Voicing concern over Pakistan’s inaction against perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks, including Hafiz Saeed, Indian Foreign Secretary Nirpuma Rao on Tuesday warned that India’s restraint should not be confused with weakness and said it is “very, very difficult” to resume composite dialogue at present adding that some of the leaders of these groups continue to have access to the airwaves to make threats against India.

In a TV interview, Indian Foreign Secretary said that “It is very, very difficult to be convinced in such a situation that we should set aside these concerns and just move on. And that is why, I said when you talk of resuming composite dialogue (it) becomes very, very difficult to do that in the current situation,” Rao said.
At the same time, she said the door for talks with Pakistan had never been shut.
She also declared India will not scale down its presence in Afghanistan, a Pakistani wish that is playing on American minds.

Despite the “brazen and malignant” nature of the threats India faced, Rao said, India has made several genuine efforts to restore trust and confidence. But now in the face of Pakistani intransigence, public opinion in India “can hardly be expected to support the resumption of a full-blown Composite Dialogue.”

The Obama administration continued to criticise Israel’s announcement to build 1,600 settler homes in east Jerusalem during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden.
In an interview taped on Friday and broadcast Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the announcement an insult to her country. It was insulting. And it was insulting not just to the vice president, who certainly did not deserve that. He was there with a very clear message of commitment to the peace process solidarity with the Israeli people. But it was an insult to the United States, said Clinton. It was not just an unfortunate incident of timing but the substance was something that is not needed as we are attempting to move toward the resumption of negotiations. This was an affront, this was an insult but most importantly it undermined this very fragile effort to bring peace to that region. We just now have started proximity talks, that is shuttle diplomacy between the Palestinians and the Israelis and for this announcement to come at that time was very, very destructive, said Axelrod. The timing of Israel’s disclosure, after Palestinians agreed to indirect peace talks, embarrassed Biden and raised questions over whether Israel’s settlement policy could harm US-Israeli security cooperation on the question of Iran.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday and Lula expressed his willingness to talk with world leaders about Iran’s nuclear standoff in an effort to establish a peaceful solution.
Lula and Clinton attended a closed meeting and shook hands after the hour-long conversation. Earlier on Wednesday, Lula told reporters that Brazil would support Iran if it used its nuclear technology for peaceful ends and said the international community should not “push Iran into a corner.” On the other hand, after a meeting with Brazil’s Foreign Minister, Clinton said she believed Iran would only negotiate in good faith with the international community after sanctions are imposed. Lula and Clinton also discussed climate change, US’ relations with South American countries and a possible visit of President Barack Obama to Brazil. Clinton’s trip to the South American giant was aimed at winning support of Brazil, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, for moves to sanction Iran over its nuclear program, which Western powers fear is designed to produce atomic weapons.

The US has hailed the secretary-level talks between India and Pakistan.
Spokesperson of US Foreign Office Phillip, while talking to media has commended the leadership of both the countries in this regard. He said that the talks have set a base to further the dialogue, and hoped that both the country would continue the exercise. Analysts opined that US has played a key role in resumption of talks between both the countries as it knew that to make Pakistan focus on the war against terror, regional peace is necessary.

NEW DELHI : Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir has stated that Kashmir is a core issue between Pakistan and India relations.

Briefing the media following talks with his Indian counterpart here, Salman Bashir said that Pakistan wants to resolve all issues on equal level.

He said Pakistan is determined to overcome the menace of terrorism. We want peaceful and prosperous South Asia, he said.

Foreign Secretary said that Pakistan and India should abide by Indus Water Treaty.

Foreign secretary stated that Pakistan and India need to rebuilt trust and confidence. It is our hope that composite dialogue should be revived, he added.

The CIA and its Pakistani counterpart, the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence, have a long and often tormented relationship. And even now, they are moving warily toward conflicting goals, with each maneuvering to protect its influence after the shooting stops in Afghanistan, reported New York Times.
Yet interviews in recent days show how they are working together on tactical operations, and how far the CIA has extended its extraordinary secret war beyond the mountainous tribal belt and deep into Pakistan’s sprawling cities.
Beyond the capture of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, CIA operatives working with the ISI have carried out dozens of raids throughout Pakistan over the past year, working from bases in the cities of Quetta, Peshawar and elsewhere, according to Pakistani security officials.
The raids often come after electronic intercepts by American spy satellites, or tips from Pakistani informants — and the spies from the two countries then sometimes drive in the same car to pick up their quarry. Sometimes the teams go on lengthy reconnaissance missions, with the ISI operatives packing sunscreen and neon glow sticks that allow them to identify their positions at night.
The drone attack on Mehsud is part of a joint war against militants in Pakistan’s tribal areas, where CIA drones pound militants from the air as Pakistani troops fight them on the ground. Even as the ISI breaks up a number of Taliban cells, officials in Islamabad, Washington and Kabul hint that the ISI’s goal seems to be to weaken the Taliban just enough to bring them to the negotiating table, but leaving them strong enough to represent Pakistani interests in a future Afghan government. Besides Mullah Baradar, several Taliban shadow governors and other senior leaders have been arrested inside Pakistan in recent weeks.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that it had encouraged the two countries to resume direct talks at the highest political level.
“With respect to India and Pakistan, we’ve encouraged the resumption of the direct talks which were suspended when (Pakistan) President (Pervez) Musharraf left office,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a Senate panel.
Those talks between Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “had actually been quite productive particularly in producing results on the ground in Kashmir”, she said at a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee on her department’s budget for Fiscal Year 2011.

Obama Health Care Plan, Despite the recent surge of support in the Senate for a government-run health insurance option, President Obama chose not to include one of the most popular elements of reform in the plan he is presenting to a bipartisan group of lawmakers Thursday.

The Obama plan explicitly bridges the differences between Senate and House legislation on issues both large and small, but on the public option — which is included in the House bill, but not in the Senate’s — Obama is entirely silent.

Last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow that Obama would “absolutely” fight for a public option if Senate leadership decided to go for it. “[I]f it’s part of the decision of leadership to move forward, absolutely,” Sebelius said. “The president said from the outset he thought that was a great way to provide cost reduction and competition moving forward, but if that is not the choice of the majority moving forward, I think there are other ways to get there.”

Since then, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would work with his colleagues to find the votes needed for it; Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third ranking Democrat, pushed for it to be included; and Sen. Bob Menendez (N.J.), chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, joined in the call as well.

But neither that nor the public option’s consistently strong appeal in public-opinion polls was enough to persuade Obama to get behind it.

Indeed, after months of watching Obama say generally that he supports the public option while doing little to see it implemented into law, backers of the idea were unsurprised it was left out of his final offer.

Afghanistan’s main opposition leader Abdullah Abdullah expressed scepticism over peace talks with the Taliban, alleging Pakistan of not being sincere.
“The Taliban are not ready to enter talks. They think that they have the upper hand militarily. And also, it is against their ideology, against their core existence to enter talks or to envisage to be part of a democratic system, Abdullah told a foreign news agency. Abdullah said that NATO’s major military offensive could push some of Taliban foot soldiers towards talks, but Pakistan was jeopardising the initiative. “The continuation of support from Pakistan for the Taliban that is one key element that is one constant factor which has not changed yet. That is important if they think that they do not have that support any more. Then, of course that will affect the resolve of many, many people among the Taliban movement.”
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India has agreed to take up different issues besides terrorism with Pakistan during the secretary-level talks scheduled to be held on February 25.
Indian Home Minister Chidambaram has said that trade across Line of Control and confidence building measures regarding Kashmir could also be discussed during the meeting. Talking to Mehbooba Mufti, leader of People’s Democratic Party, Chidambaram said that the Indian government is also considering to give banking facilities to the traders to initiate trade across LoC. He noted that steps were underway to establish infrastructure at Baramulla, Poonch and Islamabad sectors in this regard.