Amid Tensions With Pak… Saudi minister visits India
New Delhi: Amid the escalating tensions between India and Pakistan, Saudi Arabia's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir arrived in New Delhi on an unannounced visit and met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday.
Later, Jaishankar posted about the meeting with the Saudi leader saying, 'A good meeting with @AdelAljubeir, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia this morning' 'Shared India's perspectives on firmly countering terrorism,' referring to the India's military strikes on Wednesday that targeted terrorist infrastructure at nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), he added.
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Indian Express
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Explained: Complex challenges in chaotic Trump world
When Narendra Modi became Prime Minister for a third term in June 2024, Joe Biden was projected to be in a close race with Donald Trump for a second term in the White House, India's border standoff with China had been ongoing for four years, Sheikh Hasina had been at the helm of Bangladesh for 16 years, and in Pakistan, the army had propped up a new coalition government. Significantly, there had been no major attack by Pakistan-sponsored terrorists since February 2019. A year on, almost everything has changed. Trump has made a phenomenal political comeback, Indian and Chinese troops have disengaged in Ladakh, Hasina has been ousted from power, and India has had a four-day military confrontation with Pakistan after a massive terror attack targeted civilian tourists in Pahalgam. US: Trump, the Disruptor Since he took charge as President in January, Donald Trump's actions have plunged the world into uncertainty. His tariffs on countries around the world have caused massive disruptions in trade and markets, and India has been pushed into negotiating a trade deal with the US. To signal intent to his domestic base, Trump has made a spectacle of the deportation of illegal immigrants — planeloads of Indians, too, have been returned in shackles. He has gone after universities like Harvard and Columbia and foreign students in the US, putting several Indian students under scrutiny and causing widespread concern. With a number exceeding 3.3 lakh, Indians make up one of the largest foreign student cohorts in the US. New Delhi's diplomatic challenge in Washington has become more complicated in Trump's world. CHINA: Thaw in Ladakh After four-and-a-half years of confrontation, India and China agreed to disengage troops at two remaining friction points in Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh in October, and to resume patrolling. Prime Minister Modi and President Xi Jinping met and decided to move towards normalising ties — steps are being taken to organise the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra for Indian pilgrims; talks are underway to restart direct flights, remove curbs on visas for the Chinese, share trans-border river data, and resume exchange of journalists. But more than 50,000 troops remain deployed on the icy heights, awaiting the next steps of de-escalation and de-induction. BANGLADESH: Hasina's fall After 16 years in power, the Awami League regime in Bangladesh collapsed like a house of cards in the face of street protests from students and activists backed by the political opposition in July-August last year. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled, and has been living in India since August 5. Following the chaotic transition to an interim government led by Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, New Delhi's ties with Dhaka have suffered. Islamists and a spectrum of opportunists have gone after those aligned with Hasina's regime. Minorities, including Hindus, who benefited from Hasina's secularist politics, have been attacked, provoking a very strong response from New Delhi. Bangladesh has asked for Hasina to be extradited but India has taken the call of giving her refuge. Yunus has played the China card, and New Delhi has tightened screws on visas and trade. India will now be watching how inclusive and democratic Bangladesh's elections, scheduled for April 2026, turn out to be. PAKISTAN: Blood and Sindoor India responded to the killing of 26 civilians in Pahalgam first with diplomatic steps — putting the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, scrapping all visas and trade, and expelling Pakistani diplomats en masse — and then with the military step of launching attacks on nine terrorist locations, including headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. 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India Gazette
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India.com
8 hours ago
- India.com
Army Chief Hails Op Sindoors Success As Well-Planned, Precise And Worthy Answer To Terrorism
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Upendra Dwivedi on Sunday hailed Operation Sindoor, describing it as a well-planned, precise, and highly effective response to terrorism. Speaking at the inaugural podcast of 'Ibex Tarana,' a community radio station (88.4 MHz) in Jyotirmath in Uttarakhand, COAS Dwivedi attributed the operation's success to the government giving the armed forces complete strategic freedom and the trust shown by the countrymen. "Operation Sindoor was not just a military response; it was an expression of India's unity, resolve, and self-confidence. The government gave us complete strategic freedom, and the trust shown by the countrymen became our source of inspiration,' ANI quoted Dwivedi as saying. General Dwivedi highlighted that during the operation, the Indian Armed Forces destroyed nine terrorist hideouts without any civilian casualties, which he said shows that the Indian Army is not only powerful but also responsible. 'We destroyed nine terrorist hideouts without any civilian casualties. This shows that the Indian Army is not only powerful but also responsible. I am proud that our soldiers completed this operation with discipline, restraint, and immense courage. This victory is not only of the army but of the entire nation. Operation Sindoor is a well-planned, precise, and worthy answer to terrorism,' ANI quoted Dwivedi as saying. Highlighting that the Indian Armed Forces are alert, capable, and always fully prepared, General Dwivedi said that terrorism will get a befitting reply every time. 'I want to say one more thing: Due to the name of Operation Sindoor, whenever any mother, sister, or daughter applies Sindoor, she proudly remembers our soldiers. Terrorism will get a befitting reply every time. We are alert, capable, and always fully prepared," ANI quoted Dwivedi as saying. The Indian Armed Forces launched Operation Sindoor on May 7 to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack in which Pakistan-sponsored terrorists killed 26 innocent civilians. During Operation Sindoor, the Indian Armed Forces targeted terror infrastructure at nine locations in Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, killing over 100 terrorists.
