For protesters, whose agitation in front of the Presidential Secretariat has now completed almost three weeks, the resignation of the two brothers remains non-negotiable, a demand also backed by the SJB, the country’s main opposition party.

For Pakistan, the US and western countries are important, given Islamabad’s dependence on their markets for exports. China’s billions of investments under the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the last seven years have done little good to its economy, which now mostly banks on the IMF bailout package and concessionary loans from Saudi Arabia

Jaishankar said that financial connectivity between the two countries has been strengthened through the launch of the RuPay card and the BHIM app, and the two sides are closely collaborating on STEM through the regular placement of Bhutanese nationals in the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)

The blistering heatwave sweeping through vast swathes of the country intensified on Thursday with the mercury crossing the 45-degree mark at several places

“There is definitely an increase in the number of weapons and other equipment, especially night-vision devices that we are capturing or unearthing, which definitely have come from Afghanistan,” Gen Naravane said. “That is a major cause of concern.”

Jaishankar said India also looks forward to stronger sub-regional cooperation and connectivity in the energy sector, particularly the hydropower domain that could offer opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation between the countries in the region

The outreach to Europe follows on the heels of the visit to New Delhi by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier this week when she held wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The European Union and India have resolved to strengthen their partnership and deepen bilateral cooperation

“We should not be looking at the world with a sense of entitlement. We need to earn our place in the world and which to a certain extent, therefore, comes to the issue of how the world benefits from the growth of India. We need to demonstrate that ” Jaishankar said.

In a recent interview with Daily Mirror, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, however, refuted the reports of a rift with his younger brother, the country’s president. “This is all false….But he is the President and I respect him for that. Like everyone else we also argue, even in the cabinet we argue. But our arguments stop there. He is the President and I am the Prime Minister and we are on the same page,” he was quoted as saying in the interview.

Talks would also discuss the dates of meetings of the Joint Consultative Commission and the Joint River Commission, as well as the long-pending Teesta water agreement, border killings, and India's imposition of anti-dumping duty on Bangladesh's jute, among others

For Beijing, the growing attacks put a question mark on Pakistan’s ability to secure its interests and huge investments, around $70 billion, in the country. If the trend continues, Beijing may well start relooking at its plans for future investments

Jaishankar on Tuesday pointed to the challenges in Asia and in India’s neighbourhood — in Afghanistan, from Pakistan, and from China — and suggested that the simmering problems in Asia were not being given the requisite attention by the rest of the world they deserved, even though the violation of the "rules-based order" - which the West was so fond of citing now in the case of Ukraine - was already happening in this part of the world. 

“Militancy in Jammu and Kashmir is intricately linked with infiltration of terrorists from across the border (in Pakistan),” the report said.  Besides Hindu Kashmiri Pandits, militancy forced some Sikh and Muslim families too to migrate from Kashmir Valley to Jammu, Delhi, and other parts of the country, it said

According to a report in Daily Mirror, the leaders loyal to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa are now lobbying for the removal of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to pave the way for the interim government under a new prime minister. They are also reportedly in touch with other disgruntled government lawmakers, seeking to explore the possibility of a no-confidence motion against him

The move came days after the new government removed his name from the country’s exit control list, making the way clear for Sharif's return to the country almost after two years