This year saw no improvement in bilateral ties as India accused Pakistan of cross-border infiltration and re-activation of terror-launching pads near the LoC.
Citing details of the contract from the American Federal Procurement Data System, the BBC report claimed that Pakistan signed two contracts with American companies named "Global Military" and "Northrop Grumman" for the sale of 155mm shells.
The landmark India-US civil nuclear deal of 2008, brokered during Manmohan Singh's tenure as Prime Minister, is seen as a crowning achievement in his foreign policy legacy. The agreement ended India's nuclear isolation, fostered a strategic partnership with the US, and opened doors to advanced technologies and defense cooperation. This historic deal also laid the groundwork for India's engagement with the global nuclear community.
'There are difficulties and we need to find a way to handle them,' Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said, adding 'we are ready to engage, we are ready to negotiate any time, anywhere and we are not in a hurry. We will wait till they are ready.'
Pakistan and China strongly feel that India should not become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, as it would disturb the balance of power in the region, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Friday.
The United States has approved the extradition of Tahawwur Rana, accused of involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, to India. The decision was announced by President Donald Trump during a joint press conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the White House. India is currently working on the logistics of Rana's surrender and extradition, with several final steps to be completed before he is sent back to India. The joint statement issued by India and the US during Prime Minister Modi's visit reaffirmed their commitment to fighting terrorism and eliminating terrorist safe havens. The leaders also called on Pakistan to bring to justice the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai and Pathankot attacks. Rana, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention center in Los Angeles. He is associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks.
Pakistan on Thursday said it is willing to abide by the past agreement with India to resolve disputes like those on Sir Creek and Siachen. "If you look at some of the disputes that we have, we have Sir Creek, we have Siachen. Pakistan has already made it clear that we are willing to go by the agreement that we had in the past," Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said.
"We reaffirm that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India," spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar said.
But Pakistan might not authenticate India's troop positions in the glacier.
This was in response to Prime Minister Vajpayee's statement that Indo-Pak talks should focus on Pak-occupied Kashmir.
Pakistan and India are close to concluding an agreement on the Sir Creek maritime boundary dispute, which has been hanging fire for decades, with all issues having been resolved, former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said. The joint map and joint survey has been done and there are no more issues to be resolved between the countries, he said.
'By his words, actions, and body language during their joint press appearance wanted to convey his personal respect and, more broadly, his desire to work closely with India.'
Contradicting himself and his own cabinet colleague, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said that the Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Maulana Masood Azhar, one of India's most wanted criminals, has not been arrested and is 'still at large'. Qureshi's remarks came barely an hour-and-half after he accepted the detention of Azhar while speaking to Dawn News channel a little after 9 pm on Wednesday.
Amid signs of widening rift, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said she is looking forward to meet United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday to discuss the "strained ties".
Under the programme, Pakistanis and some other nationals are required to register with the INS. This has caused anger in Pakistan.
The description fits former Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw, currently lying ill in the military hospital in Coonoor.
Pakistan on Wednesday accused India of not responding positively to its efforts to restart the dialogue process and contended that it would go the "extra mile" if New Delhi takes steps in this regard.
Pakistan on Friday sought to assuage Afghanistan's concern over the former's talks with local tribal leaders, stating that the country has not been negligent of its obligation towards peace and stability in Afghanistan.Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who made a day-long visit to Kabul, said his country has not forgone the military option while pursing talks with the Taliban, aimed at ending militancy in the northwestern tribal areas.
Last week, US National Security Adviser John Bolton told his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval that America supports India's right to self-defence.
He said people have the right to protest but what happened with Kulkarni was not protest. "I recognise people's right to protest, but what has happened with Sudheendra Kulkarni is not protest," he said.
India on Friday hit back at Pakistan rejecting as "gratuitous" its statements on Jammu and Kashmir, saying they amounted to interference in the internal affairs of the country.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday stated that reports about her country's army killing 2 Indian soldiers along the Line of Control and mutilating the body of one were inaccurate.
Pakistan has said it is ready to take action against Jamaat-ud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed but added that India should give 'concrete evidence' that stands 'legal scrutiny' and holds him responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks. Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi insisted that his country was committed to bringing the perpetrators of 26/11 to justice but could not give any specific time-frame for conclusion of the trial in the case as the judiciary acted independently
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.
Pakistan's efforts for the peace process in Afghanistan would be remembered for long, he said.
'The first and most basic responsibility of any government is to protect its people from external threats and internal harm.' 'Budget 2025-2026 has to focus on meeting this responsibility,' asserts R Jagannathan.
The avoidable stresses and strains in ties helped in one way. It showed for the entire region how a matured India handled diplomatic relations, especially with a smaller and suspicious neighbour, with practised dignity and patience, unruffled by provocations in word, deed and action, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
In conversation with All-Party Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.
Khan will remain in jail as he is convicted in many other cases.
Last month, Pakistani authorities released 198 Indian fishermen, languishing in a prison in Karachi after arresting them for allegedly fishing illegally in the country's waters.
A large group of protesters vandalized and set fire to the residence of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in Dhaka during a live online address by his daughter and deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The incident occurred as Hasina was delivering a speech organized by the Awami League's now disbanded student wing Chhatra League, calling upon the countrymen to resist the current regime.
Krishna was with Dr Singh for about 30 minutes during which he gave a detailed account of his talks with Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.
'Terrorism continues to be the overwhelming threat to security and stability in the SCO region and therefore Dr Jaishankar strongly pitched for 'collective action',' observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri said his country has done all it could to stop cross-border terrorism.
Surprised over reports that Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had invited him for tea at the Roosevelt Hotel, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has said that he never received any such invitation. "If he has invited me, then I don't know the mode of invitation through which it was conveyed to me, but let me be very honest that I have not received any invitation," Krishna told PTI.
"What bewilders me is the lack of realisation that durable peace in South Asia will remain elusive without a just solution of Jammu and Kashmir dispute," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said at an Asia Society meeting in New York on Friday.
Xu, 60, is expected to travel to New Delhi soon to take over his new posting.
A leading expert predicts that the incoming Trump administration will likely continue its pro-India policies, including the Indo-Pacific strategy and Quad, but highlights potential challenges such as trade disagreements, immigration issues, and a possible quid pro quo for technology sharing. The expert also notes that the Trump 2.0 administration may prioritize great power politics over strategic altruism, potentially impacting human rights and religious freedom concerns.
Islamabad also summoned the Iranian charge d'affaires here and issued a strongly worded condemnation of Iran's "violation of its airspace", the Foreign Office said.
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