As China's Foreign Minister Sun Weidong visited Pakistan on a mediation mission, a statement from Foreign Ministry on Monday said it is maintaining close contacts with Pakistan and Iran to 'bridge their differences'.
The go-ahead given to prosecute Arundhati Roy would be seen by supporters of freedom of speech as an announcement that the Right-Wing doesn't feel humbled by the results of the elections, argues Shyam G Menon.
On Tuesday, when trends indicated she was going to win her election, the four-time National Award winner said, 'Heartfelt gratitude to all the people of Mandi for this love and trust... This victory belongs to all of you, this is the victory of your trust in Prime Minister Modi and the BJP, this is the victory of Sanatan and in the honour of Mandi.'
The 50-year-old "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" actor was born in Indore.
The Foreign Office on Monday summoned the Indian Charge d'Affaires (Cd'A) in Islamabad to lodge a protest over the alleged killing of a Pakistani citizen, who had infiltrated into Jammu and Kashmir to attack an army post.
Addressing a rally in Karkardooma in east Delhi, Modi alleged that the AAP and the Congress were provoking people and misinforming them. They were keeping the Constitution and tricolour in the forefront, but the aim was to 'divert attention from the real conspiracy', Modi said ahead of the Delhi elections on February 8.
The Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Ltd started hacking trees from Friday night to make way for a car shed, hours after the Bombay high court dismissed four petitions filed by NGOs and activists challenging the decision to allow felling of trees in the prime green lung of the city.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday approved in principle the financing plan of the much-delayed 4500 megawatt Diamer-Basha Dam project on the Indus river in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and asked officials to expediate its construction.
Peeved over the silence of leaders of separatist groups, their factions in Pakistan and in occupied-Kashmir are making desperate attempts to foment trouble in Jammu and Kashmir by giving calls from across the border for 'bandhs' and strikes to mark the death anniversary of Mirwaiz Farooq and Abdul Gani Lone, officials said.
From a Pakistan-trained militant to one of the prominent separatist faces in Kashmir, life has come a full circle for chief of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik, who was in limelight for varied reasons over the past three decades of turmoil in the erstwhile restive border state.
The global map printed on the new 20 Riyal banknote, released to mark Saudi Arabia's presidency of the G20 grouping, does not feature Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as part of India.
Read what the ex-chief of R&AW, A S Dulat, told our readers on Rediff Chat!
'I fear that Karnataka is going to the polls next year and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has staked claim to Akkalkot and Solapur'
'It is surprising that Pakistan has suddenly taken the decision of not participating in the FIDE Chess Olympiad, particularly after the team has already reached India'.
'If somebody compares Mumbai with the Taliban and PoK, then that person is anti-national.'
Noisy protests by the members of the Congress and other opposition parties seeking an apology from the prime minister continued unabated throughout the day since the proceedings began.
Jamaat-ud-Dawah chief Hafiz Saeed's detention may help ease India-Pakistan tension, media reports in Islamabad said on Tuesday even as supporters of the Mumbai attack mastermind launched protests across major cities against the government's decision which they say was taken under pressure from the US and India.
India's Ministry of External Affairs said on Wednesday the bus service will be a violation of India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
India immediately rejected the charge, saying it was carrying out operations to stop large-scale infiltration from across the border.
'The implication of being adamant is to be arrogant. So yes, he is arrogant.'
While 26 trucks crossed over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, 13 from there reached the Indian side.
In a tweet on Monday, she said officials of the Sena-ruled civic body visited her office and may demolish the property on Tuesday.
After frequent incursions in Ladakh area, Chinese People's Liberation Army troops have been spotted at forward posts along the Line of Control on the Pakistani side of Kashmir, ringing alarm bells in the security grid.
Nine seats have been proposed for STs and seven for SCs in Jammu and Kashmir, sources said. This is the first time that seats have been proposed for STs in Jammu and Kashmir, they said.
It will require a political and tactical genius to, first, assuage the hurt feelings of the locals over the denial of their state's privileged status, and then to accommodate the national objectives of integration and development as spelt out by New Delhi, points out Amulya Ganguli.
This is for the first time the disturbed areas in the control of Pakistan have been mentioned by any Indian prime minister during his Independence Day speech.
Normal life was affected in Jammu on Saturday due to a three-hour 'chakka jam' called by Bharatiya Janata Party protesting the surrender policy for youths who went to PoK for arms training and demanding that Chief Minister Omar Abdullah withdraw his statement on accession of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
'Is China's intention not clear?' 'Do we still think that if we are nice to China, it will be good to us?'
A worried army chief, General Deepak Kapoor, has protested to Defence Minister A K Antony about the derailing of vital defence purchases by allegations of corruption. On June 10, General Kapoor complained about the cancellation of army trials on the Pegasus ultra-light howitzer, after the manufacturer, Singapore Technologies Kinetics (STK), was suspended on suspicion of links with a discredited Ministry of Defence official.
'Individuals have been found providing money to major terrorist groups, Hurriyat leaders, separatists and stone-pelters in Jammu and Kashmir.'
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar also talked about the China-Pakistan economic corridor in Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, asserting that India is 'resolutely opposed' to any actions by other countries to change the status quo in the region.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday reviewed the security situation in the country, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor NSA Ajit Doval and other top officials.
Here's a recap of the events from the past 24 hours.
India on Sunday reaffirmed adherence to three conditions including having an atmosphere "free of terror and violence" as a precursor to any engagement with Pakistan and demanded action against terrorists including Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.
The Indian position has never been correctly articulated by successive governments, says security expert Ajay Sahni.
The home minister took stock of the situation and was briefed about the steps taken to maintain peace along border areas as well as in the Valley, a security official said.
While we have to hiss loudly and do the lunging bit to keep our foes on their toes, that's only a tactical matter. What is the strategic goal? What is the end game? In my opinion, there is only one possible end game: the unwinding of Pakistan into several pieces: Balochistan, Sind, Balawaristan (Gilgit, Baltistan, the rest of PoK), the Pashtun area Khyber Pakhtunwa which will merge with Afghanistan, and the rump Punjab, says Rajeev Srinivasan.
'The Indian side has realised that not talking to Pakistan has not served any useful purpose.'
The National Investigative Agency has filed a chargesheet against Pakistani national Bahadur Ali, who was arrested in Kashmir in July last year, alleging that he was working for terror outfit Lashkar-e-Tayiba and was planning to carry out attacks at several places including Delhi.
