Pakistan is growing restive with the below the radar screen diplomacy. This is the issue Modi and Sharif will grapple with at their Washington meeting, says Rajeev Sharma.
American help in defending our independence will send a strong signal to the Chinese, argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Washington is signalling to Delhi that it can rely on American support in any great game vis-a-vis China. Delhi shouldn't fall into the trap, argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
With the desire to fight asymmetric warfare against India eliminated, Pakistan would also be discouraged from making alliances with the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Tayiba, and Al Qaeda.
Senior diplomatic observers and administration sources have told rediff.com that in the weeks following the formation of the new Indian government, the Obama administration will press for India to resurrect the composite dialogue with Pakistan that lie comatose after the Mumbai terror attacks.
"Pakistan Foreign Minister is a political pygmy in a powerless government kowtowing to the terror organisations. These pusillanimous comments reflect Pakistan's frustration with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's successful diplomacy in exposing the terror face of Pakistan to the world," said BJP spokesperson G V L Narasimha Rao.
India boycotted Pak National Day event over invitation to Hurriyat leaders.
The people in both places have lived in a state of denial, refusing to accept the bald fact that resorting to violence against an infinitely superior force is suicidal, observes T N Ninan.
Striking a conciliatory note amid rising tension in ties, Pakistan today said it does not want to live in "perpetual hostility" with India, noting time has come for the two neighbours to decide whether status quo should continue or a new beginning be made.
In a wide-ranging interview, the US President said his administration is formulating 'rules and regulations' for the White House reporters.
'Despite the subsequent events at Kargil and the October 12, 1999 military coup in Pakistan, the Lahore initiative firmly established Vajpayee's credentials as a crusader of peace,' says Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
"They cry victim when they actually are the perpetrators," she said, rejected Pakistan's charges against India on the issue at the 42nd session of the UNHRC.
The IAF chief also said Pakistan has become a pawn of Chinese policy and its dependence on China would increase further in future. He said India needs to understand the interplay of some major events in its vicinity that would impact the security scenario of the region.
'Tehran senses that the Modi government is inexorably gravitating toward the US-Israeli-Saudi axis, jettisoning India's traditional independent Gulf policies,' notes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Indian Navy has a big role to play in support of our strategic objectives in the Indian Ocean. The increasing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean is a matter of concern and need to be factored. Hence, the requirement of an Aircraft Carrier is a foregone conclusion, asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
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.
'Trump's new discovery is that Pakistan and its army are virtually god's gift to mankind.' 'They are required to facilitate a relatively orderly American exit from Afghanistan,' points out Ambassador G Parthasarathy, who served as India's high commissioner to Pakistan.
Following the recent declassification of 70,000 files, the ministry of external affairs is in the process of finalising a major project to declassify another set of 220,000 files-records covering Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Iran and Sri Lanka, East Asia, Eurasia and the Americas
'Traditionally, the US tried to tamp down tensions whenever a crisis situation arose and deputed officials from Washington to travel to Delhi to counsel restraint.' 'This time around, no US envoy flew down to Delhi -- not even when tensions spiked and a flashpoint was reached last week,' points out Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
India urgently needs to bring substantial strategic depth to its dealings with Pakistan as well as Afghanistan, argues E D Mathew, political commentator
The Pakistanis play quid pro quo diplomacy better than India does. They know how to promote their national interests while taking advantage of the needs of the US in the Afghaistan-Pakistan region, notes B Raman.
There's a necessity for talks between India and Pakistan, insulated from the political climate, to reduce the danger of growing nuclear arsenals and introduce transparency to prevent an arms race, said a statement adopted at the third Ottawa Dialogue held in Copenhagen on June 18 and 19.
Pakistan has negated claims that the Kashmir issue was close to settlement through backchannel diplomacy between Islamabad and New Delhi, with the country's foreign minister saying there was no mention of such developments in the records of the Foreign Office.
He said there would be progress on some issues soon while it will take time for progress on others.
The US is committed to not allowing either Pakistan or Afghanistan to become a safe haven for terrorists from where they can attack the US and its allies, said the senior Trump administration official.
'When war is thrust on you as in 1962 and 1965 or is tempting as in 1971, ensure that all other fronts are kept quiet, leaving your army free to deal with one,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Unless the Taliban goofs up in a big way, which seems highly unlikely, we are looking at a regime that will be around for quite a long while and present a level of governance that the puppets of the richest and most advanced countries failed to provide, predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
As India and Pakistan return to the dialogue table after a 14-month-long hiatus, analysts believe resuming deliberations with Islamabad after the Mumbai terror attacks has become a personal priority and a political risk for the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Instead of ignoring Delhi, the West would be better served if it ceases to pander to Pakistan for short-term gains. Not supporting the only secular liberal democracy in the region will only embolden the radical Islamists in the long-term, writes Harsh V Pant.
'There will be much for President Trump and Prime Minister Modi to discuss including growing Chinese military cooperation with Pakistan, which heralds a new attempt by China and Pakistan to neutralise India's influence in its Indian Ocean neighbourhood,' notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy.
The time is ripe to extend the confrontation with the Chinese to the maritime domain, says former RA&W officer Krishan Varma.
The United States on Tuesday refused to comment on the situation in Kashmir, in the grip of ceaseless violence for a-month-and-a-half, saying that matter has to be decided by the parties concerned.
Seven months after cancelling talks, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday.
At a critical time in the history of the United Nations, when the global order itself may be reshaped, following a devastating pandemic, India has chosen an experienced, charming and upright diplomat to lead the Indian delegation to the UN in New York.
'The hardliners in Delhi are in for a big disappointment,' predicts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'Indian diplomacy is once again being saddled with the heavy burden of a Pakistan-centric foreign policy. It is something grossly unfair at a crucial juncture in India's trajectory as an emerging power on the global stage,' argues Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
"The president is going on the last mile for diplomacy. We shall see if the other nations on the Security Council are\n\nwilling to entertain the last mile," White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said.
Gilani, however, said it would take time to normalise relations that had worsened in wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, the News International daily said on Friday.
'It is never a good idea to let the broad population determine policy that is the domain of experts and specialists,' notes Aakar Patel.
Pulwama must become the defining moment in our fight against terror, effecting a sea change in our mindset. The erratic, blow hot blow cold approach, the hallmark of our anti-terror-Pak-Kashmir policy must end. In its place is required a pragmatic, comprehensive, robust hard line course that is relentlessly pursued even in times of relative calm until the final objective is met, namely the eradication of separatism and the total annihilation of terror, says Vivek Gumaste.
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