Despite the uncertainty surrounding the Indian Premier League (IPL) dates, public sector insurer Oriental Insurance Company (OIC) is close to finalising a Rs 400 crore 9Rs 4 billion) for the mega event.
'Who put the fear of god into Imran Khan and how it happened we do not know, but the great cricketer panicked and called Mahathir to regret that he cannot attend the KL Summit,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The battle to manage the international environment over Kashmir has just begun, but what is expected to help is the lifting of internal controls. All eyes are now on that exercise. Aditi Phadnis reports.
Many of the stories, the pictures going out of India worldwide lately with these provocative processions, taunting of Muslims, bulldozers targeting mostly their properties, the sweeping 'othering' of a community of 200 million are painting the front pages and TV screens in the democratic world. That is where most of the friends we covet lie. Soon enough, these will also make our vital friends among the Muslim nations, from Bangladesh to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, uneasy. The best time for course correction is now, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
The Taliban is showing its strong discontent as the high hopes given to it by the Pakistani military have been dashed, observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Europeans believe that what is under attack is their way of life, their secular faith, the long-fought right to keep religion out of the public sphere, observes Virendra Kapoor.
Muslim nations will form a preferred trading group by the end of the year aimed at greater economic integration among the Organisation of Islamic Conference countries, while plans are afoot to form a giant 'Islamic bank'.
Though Bajwa met Saudi Arabia's Deputy Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Saudi Arabia's military chief of staff General Fayyad bin Hamid Al-Ruwaili, he failed to meet the crown prince.
Given all the turbulence created by Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi's unexpected tirade against Saudi Arabia, it is likely to be business as usual between the two countries, albeit with a bit of caution on the part of both, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
'The India-Pakistan relationship is in a deep freeze, though it could be a lot worse had there not been a new LoC ceasefire a year ago.' 'The India-Pakistan relationship will only start to thaw if the Pakistani military decides it's prepared to push for detente.'
On the situation in the Kashmir Valley, the army officials highlighted Wednesday evening's incident when a son of a prominent eatery owner was shot and critically wounded by terrorists at his shop in a high-security area of the city.
'He could indeed survive [the no confidence vote] even as he faces his biggest political test.'
The vote on a critical resolution against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva has been postponed to Tuesday, as Colombo stepped up efforts to garner international support ahead of the voting which is being seen as an acid test for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
'The visit by the MEPs and their photo-op with Modi would suggest that we have now given a quiet burial to the 'internal matter' charade,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
If he doesn't, two things are guaranteed: Failure for him, and continued slide for his nation despite its talented people, strong nationalism, the gift of geography and a formidable army, points out Shekhar Gupta.
'The sooner Pakistan and India face these geopolitical realities, the better it will be for their own security and prosperity,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Naqvi expressed confidence that Muslims will abide by lockdown guidelines during the holy month of Ramzan.
Hussain will become the special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, an intergovernmental group with 57 member countries from the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, Caucasus, Balkans, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
'Prior to Pulwama, the BJP appeared to be on the defensive, uncertain of its stop-and-go development programmes, fearful of growing discontent among agriculturists and unemployed youth, and nervous of gathering steam among Opposition parties across regional and caste alliances,' says Sunil Sethi.
The suspension was preempted to stop him flying to New York for an event where he was likely to have spoken against India, official sources said on Tuesday.
Swaraj said the air strike was carried out in self-defence.
Senseless acts of terrorism committed by a "handful of misguided individuals" in the name of Islam maligned the 'noble faith of peace, tolerance and compassion,' the Pakistan President said.
India should remember that Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations will remain special due, not least, to bonds of all Muslims with The Holy Land. They would also be strategic enough, irrespective of whether the ambassador is a military man or a career civilian appointee., notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Pakistan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Brunei, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Syria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen are attending the meeting besides Malaysia.
Will stand for rights of Kashmiris: Imran Khan in PoK
In a statement released by Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs, Aziz said that "Modi is misleading his BRICS and BIMSTEC colleagues", after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that Pakistan is the 'mothership of terrorism'.
Mirwaiz extended an open invitation to all pro-freedom groups to join the Hurriyat Conference to strengthen it.
Not only is there a possibility for a conventional retaliation by Pakistan, there could also be terror attacks.
The number of contributors was 46.4 million in July and 44 million in September.
'The surgical strikes were not meant to deter or stop infiltration.' 'It was meant to create a kind of uncertainty in the minds of Pakistani military commanders.' 'By using hard power we've created an option which was not there earlier.'
General Naravane's UAE and Saudi Arabia visits communicate India's long awaited arrival in the domain of integrated foreign policy where the diplomatic and the military domains both complement each other much more substantially, observes Lieutenant General Syed Ata Hasnain (retd).
Oriental Insurance Company has turned around with a net profit of Rs 64 crore (Rs 640 million) last fiscal, and targets to achieve about 10 per cent growth in premium income during 2003-04.
Eleven more deaths were reported on Thursday, taking the total death toll to 38, a senior Delhi Health Department official told PTI.
'None of these three countries -- Turkey, Iran or Malaysia -- ever made a hostile move against India to support the Pakistan-based terrorist elements,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan also accused India of trying to quell the Kashmiri struggle by using "brute force".
With Modi's international image seriously damaged -- perhaps, irrecoverably -- and Indian foreign policy finding itself in drift, we move on to the New Year in a depressing scenario, points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Pakistan's prime minister is trying to use the unrest in Kashmir to save his government, says Ambassador G Parthasarathy, a former high commissioner to Islamabad.
The country's top security body "concluded that India has committed uncalled for aggression to which Pakistan shall respond at the time and place of its choosing," it added.
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