Confidence building steps the way forward in Indo-Pak talks

Ajai Shukla

Business Standard, 2nd Jan 16



The frustrating saga of Indo-Pakistan
dialogue is widely regarded as an exercise that has yielded little success.



Yet, on New Year Day, New Delhi and
Islamabad exchanged lists of their nuclear installations, as part of an
agreement that prohibits both sides from attacking each other�s nuclear
facilities. This is the 25th straight year that

Modi seizes initiative on Pakistan policy with �impromptu� visit to Lahore

By Ajai Shukla

Business Standard, 26th Dec 15



On a busy Christmas Day for him, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi redefined the rules of Indo-Pak diplomacy with an unscheduled
visit to Lahore to personally greet his counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, on his
birthday.



The brief stopover at Lahore came on Modi�s
journey home to Delhi from Kabul, where he inaugurated Afghanistan�s new
parliament

Govt appoints judicial commission on OROP, veterans reject outright

By Ajai Shukla

Business Standard, 15th Dec 15




With the appointment of a one-man judicial
commission to look into the implementation of the One Rank, One Pension (OROP)
scheme for ex-servicemen, the government has tried in vain to signal
flexibility in resolving this vexed dispute.



On Monday, the defence ministry (MoD) named
Justice L Narasimha Reddy, retired chief justice of the

At Heart of Asia conference in Islamabad, Swaraj calls for land access to Afghanistan

�The Heart of Asia cannot
function if arteries are clogged� says the foreign minister



By Ajai Shukla

Business Standard, 10th Dec 15



The bonhomie from freshly resuscitated
India-Pakistan relations, and from Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj�s arrival in
Islamabad to attend the fifth Heart of Asia Conference on Afghanistan, could
not hide the deep schisms that remain between New Delhi and

A return to dialogue

By Ajai Shukla

Business Standard, 8th Dec 15



The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led
government has proved as inept at dealing with Pakistan from atop a high horse
as the Congress-led one that preceded it. In less than 18 months, this
government has twice stomped off from the dialogue table only to shuffle back
chagrined both times. On August 18, 2014, less than three months after Mr Modi

Parrikar gets experts� report on improving civil-military relations

By Ajai Shukla

Business Standard, 26th Nov 15



On Tuesday evening, close by where military
veterans are staging a long-running protest to support their �one rank, one
pension� demand, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was handed a 509-page report
by an expert committee on measures needed to repair relations with serving and
retired soldiers, sailors and airmen.



With civil-military

A hammer blow for the military: it is the biggest loser in the 7th Pay Commission