Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Sharif, 70, and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday filed their nomination papers for the post.
'It was the hostility of the Yunus regime that made India careful and wary of dealing with them.' 'They gradually backed off and lowered the noise, but the damage was done.' 'Their true colours had been exposed.'
TheWhat led to Pakistan not taking advantage of India's difficulty is the hold that the US has over the Pakistani ruling elite, observes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Putting the onus of resumption of dialogue on India, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday said he was ready to meet his Indian counterpart S M Krishna anywhere at anytime and was even willing to fly back to New York on Thursday if he has time.
'India has no hesitation in condemning terrorism anywhere in the world including in Karachi'
Khan will remain in jail as he is convicted in many other cases.
Pakistan strongly condemns and rejects the announcements made by the Indian Government regarding Jammu and Kashmir, the statement said. "As the party to this international dispute, Pakistan will exercise all possible options to counter the illegal steps," it said.
It was good fortune for India to have Atal Bihari Vajpayee lead the government at a crucial moment in our history. He avoided India meeting the fate of Iraq or Ukraine, asserts military historian Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The Shiv Sena on Monday refused to call off the protest against the book launch of former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri in Mumbai.
A video shared by Qureshi's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Twitter shows plain-clothed men taking him away, with him waving at party workers before departing from the location where he was detained.
'We hope that both India and Pakistan can exercise restraint and do more to improve their bilateral relations'
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.
In a statement, the MEA said, "The latest brutal killings of our security personnel by Pakistan-based entities and the recent release of a series of 20 postage stamps by Pakistan glorifying a terrorist and terrorism confirm that Pakistan will not mend its ways."
"India should stop dragging Pakistan into its electoral debate and win victories on own strength rather than fabricated conspiracies, which are utterly baseless and irresponsible," Pakistan's foreign office spokesman Mohammad Faisal said on Twitter.
Pak FM Qureshi informed Parliament that he requested the OIC to either rescind the invitation or postpone the session in view of the prevailing situation, neither of which was done.
'We will have to convince the world that Pakistan has nothing to do with the terrorism,' Asif said.
'The Indian version is that the two top diplomats merely exchanged pleasantries, while the Pakistani side characterised the encounter as an 'informal dialogue'.' 'The truth, as always in such piquant situations, is somewhere in between.' 'It stands to reason that ice has been broken,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
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.
Xu, 60, is expected to travel to New Delhi soon to take over his new posting.
Imran Khan knows Pakistan is holding a strong hand and doesn't have to flaunt it while claiming victory. But Pakistan has learned from the experience of the 1990s -- high risk of going out on a limb, asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
'An in-principle decision has been taken to take the issue of Kashmir to the International Court of Justice'
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan announced on Monday that his government will allow India to send a humanitarian shipment of 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat to neighbouring Afghanistan through its territory after finalisation of the transit modalities.
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.
"We hit India by entering inside. Our achievement in Pulwama is the achievement of the entire community under the leadership of Imran Khan. You all also have credit (for it), Chaudhry told the National Assembly on Thursday.
Our focus is not on substance, but communicating how we did not shake hands and how we made angry faces. This is what India's foreign policy has become, notes Aakar Patel.
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.
Khan said that India, which is a part of Quad, has imported oil from Russia despite American sanctions.
But it is less adventurous. It seems, at last, that in its eighth decade, Pakistan has settled into being a parliamentary democracy just like Bangladesh has and like we have always been, observes Aakar Patel.
'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.'
Afghanistan witnessed a series of terror attacks in the last few weeks as the US aimed to complete the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan by August-end, ending a nearly two-decade of its military presence in the war-ravaged country.
'Nine missiles from India had been pointed towards Pakistan, to be launched any time that day'
At least five Chinese nationals were among the six persons killed on Tuesday when an explosive-packed vehicle rammed into their bus in Pakistan's troubled northwestern province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, officials 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.
'With continued focus on votes, upcoming by-polls and purchasing politicians, the political hierarchy has little time for national defence.' 'They would do well to heed a veteran scholar, who says, "There will be war with China in the next few years. The next full scale war will have the involvement of Pakistan and terror elements, insurgents and intelligence assets operating inside India",' warns Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (retd).
Amidst fracas over the launch of his book in Mumbai, former Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri has said that he is optimistic about peace between India and Pakistan and called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take forward Atal Bihari Vajpayee's work towards that end.
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.
The summary is presently under review by the Finance Ministry that does not find the Foreign Ministry's proposal convincing enough to be given a serious thought, the newspaper quoted officials as saying.
It was only a matter of hours before I would be declared persona non grata; all my work would turn to ashes, and I would be revealed as a typical untrustworthy Indian. I steeled myself for the axe to fall.
"International law doesn't recognise India's unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019. The judicial endorsement by the Indian Supreme Court has no legal value. Kashmiris have an inalienable right to self determination in accordance with the relevant UN SC resolutions," Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani said in a post on X.
Foreign hand fuelling insurgency: Pakistan
