HOW desperate Pakistan is for realignment of ties with the United States was on public display during Prime Minister Mr. Imran Khan’s visit to the US where he was not averse to peddling lies and presenting distinctly false narratives to please Washington. Yet again at the centre of the Pak-US paradigm was the operation to kill 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden that strained relations between the two countries. It was a unilateral operation ordered by then US President Mr. Barack Obama who did not seek Pakistan Government’s permission when the US Navy Seals gunned down Laden in Abbottabad. Mr. Khan’s claims that it was his intelligence agency ISI that helped CIA track down and kill Laden are downright ridiculous and have faced vehement opposition from ex-CIA Director Gen David Petraeus. Mr. Khan’s three-day trip was full of such lies and deceit, a pathetic bid to pander to the US’ liking to ratchet up monetary aid for Pakistan. However, the ISI humbug is unlikely to get endorsed as the US’ take on the agency is unwaveringly different from Mr. Khan’s story.

THAT Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) earned a whopping Rs. 6,289 crore from launching as many as 239 satellites of different international agencies, makes a happy reading. Antrix Corporation, ISRO’s commercial arm, made successful effort to market India’s advanced satellite launch capabilities and attracted many foreign agencies to use the facility to put into orbit their respective satellite ventures. This capability, however, did not come overnight; it took ISRO decades of patient building of virtue and value into India’s space programme to establish its credibility of excellence and scientific reliability. Founders of India’s space programme saw the vision of India evolving into a global space power not just for military use but also for the use of promotion of scientific research into the new frontier of knowledge. This patient and consistent effort has now paid off not only in terms of recognition but also in terms of commercial exploitation, a matter of sheer pride for every Indian everywhere.