New Delhi: Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai arrived in the country on Monday on a three-day visit during which he will seek increased military aid from India and discuss recent cross-border clashes with Pakistan. "We will ask for assistance for the strengthening of our security forces," Karzai's spokesman had said in a briefing on Saturday in Kabul ahead of the trip.
Karzai, who arrived in Punjab on the first leg of his tour of the country, was conferred an honorary doctorate degree by President Pranab Mukherjee at a professional university in Phagwara. Afghanistan and India had signed a strategic partnership agreement in 2011 that included military training of Afghan security forces.
Apart from extensive developmental assistance programme, which now stands at around $2 billion, India also provides training in capacity building to 2,000 Afghans every year. Terming Afghanistan as a "strategically important" neighbour, a spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs said the two countries had mechanisms available to address all issues under Strategic Partnership Agreement.
"Our view is that there is a mechanism available, and all issues are discussed under this mechanism. And within our own modest means as a developing country, we will continue to discuss and respond to specific requests of the Afghan government," he said....
more
10:49 PM, May 20, 2013
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari and leaders from across the political spectrum on Saturday expressed shock over the brutal rape of a five-year-old girl in New Delhi and pressed for strong action to check such barbaric incidents. While Congress President Sonia Gandhi sent out a stern message to the authorities that action, not words were required, BJP leader Sushma Swaraj demanded death for those found guilty...
06:58 PM, Apr 20, 2013
New Delhi: Amidst a heated political discourse on the alleged misuse of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by parties in power, the country's premier probe agency would celebrate 50 years of its founding at a function in New Delhi on Saturday. President Pranab Mukherjee will unveil the Golden Jubilee logo and deliver the 14th DP Kohli Memorial Lecture on 'Good Governance: Empowering Institutions, Society and Public'. Samajwadi Party president...
09:06 AM, Apr 06, 2013
New Delhi: Press Council of India (PCI) chairman Justice Markandey Katju has kept his word and written to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking pardon for actor Sanjay Dutt and 1993 Mumbai blasts case convict Zaibunisa Kazi. Even as Dutt said in a statement that he would not apply for mercy, Katju had earlier promised that, "I will appeal for Dutt and Zaibunisa's pardon. It's true that it was a grave offence...
08:49 PM, Mar 28, 2013
There was a minor explosion outside the Sanargaon Pan-Pacific hotel where President Pranab Mukherjee was scheduled to stay during his 3-day Bangladesh visit. There were no reports of any damage or casualty. No one was injured in the blast which took place around 2 pm, said Apoorva Hassan, the officer in-charge of Tejgaon police station. ...
02:18 PM, Mar 04, 2013
Terming as a 'damp squib' President Pranab Mukherjee's joint address to Parliament, BJP on Thursday said the speech did not touch upon relevant issues like price rise and corruption. "It is a damp squib as it has not actually touched what is relevant today and we are very disappointed," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy told reporters outside Parliament after the President's address. Rudy also dubbed the address as a "old...
03:25 PM, Feb 21, 2013
The Budget Session of Parliament has formally begun with President Pranab Mukherjee's address in which he laid out the government's agenda in the forthcoming session. Pranab Mukherjee spoke on issues including safety of women, economic slowdown, inflation and also laid stress on cross-border relations. ...
12:57 PM, Feb 21, 2013
President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday expressed "deep distress" over the recent gangrape of a girl in Delhi but cautioned that though anger over the "ghastly incident" was "justified", violence was "no solution". Condoling the death of a policeman who succumbed to injuries suffered during the violent protests against the incident in the national capital, Mukherjee urged the youth to "control their emotions" while assuring that "necessary action" was being taken...
03:56 PM, Dec 25, 2012
President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday praised the courage and tenacity of the Delhi gangrape victim and asked people to redouble efforts for women's protection. In a message on the eve of Christmas, the President expressed "anguish and distress" over the horrific attack on the 23-year-old girl in the national capital on December 16. ...
07:26 PM, Dec 24, 2012
Suri: It was a trip down memory lane for President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday when he stepped into the portals of Suri Vidhyasagar College, his alma mater from where he finished his graduation. Known for his eidetic memory, 77-year-old Mukherjee was received with much fanfare at his alma mater where the President made a nostalgic speech recalling his days at the college and the moments spent under the banyan tree....
05:16 PM, Dec 19, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: President Pranab Mukherjee will arrive here on Monday for a two-day visit to the state capital. On his first official visit to the state as President, Mukherjee would arrive here in the evening by a special aircraft and stay at the Raj Bhavan. He will inaugurate the Viswa Malayala Mahotsavam (World Malayalam Festival) and address MLAs as part of the ongoing 125th anniversary celebrations of the state Assembly on...
12:29 PM, Oct 29, 2012
Birbhum: The Durga Puja festivities are on in West Bengal and Birbhum has more than one reason to celebrate. President Pranab Mukherjee is at his village Mirati and will take part in the festivities for the next few days. This is his first visit to the village after being appointed for the country's top job. On Sunday, he met relatives and friends along with son, Abhijeet Mukherjee, who was recently...
08:21 AM, Oct 22, 2012
Hyderabad: Under fire on the corruption front, the government seems to be fast-tracking a decision on the contentious Telangana issue. Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde is expected to meet President Pranab Mukherjee to discuss the issue. The meeting comes on the heels of Congress war room meeting which Shinde attended on Thursday night. Congress sources have told CNN-IBN that a decision on the separate statehood question could be made soon....
11:07 AM, Oct 18, 2012
New Delhi: Close on the heels of steep increase in diesel price and cap on supply of subsidised LPG, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said greater alignment of domestic rates with global prices was in the interest of both consumers and investors. A steep Rs 5.62 per litre hike notwithstanding, diesel continues to be sold at a discount of Rs 11.05 per litre to its actual cost as international rates...
02:14 PM, Oct 15, 2012
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday took the battle over the coal blocks allocation controversy to the Rashtrapati Bhawan as a delegation of the party met President Pranab Mukherjee. Senior BJP leaders LK Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj met President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his intervention. The BJP asked the President to advise the Congress party to not question the...
06:58 PM, Sep 12, 2012
New Delhi: "I have become an antique piece" President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday joked about his transition from an active political life to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. "....of course, it (being the President) has the other side of the picture that perhaps I have become an antique piece in the theatre of the Indian economic activities...," Mukerjee, who was elected President in July after he resigned as the country's Finance Minister,...
11:14 PM, Sep 10, 2012
New Delhi: Expressing concern over fiscal deficit, President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said if subsidies are not contained below 2 per cent of the GDP, it may pose a serious problem for the economy. "Fiscal deficit which is not confined to 5.1 per cent of GDP as projected in the Budget and one of the concomitant of which that we must reduce the subsidies and keep it below 2 per...
10:21 PM, Sep 10, 2012
Patna: In his maiden tour since becoming the President, Pranab Mukherjee will arrive in Patna on a two-day visit from October 3, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said on Sunday. Mukherjee will return to New Delhi the next day as per a tentative schedule, the Chief Minister told reporters. He did not elaborate about the detail engagement of the President's visit even as the official sources said that Mukherjee is...
08:34 PM, Sep 02, 2012
New Delhi: The President, Vice President and Prime Minister have greeted the nation on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan being celebrated on Thursday. President Pranab Mukherjee in his message said, "On the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, I extend my greetings and good wishes to my fellow citizens in India and abroad." He said Raksha Bandhan is the celebration of the unique relationship that exists between brothers and sisters and the...
09:40 AM, Aug 02, 2012
