The Daily Pakistanpolitics Dec2-5, 2009

• Dec5-2009--There was immense concern at reports that the attacks might be the result of internal army dissension,many suggest that the rewards of top positions in the army could possibly cause people to knock of people in line for promotions...while others suggested that pukhtun generals had as usual knocked of a punjabi general...possible coup planning/thinking, indian involvement, reports of possibly having blownup planners of the bombay attacks and a number of other tension creating stories...obviously army cantonments do not seem to have any specific protection systems and are just as easy prey as are civilian areas...many see the failure of teh current regimes economic and security policies even though teh army suggests that the militants are on teh verge of defeat...many played up gilanis absence from teh country and no one could reject the endless possibilities of possible political culprits...mqm, sindhis and possibilities of both pukhtun and baloch groups were being discussed
  
• Dec5-2009--the recent attacks have come after teh Obama surge for afghanistan raising concerns in pakistan and on the militants side as well as there was talk of increasing drone attacks, urging the pakistan army to open more fronts and threats of attacks on quetta...there was concern at the lackadaisical attitude of the tottering pakistani regime and whether it would be able to standup to further smothering of teh pakistani phsyche by indo-US pressure...
  
• Dec5-2009-- In another attack on a soft target taleban terrorists attacked a small parade lane mosque with two suicide bombs, hand grenades and kalashnikov fire killing 40 in the heart of rawalpindis cantonment...the dead included a major general,other officers and officers family and children...mosques have been teh favorite targets of sectarianists and only recently have teh taleban started targetting mosques...it seems to have been an overkill scenario and possibly suicide bombers want their drivers and coordinators to die with them...pakistani taleban have a tendency to claim whatever comes their way
  
• Dec4-2009--In what is becoming a comedy of errors teh SC possibly to avoid political pressure or absorb all of it setup a 17 judge panel to hear petitions against teh NRO...The government already short of a corruption accused attorney general is unsure whether to defend or just listen...whether the judges include the writing off of loans by previous regimes and individual agreements with the military is still up in the air...in capitalistic systems those who cannot repay loans have to lose everything...but in pakistan they not only are bad economically but also maintain their status as bussinessmen and politicians of repute and this goes for three or four possible type of politicians...politicians accused of upto 30 murders..having billions written off,the third types who are accused of massive corruption and the fourth illegal military rulers...political victimisation is a big thing in pakistan especially during military regimes and those who curry favor are usually the benefactors...and than there is teh one family which has lost at least four in what can be called political assasinations...the judges have to study all that in detail or just give a verdict that everyone has to return the loot as calculated by say a commission of judges...whether they be bhuttos, zardaris, sharifs, chaudhries, gilanis or even political henchmen...generals and small fry also should not be allowed to escape...
  
• Dec4-2009--with the US literally acting as an indian client in the region mike mullen contradicted Obama by saying that they were a following a regional strategy meaning that strategic cooperation offered to pakistan was literally an eyewash..US policy contradicts its regional interests when it attempts to destablize pakistan...pakistan should not feel guilty for actions of others and the US should force india to give up its mean natured interests for regional stability but many say teh US starts acting like a pet puppy when it has to force india to do something while acting as bully when dealing with pakistan
  
• Dec4-2009--20 taleban killed in swat and orakzai area military operations
  
• Dec4-2009--punjab prisons minister says teh SC chief justice was of the main road or "bhatke hua they" before march 2007
  
• Dec3-2009-- bomber attacks Naval HQ gate killing two..police later issued a possible face of teh bomber
  
• Dec3-2009--Lakhvi challenges indictment in bombay attack case saying ajmal kasabs statement was not admissible
  
• Dec3-2009--21 militants killed in bajaur, malakand and hangu
  
• Dec3-2009-- Obama announced his troop surge in afghanistan that looked almost similar to the Bush surge in iraq...there was no particular explanation why 40000 troops were not provided and why 30000 were agreed to...no known consultations occurred with pakistan...there was again teh hue and cry at having to spend 30 billion more on troops for afghanistan...many suggest that the US has already agreed to pull out troops in 2011 after behind teh scenes negotiations with the taleban...The US believes that its job is done and that in three years it will be able to withdraw or create an Okinawa like situation after pushing Karzai to supposedly relative honest governance...there was the depiction on tv channels of american troops lying on teh ground guns ready with an afghan girl drawing water from a well in the background...it shows the basic unreality and needless deployment of troops...they have no real al qaeda to fight and the taleban are hidden away only emerging for minor hit and run attacks...The americans say that teh afghan forces will be ready to take over in three years and they will try to reduce corruption and improve farming and stabilize pakistan...a program they already follow in pakistan to the detriment of the populations desires...they offer pakistan strategic cooperation meaning that they will protect their nuclear weapons(plus push the indians to offer some sort of agreements to pakistan) which donot seem under threat at teh moment...pakistan worries that they might start pushing taleban into pakistan from the mid to lower western borders of afghanistan...The US upto now has not mounted a concerted effort or fight against teh taleban accepting that they can live in the rural safe havens as long as they donot cause too much trouble...They have however caused problems for pakistan by insisting that pakistan fight those onits side thus literally destablizing pakistan by an insurgency of almost mamoth proportions...The US wants an iraq like situation created where they will be in teh background and teh afghans will suffer the bomb blasts as usual while they will only see afghan uniforms and teh odd bombings of some unknown opponents of teh afghan government...They have seen how pakistan has been destabilized by their remote control efforts and should avoid that in afghanistan...helping teh farmer in pakistan has turned into a poverty creating almost continuous price hike...They should offer the afghans free food that would be much more likely to create a harmonious atmosphere rather than teh constant foreign faces who cause almost constant problems...The reports from afghanistan had said that more troops will only lead to more bloodshed...
  
• Dec2-2009--suicide bomber kills ANP mpa in mingora and other members of his family
  
• Dec2-2009--France and germany refuse more troops for afghanistanwhile england pledges another 500...OBama wants nato to arrange another 5000 troops...while US troops will supposedly come in by summer the short duration they are going to be there would make them ineffective as new troops take months to acclimatize from a peace time to a war like area
  
• Dec2-2009--Sindh forsees a 10% drop in punjab share after it gets population share reduced to 70% in NFC...while many see punjab as being victimised by teh sindhi controlled government as punjab now pays more than its due share of taxes due to most taxes being indirect...it is anyway second in revenue collection and it is other provinces that will suffer due to sindhs mean nature...other provinces however are asking for inordinate levies of electricity royalty and gas surcharges and thus punjab is expected to suffer the most...many suggest that the punjab PPP finance minister does not understand that punjab is being victimised...punjab has yet to claim any royalties on ghazi barotha, mangla and a couple of other small river projects