakistan S K Lambah and the top US officials discussed the progress made in Afghanistan so far and how the two countries can work together to achieve their common objective of defeat al Qaeda and the Taliban, and help in the emergence of a stable and democratic Afghanistan.
Ahead of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit, India and China on Tuesday concluded their 14th round of special representatives border talks, with both sides agreeing to seek a "fair deal" as they made "steady progress" on a framework to resolve the long-running boundary dispute.
India's concerns over China's plans to build two nuclear reactors for Pakistan and bilateral issues are set to figure prominently during talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's special envoy Shiv Shankar Menon and the Chinese leadership in Beijing from Saturday.
Take a look at the pictures of Barack Obama's visit to India. You can see Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, Indian Ambassador to the US Meera Shankar and National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon. Can you spot Foreign Minister S M Krishna anywhere?
General Bajwa, unlike many of his predecessors, believes the Pakistan army's long-term interests lie in reducing tensions with India, reports Ajai Shukla.
The US president was feted at the world's largest cricket stadium in the "Namaste Trump" event in Ahmedabad and was cheered by tens of thousands of people.
'Why are you not saying that the person who killed CRPF jawans was sent to Pakistan by BJP?'
India must be prepared for a broad range of external challenges as its capabilities grow and stake in the international system increases, said West Bengal Governor and former national security advisor M K Narayanan on Wednesday.
Top US security officials briefed Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday, on the probe into the botched car bombing in New York by a Pakistani-American and discussed measures to prevent "potential attacks."
What needs to be understood is that not one, but three cancers afflict Pakistan
US President Trump "presented the Legion of Merit to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership in elevating the US-India strategic partnership," O'Brien said in a tweet.
Mattis applauded India's efforts to promote stability in the South Asia region, said Pentagon Spokesperson
US President Barack Obama would hold his sixth Situation Room meeting with his national security team on Monday to discuss his administrations strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Warning that India and China could ill-afford misperceptions on policy, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon on Thursday said that pursuit of an ambitious agenda by the two countries could put bilateral relations on a sound footing.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi would co-chair the first US-Pak Strategic Dialogue to be held in Washington on March 24.
