What was the aim of Operation Sindoor? Why was the operation halted so soon? asks Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
If the US' renewed closeness with Pakistan ends up strengthening Pakistan's military, it will clearly show that Washington no longer wants a strong India and could be ready to let China dominate Asia, notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Indian carriers are grappling with severe operational disruptions after Iran launched missile strikes on the US military base in Qatar late Monday. This led to airspace closures for long hours in parts of West Asia. Iran, Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, and Kuwait shut down their skies following the attack, forcing airlines to cancel, divert, or delay flights through these vital corridors.
'We were not protesting for a wage hike or provident fund. We were protesting for the safety of the larger population. There is no personal gain.'
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar addresses Parliament on Operation Sindoor, denying any US trade linkage and highlighting Pakistan's request for a ceasefire through the DGMO channel.
We have nothing to gain by raising our concerns internationally as our narrative has got entangled with several controversial concepts in the United Nations, asserts Ambassador T N Sreenivasan.
Air India on Friday announced that several of its international flights were either diverted or sent back to their origin due to the emerging situation in Iran and the closure of its airspace.
India has a comparative edge over key competitors in a majority of products it exports to the US and stands to gain market share as the US raises tariffs on its major trade partners, NITI Aayog said on Monday. In its quarterly trade report, it recommended that the government fast-track the India-US free trade agreement with time-bound goals to resolve non-tariff barriers and finalise digital trade rules on data flows and e-signatures to support services exports.
United States President Donald Trump on Tuesday said India has not been a good trading partner and announced that he will raise the tariffs on New Delhi 'very substantially' over the next 24 hours because it is buying Russian oil.
'Pakistan is no longer a front-burner issue for America.'
India has called Pakistan's nuclear bluff with Operation Sindoor and sent a psychological message to state-sponsored terrorists: nobody is untouchable and no place in Pakistan is safe for you, government sources said on Sunday.
Decisive action has replaced dossiers and the new India can go to any extent to uproot terrorism, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Monday while stating that Operation Sindoor was on pause as the armed forces had achieved the desired objectives.
US President Donald Trump has repeated his claim that Washington got involved with India and Pakistan, saying he didn't like what was happening and that he did a good job as he convinced the two countries to let's have peace and let's go and make trade deals.
'All the government and private offices are functioning.' 'Overall, life is continuing normally.' 'People of Iran are showing spirit and resilience in the face of adversity.'
He then went on to say that, however, he won't get a Nobel Peace Prize for any of his efforts.
Another special flight carrying 296 Indian nationals and four Nepalese nationals stranded in conflict-hit Iran landed safely in New Delhi on Wednesday, taking the total number of people evacuated under Operation Sindhu to 3,154.
'We should watch -- in the near term -- for signs that the two have totally fallen out at a personal, political level.' 'Trump and Modi know how to be dealmakers, but they also know how to hold a grudge.'
Amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, the US has said it will not get involved in the conflict, stressing that it is "fundamentally none of our business." While acknowledging concerns about a potential nuclear war, Vice President J D Vance emphasized that the US cannot control India and Pakistan, but can encourage them to de-escalate. The US has also reiterated its support for direct dialogue between the two countries and encouraged efforts to improve communications.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump have vowed to move forward with plans to work together to build US-designed nuclear reactors in India. The decision was made during their meeting at the White House, where they also agreed to significantly expand energy cooperation. The move comes after India announced plans to amend its nuclear liability law and the Atomic Energy Act, which had previously been obstacles to the implementation of the US-India civil nuclear deal.
'I said, fellas, come on, let's make a deal, let's do some trading, let's not trade nuclear missiles, let's trade the things that you make so beautifully, and they both have very powerful leaders, very strong leaders, smart leaders, and it all stopped.'
The idea of weaponization got a fillip from an unexpected quarter. In the last week of October 1985, Rajiv met US President Ronald Reagan. Reagan told Rajiv, 'Pakistan has already made a bomb.' When Rajiv started talking about disarmament, the US president cut him short, 'Don't talk theory, think of your own protection.'
"It is still not too late. India must speak clearly, act responsibly, and use every diplomatic channel available to defuse tensions and promote a return to dialogue in West Asia," Gandhi asserted.
The exchange of the list took place under the provisions of an agreement on the prohibition of attack against nuclear installations and facilities, the ministry of external affairs said.
'Had Haji Pir and/or Skardu been taken, the message would have gone out not just to General Asim Munir and his cohort in the Pakistan army but to the Pakistani people that every terrorist incident in India would lead to substantial loss of territory in PoK.'
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that at a time when the BJP should be targeting Pakistan and terrorists, it is only interested in attacking the Congress.
It remains a mystery that when its scientists were accused of selling technologies which did not exist in ISRO, ISRO's leadership did not say to the public that they were searching in a dark room for a black cat which was not there, points out Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
China and Pakistan are in a tight strategic alliance. India must deal with them one at a time, but be prepared in case they decide to collude, points out Shekhar Gupta.
The formulations in the declaration in reference to terrorism is going to be to our "satisfaction", Dammu Ravi, secretary (economic relations) in the external affairs ministry said on Monday.
India on Thursday said the issue of trade did not come up at all in talks between Indian and American leaders during its military clashes with Pakistan, virtually rejecting Washington's repeated claims that its offer of trade stopped the confrontation.
'The condition was getting worse here every minute'
Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, has urged President Donald Trump to help ease tensions with India, highlighting the Kashmir issue as a "flash point" in nuclear terms. He believes that the US should take a more comprehensive and sustained approach to address the situation rather than just immediate de-escalatory measures.
'There's a lot of sense in what Prime Minister Modi did, but the Indian government has to be really prepared for a really sharp escalation spiral.'
Drawing lessons from security protocols of Parliament, the state is working closely with agencies like the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd to design a multi-layered safety mechanism.
'The protection of secrecy and anonymity gets lost with this linking.'
'Fears in Washington began to intensify when it was realised that subsequent Pakistani and Indian attacks on major military facilities -- which were significant in terms of geographic scope and intensity -- could rapidly take both sides to where neither actually wanted to go.' 'The US objective was to stop the fighting as soon as possible. Everything else was secondary.'
India has to fill in all the critical gaps in missiles, ammunition, sensors and stockpile in the fastest possible manner, focusing on the critical instruments that worked this time, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
During the talks, India and the US decided to take a big leap in broad-basing their strategic ties in several critical areas.
At least four people were killed and 516 others were injured on Saturday in a massive explosion and fire at the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas, more than 1,000km south of capital Tehran, according to officials and state media, Al Jazeera reported.
Acutely conscious that he's left with less than four years to create his legacy, Trump is undoubtedly a man in a hurry, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan's decision to talk to India on May 10 stemmed from realisation that it will suffer more if its operation continues, Gen Chauhan said.
