Gurmeet Kanwal

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was possibly sending a simple but blunt message to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan: Don’t threaten India.

PM Modi has announced the Indian armed forces will be headed by a chief of defence staff (CDS), who will integrate all three forces. This will be a game-changer.

We must put aside all vote-bank considerations and act in a statesman-like manner. National interest will be served by this and not by pushing Kashmir over the brink.

Kargil was also won with the relentless artillery of the Indian army, which rained fire on the Pakistanis night and day, in an offensive last matched by its intensity only in World War 2.

The Indian army needs to be forever vigilant against any Pakistani misadventure.

The National Investigation Agency (Amendment) Bill was passed by Rajya Sabha. But India's ant-terrorism policy has many loopholes.

As US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit shows, India will be expected to play a far greater interventionist role in the region now. But, with China in the backdrop, just how prepared are we?

Just when the nation is confronted by rapidly growing threats, the funds for defence expenditure in the interim budget for 2019-20 were grossly inadequate. This must be corrected.

China is clearly using Pakistan as a pawn to further its own dreams of dominance. The US is far from pleased at this. How can India manage a situation that is both delicate, and volatile?

India faces a grave two-front security threat from China and Pakistan. The menace could be even greater were the challenge to become a two-and-a-half-front threat which includes Kashmir.

Our national security, a topmost priority, remains lagging severely behind other nations in absolutely key areas. The new govt must take heed of these gaps and modernise security on an urgent basis.

Maoist attacks equal almost 60% of terrorist violence in India over the last two decades. Yet, we seem unprepared in the face of growing danger. However, there can be clear ways to security as well.

Even as Imran Khan visits China, the Chinese are concerned about their workers in Pakistan. They face pressure from the people of Balochistan, enraged at the misuse of their resources and the abuse of their human rights.

The Congress Party’s election manifesto suggests reviewing AFSPA. However, playing politics over this essential security act is only playing into the hands of insurgents who wish to harm India.

Let us give peace a chance.

The die has been cast and it is important that next Army chief Lt Gen Bipin Rawat begins with a clean slate.

Nuclear command and control is undoubtedly a challenging responsibility.

Pakistani army's advocacy of Indian disinclination to retaliate massively indicates a flawed analysis or is just a bluff.

New Delhi will respond by executing its doctrine of massive retaliation and Islamabad will cease to exist as a functional nation state.

The Pakistani PM seems to have forgotten about PoK, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.

There has been absolutely no progress in striving to reach a political solution acceptable to all the stakeholders in the Valley.

New Delhi's strategy to fight Islamabad's proxies within its own borders has not yielded the desired dividends.

After independence, Gwadar port was reportedly first offered to India by Sultan of Oman but India declined to accept the gift.

However, it will take some time before the orchestra plays in harmony and its music resonates across the Indo-Pacific.

New Delhi has been a responsible nuclear power and has a positive record on non-proliferation.

The Washington consensus on supporting the Pakistan army is fundamentally flawed.

The primary cause of strife in India's Northeastern states is an unstable internal security environment that has been compounded by political and economic neglect.

The PM must take charge before this issue becomes a festering sore on the psyche of the armed forces he reveres so much.

However, the lack of adequate defence preparedness has come in for severe criticism.

The prime minister must highlight our core concerns, particularly those pertaining to territorial sovereignty.