WORLD

Looking to pile on the pressure on Pakistan to act against cross-border terrorism, NSA Ajit Doval proposed at the SCO an action plan against Pak-based terror groups LeT and JeM, while calling for full implementation of UN resolutions and targeted sanctions against designated terrorists.

The external affairs ministry on Thursday also called on Pakistan to take credible, verifiable and irreversible action against terrorism as it responded to Pakistan foreign minister S M Qureshi's remark that India's presence in Afghanistan was "larger than it ought to be". The pointed reference at the SCO where his Pakistan counterpart was also present was intended to signal India's emphasis on anti-terror actions and the need for demonstrable measures.

China is a "selective partner", "competitor" and "systemic rival". Portuguese foreign minister Augusto Santos Silva said while  addressing a webinar with foreign minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday.

"The way we see institutions, political fundamentals, human rights the role of civil society is very different when you see from the point of view of Brussels or when you speak from the view of Brussels or when you speak from the view of Beijing," Silva said at a webinar organised by Observer Research Foundation think tank. "That is why in these crucial areas, our partner in Asia is not China but India," he added. Portugal currently holds the presidency of the council of the European Union.

Even as a special envoy from Qatar revealed that Indian officials had "quietly" met Taliban representatives in Doha, Indian sources indicated that there had been intermittent contacts in the recent past.

Speaking in a webinar on Monday, Mutlaq bin Majed al-Qahtani, who is special envoy to the Qatari foreign minister, said he believed India was engaging the Taliban not because they might take over Afghanistan but that they are an important part of the new power/political setup there.

"I understand that there has been a quiet visit by Indian officials... to speak with the Taliban... because Taliban is a key component of, or should be or is going to be a key component of the future of Afghanistan," Al-Qahtani reportedly said during the webinar. The effort should be, he said, to urge all sides to arrive at a peaceful resolution.

More than two weeks after the US announced plan for the first 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines to be shared with the world, the Joe Biden administration on Monday announced distribution of the remaining 55 million of total 80 million doses.

Of 55 million doses, 16 million will be given to Asia under the Covax facility. India has been named as one of the 18 countries which will get a share from these 16 million doses.

While the exact allocation for India has not been spelt out yet, the country is likely to get not more than 1 million or 2 million doses in the second tranche of the 55 million doses, according to initial estimates. In the first tranche of 25 million, India is expected to get about 2 million to 3 million doses.

Pakistan PM Imran Khan has said the country will "absolutely not" allow the CIA to use bases on its soil for cross-border counter-terrorism missions following the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan.

"There is no way we are going to allow any bases, any sort of action from Pakistani territory into Afghanistan," Imran said in an interview to be aired by an international channel on Sunday. "Pakistan will not allow the CIA or US special forces to base themselves inside this country ever again."

Despite an uneasy relationship with Pakistan, the US had conducted hundreds of drone strikes and cross-border counter-terrorism operations from Pakistani soil since 2004. For nearly a decade, Pakistani authorities had denied allowing the CIA to use its bases. In 2013, however, ex-President Pervez Musharraf admitted giving permission to the CIA to launch drone attacks from bases in his country, breaking the official policy of blanket denial of involvement.