Blame game

NEW YORK, March 30: Al Qaeda is training western-looking operatives in tribal areas of Pakistan, making it easier for them to get past security at US airports, according to CIA Director Michael Hayden.

Talking on NBC’s news programme ‘Meet the Press’, Mr Hayden said the most likely point of origin from where terrorists would launch another attack against the US was the sanctuary in tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan.

Mr Hayden said that they (Al Qaeda) were training “operatives who look western” and “would be able to come into this country without attracting the attention others might … If there is another terrorist attack, it will originate there.’’

pathetic

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Taliban have been misunderstood...

For full story see Dawn
“Taliban are patriotic people and do not want to fight with their own government. We have waged jihad against America. But the country will suffer as long as Pakistan remains an ally of the US in the ongoing war on terror in the region,” Maulvi Faqir said.

so if pakistan does not fight america's war, taliban will not fight pakistan... if still things do not get better, then we must understand tht there is foreign hand behind this...

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How did the FE Reserves increase...

Source: Wikipedia
After nuclear tests were carried out in 1998, during the Sharif government, the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization imposed economic sanctions on Pakistan.^[30] When Musharraf came to power in the coup d'etat the following year Pakistan was expelled from the Commonwealth.^[31] This initially compounded the economic problems, and many experts claimed Pakistan was a failed state, as it was close to bankruptcy and investor confidence was at an all-time low. After Musharraf promised support in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, international sanctions were lifted.^[32]

Musharraf then appointed Shaukat Aziz, a former Citibank executive, as finance minister.^[33] World powers weighed in for debt rescheduling^{[34][35][36][37]} to reward Pakistan due to the "war on terrorism", which helped in saving hundreds millions of dollars, in addition to securing new loans. As a result, foreign exchange reserves increased exceeding $16 billion in 2006, but at the same time foreign debt hit an all time high topping $40 billion.^[38] The government claims that the economy has grown in several sectors and that per capita income of Pakistan has more than doubled in the last seven years.^[39]

n the prev. govt. kept praisin itself for increased FE reserves... another thing not mentioned on wikipedia is the privatisation of public departments... tht sellin also contributed towards the increase in reserves.

^{Also see below whts the current state of foreign debt}

Mr Zardari referred the question about economy and new government’s plan to deal with severe economic crisis to Ishaq Dar of the PML-N, who said that the party planned to share “the opening balance with people” and a detailed brief was being prepared.

He said that foreign loans had risen from $30 billion to $42 billion in a year and domestic loans had also touched a historic high.“The economic crisis is at its worst, but the coalition has evolved a strategy to deal with it.”
... taken from Dawn

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Army recalls 72 of its officers from civilian departments -DAWN -

ISLAMABAD, March 28: The General Headquarters will recall 72 army officers, including six major-generals and eight brigadiers, serving in various civilian departments by mid-August in two phases, according to Inter-Services Public Relations director-general Major-General Athar Abbas.


He said that at present there were 150 officers working in various departments, but some departments had sought to retain 32 officers and also wished to re-employ them after retirement.

....
Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani had ordered withdrawal of more than 300 army personnel posted in various civil departments on secondment.

Immediately, 152 of military personnel returned to the Pakistan Army. They included six major-generals working in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).
Full story at Dawn website

Atlast things started to change.... lets hope these steps take us to right direction....

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Respecting the mandate

Source: Nawaiwaqt

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"Shake the Three" operation

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Punjab University: IJT nazim expelled

LAHORE, March 26: The Punjab University on Wednesday expelled an IJT nazim and rusticated another activist for one year on the charges of beating up university students in the presence of the vice-chancellor two weeks ago....

Read the full story on Dawn

Finally some good news. Let's hope this is the first in a series and we soon see the end of Jamiat Regime in PU. Thanks, once again, to the students who have started this by setting an example of non-violent principled resistance. For details of the event, go here...

Difference between 1-man rule n democracy

US has intensified Fata strikes: WP

Ecerpts only. Source: Dawn

By Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON, March 27: The United States has escalated air strikes against Al Qaeda fighters operating in Pakistan’s tribal areas fearing that the new government in Islamabad may object to future strikes, The Washington Post reported on Thursday.
....
Officials interviewed by the Post for the article said Washington wanted to inflict as much damage as it can to Al Qaeda’s network now because President Pervez Musharraf may not be able to offer much help in the months ahead.
....
The Post noted that neither the US nor the Pakistani authorities officially confirmed US missile attacks on Pakistani territory, which would be an infringement of Pakistani sovereignty.
....
Thomas H. Johnson, a research professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, told the newspaper that policy makers in Washington were aware that “Musharraf’s days are numbered, and so they recognised they may only have a few months to do this. Musharraf has . . . very few friends in the world -- he probably has more inside the Beltway (Washington) than in his own country.”

The report claimed that after months of prodding, the Bush administration and the Musharraf government this year reached a tacit understanding that gave Washington a freer hand to carry out precision strikes against Al Qaeda and its allies in the border region. The issue, however, is so sensitive that neither side is willing to discuss openly, the report added.

According to the Post, the goal of the new US strategy is partly to try to get information on senior Al Qaeda leaders, including Osama bin Laden, by forcing them to move in ways that US intelligence analysts can detect.

“It’s not a blitz to close this chapter,” a senior official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the newspaper. “If we find the leadership, then we’ll go after it. But nothing can be done to put Al Qaeda away in the next nine or 10 months. In the long haul, it’s an issue that extends beyond this administration.”

The report said that the Bush administration’s effort to uproot Al Qaeda also has benefited from shifting loyalties among residents of the border region. Some tribal and religious leaders who embraced foreign Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters as they fled from Afghanistan in 2001 now see them as troublemakers and are providing timely intelligence about their movements and hideouts.

Experts interviewed by Post, however, warned that the new US strategy could backfire if missiles take innocent lives.

“The [tribal] Pashtuns have a saying: ‘Kill one person, make 10 enemies,” said Mr Johnson. “You might take out a bad guy in one of these strikes, but you might also be creating more foot soldiers. This is a war in which the more people you kill, the faster you lose.”

look mush tunay kia haal ker diya mulk ka... may Allah guide u....

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It does matter

Chavez Sees US Role in Tibet Violence

Venezuelan resident Hugo Chavez accused the United States of promoting violence in Tibet, saying Washington aims to weaken China and sabotage the Olympics in Beijing.

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