india
Pakistan high commissioner to India likely to be next foreign secretary
ISLAMABAD, (DNA) – High Commissioner to India Sohail Mahmood is the clear front runner to become the country’s top diplomat when Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua steps down on her retirement. Ms Janjua, who was the first woman to become Pakistan’s foreign secretary, will retire on April 17 after serving in the position for two years. The race for the foreign secretary’s job this time round has been lacklustre particularly when compared to the bruising competitions on the last two occasions — 2013 and 2017. The last race was especially uglyRead More
Modi terms Pakistan as ‘mothership of terrorism’, asks BRICS leaders to take actions against it
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a meeting with fellow BRICS leaders on Sunday in Goa urged them to take a strong united stand against the “mothership of terrorism” in the South Asian region, in a thinly veiled reference to Pakistan. Modi said a country in India’s neighbourhood held links to “terror modules” around the world, which BRICS ─ a bloc consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa ─ should strongly condemn. “In our region, terrorism poses a grave threat to peace, security and development.” “Tragically the mothershipRead More
TAPI gas pipeline consortium plans investor roadshows in November
TAPI, a long-delayed pipeline project from Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India via Afghanistan is in the final stages of financing, and investor roadshows are due to be held next month, a Pakistani official said on Friday. Head of Pakistan’s state-owned Inter State Gas Systems (ISGS) Mobin Saulat told media there was “significant progress” with the TAPI project and that investor roadshows to raise funds are planned for November. “There will be roadshows soon in all the major financial hubs and the project’s planned commissioning is 2020 and I think we areRead More
ANALYSIS: Civil-military relations in dire straits?
Ansar Mahmood Bhatti A recent leak in an English newspaper about an internal security meeting held a couple weeks ago, seeks to give birth to controversy that all is not well in terms of civil-military relations. While one may not challenge intentions of the reporter Cyril Almeida, whom I know for quite some time, some parts of the story may appear in conflict with the national security policy and thus providing opponents with an excuse to grill Pakistan and its security establishment. The way the Indian media and some segmentsRead More
China says willing to discuss ‘possibilities’ with India on nuclear group
BEIJING: China is willing to discuss “possibilities” with India on its bid to become a fully fledged member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday, holding out an olive branch ahead of a summit in India. India last month said it had held “substantive” talks with China on its attempt to join the NSG, a 48-member grouping of countries that trades in civil nuclear technology. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is campaigning to join the NSG to back a multi-billion-dollar drive to build nuclearRead More
Brahmaputra dam not to affect India, says China
China on Saturday sought to allay Indian apprehensions over the construction of a dam on the Brahmaputra river, saying there would be no negative impact on areas downstream, Indian media reported. Earlier this month, China blocked a tributary of the Brahmaputra river as part of a major hydroelectric project whose construction began in 2014, days after reports that India was considering expediting hydropower projects on the Indus river in order to put pressure on Pakistan. China’s move was seen as a warning to New Delhi against moving too far in theRead More