The Daily PakistanPolitics Feb 01--15, 2012

• 15-Feb-2012--dawn says spare parts dealers up in arms over import of 25000 old cars in last six months...although that should theoretically increase teh need for spare parts...
  
• 15-Feb-2012--The government apparently has allowed US food supplies to afghanistan thru teh air thus diluting their power over access to afghanistan...the defence minister saying that we have spent enough on defence ordered five new boeing 777 aircraft for PIA although teh need is greater for mid range aircraft..others suggest that teh airforce may also be refueling US aircraft in teh air...
  
• 15-Feb-2012--constitutional amendments have been turned into a joke by teh rubber stamp national assembly...the 20th was passed supposedly unanimously but only 245 came to vote for it showing the meaninglessness of the national assembly and teh constitution..chaudhry nisar got his way on the appointment of a caretaker and now even teh EC can appoint one if teh politicians donot agree..Gilani who has an imported finance minister was probably not correct in assuming that caretakers would no longer be imported...under teh military regime even primeministers have been imported...Gilani too can at best be called a multani or PCO primeminister given his aversion to solving peoples problems and an inability to understand economics and relations with teh USA...the american ambassador apparently now thinks we want only trade and that pakistan's pliable politicians will come around to be stooges again.....apparently the PPP policy is to give every job to someone else since they are usually unable to handle anything...electricity prices to Nepra..gas prices to iran and sindh...caretaker primeminister appointments to teh EC...economic decisions to whoever is available at teh WB or IMF...terrorism to the army...killing SSP walas to rehman malik...straightening out teh mqm to teh anp and PMLq...electricity production to iran..tajikistan...thar coal to whoever can dig thar coal which sindhis find hard todo...etc...etc...etc... and obviously everyother decision to teh SC...!!!zardari, gilani and teh beauricarcy are now free to dance their term away in the plush palaces that former rulers have left behind...! they have however been unable to find anyone to handle balochistan yet...
  
• 14-Feb-2012--four die in dera murad janmali bomb blast
  
• 14-Feb-2012--The Pakistan army seems tobe running its own Guatanomo with at least 335 persons held in supposedly awful conditions...seven out of eleven held in nwfp were brought to meet their relatives in court and detailed horrific and deadly living conditions...Amina janjua whose husband is still missing says that of teh 1065 picked up by military agencies since 2001 more than half have been released...however in 2011...95 more went missing of which 43 were from punjab and seventeen from balochistan and 25 from KP..
  
• 14-Feb-2012--The dawn states that Gilani could get a six month sentence and would probably not be disqualified..however he could reach a compromise with teh court on writing the letter...Nawaz Sharif critisizes teh PPP allies for having no understanding of right and wrong and Imran Khan syas Gillani has lost teh moral authority to rule...
  
• 14-Feb-2012--Gilani refuses to accept contempt charges in teh 2009 NRO decision and court orders secretary law to present teh record on 22 february...it looks like Gilani becoming a permanent loser and interest has started to fade in the case as he may not last in power beyond the next month...in most contempt cases courts usually donot back down...aitezaz might finally have to quit looking at the blanket immunity for zardari that he claims and study the actions of Gilani as immunity might not be a defence as it only comes into play if teh swiss start teh cases and the GOP claims immunity until the presidency is over...the judges also have questioned why Gilani did not respond to teh NRO orders and inform teh court of his inability to write teh letter and restart teh thousands of NRO cases...one defence that gilani could adopt is that the letter would be written after Zardari quits the presidency...!!
  
• 13-Feb-2012--Gilani to appear in court to hear contempt chargesheet...!!bakhtawar probably is unaware that this case is not teh result of any victimisation and it wont go down well with public if Gilani is jailed or disqualified...not many will vote for the PPP when their third premier also ends up being crooked and in jail......Gilani already regarded as a mixed bag of uncertainties...being unable todo anything about drones , price hikes, economy, railways, terrorism, attacks on nato trailers, balochistan and karachi violence and zardaris swiss history...add to that his wifes 200 million loan written off and his corruption as speaker national assembly where he apparently took commissions to buy cars and made illegal multani apointments...one also has to remember that the PPP refused to start an accountability program against teh previous government just to remain in power with dubious allies...the only saving grace for teh PPP is that their ethnic natured allies have nowhere else to go...
  
• 12-Feb-2012--State Bank says inflationary pressures, declining dollar, misgovernance and external repayments makes controlling deficits impossible...what with a budget that started out with a 40 % deficit...
  
• 12-Feb-2012--Taleban shura condemns on the army in north waziristan...!!
  
• 12-Feb-2012--The army starts court martial against Brig Ali Khan arrested in teh aftermath of teh abbottabad attack...apparently he wanted some army heads to roll for the US sneak invasion which apparently was allowed by tehc ountries top leadership...with such a huge army infrastructure nobody interfered as US helicopters flew into abbottabad and left with Ossama's body...!
  
• 11-Feb-2012--three ASWJ and ST men shot dead in karachi
  
• 11-Feb-2012--11 militants kille din kurram conflict
  
• 11-Feb-2012--The issue of missing persons which has been unresolved because of teh various militant, liberation and intelligence organisations involved sees no resolution in balochistan as the SC finally succeeds in getting teh MI to bring some suspects to teh courts...
  
• 11-Feb-2012--The unsoluble balochistan issue is coming to the fore with the US congress interfering in pakistans internal affairs on teh issue and the pakistani courts and legislatures showing minor interest...Gilani apparently could not say a word on teh issue in parliament and teh interior minister reluctantly said that we cannot talk to belligerents and offered a presentation on teh issue...The almost do nothing PPP regime in balochistan and issues of sectarianism, political killings and bombings and ethnic murders by liberation groups leave no mode for any sort of solution since the liberation groups barely have enough support and the government no viable policy and it just keeps on going...
  
• 11-Feb-2012--The SC kicks out aitezaz appeal against Gilani's contempt hearing...If Gilani pleads not guilty to comtempt charges that are tobe framed on teh 13th he could surely be heading for jail and the leaderless PPP would be looking for some other non leader to take them into elections...since teh PPP is full of second tier unpopular politicians who donot have any feeling for the populace,government or the economy many think that a new leader could announce early elections soon after the senate elections to project a new PPP rather than the derelict organisation left behind by benazir...many are now getting quite sick of teh shouting speeches and teh non interest in popular politics..it is doubtful that the PPP can gain any popular support for standing upto teh army or the judiciary
  
• 11-Feb-2012--The indian pir amin faheem says elections to be held in 2013 contradicting the sindh home minister
  
• 10-Feb-2012--Manzoor Wassan says elections will be held on October 18...!
  
• 10-Feb-2012--In the contempt case the Gilani lawyer continued his unnecessary rhetoric and teh CJ objected to attempts on aitezaz ahsans part to politicize the case and suggest that one action could create teh liberty to not follow a court order...gilani seems tobe suggesting that the PPP's democracy should not require him to follow the courts NRO order...while many others have suggested that if this is democracy than it was a democracy before to...while others have suggested that teh courts have not let off military dictators despite an appeasement orientation but parliaments and politicians...Musharaf too was allowed to leave teh country by this very government. Aitezaz ahsan also made teh comical suggestion that Gilani was also a PCO primeminister and should be given unnecessary liberties...too...Aitezaz finally deleted three objectionable paragraphs from his appeal against allowing teh contempt case to proceed...The CJ said that he must advise Gilani as his lawyer to write teh letter while Aitezaz suggested that the courts were making it a matter of ego...The letter instruction is clearly doable and is meaningless according to even teh defence's point of view...
  
• 09-Feb-2012--10 militants killed in a north waziristan drone attack while offering prayers
  
• 09-Feb-2012--ISI says that masood janjua a disappeared travel agent with religious tendencies was planted by teh CIA with al qaeda suicide controllers who killed him and buried him in south waziristan for carrying sattelite monitored bugs...
  
• 09-Feb-2012--The frightened punjab chief minister appoints special assistant(not specified whether he is an mpa or not)as health minister
  
• 09-Feb-2012--military claims severing militant supply routes after pitched battles in the Jogi mountains...dawn says some militant bases remain in the Tirah area
  
• 09-Feb-2012--JUI leader shot dead in chaman
  
• 09-Feb-2012--As expected teh DGMO and the US(nato and ISAF) resumed talks without any directive from parliament at Torkham...The talks aimed at teh meaningless one sided US policy of retaliating against pakistan...pakistan military is always uneasy when it is not on a talking basis to teh US military..many suggest that pakistan should break off all military relations with teh USA apart from any requirement for military purchases which should many think not be related to governmental subjugation...the same many suggest is also applicable to teh meaningless economic cooperation and financial aid...
  
• 09-Feb-2012--20th amendment bill unable tobe passed as PPP and PMLn talk about how to hold next elections...
  
• 09-Feb-2012--In what could turn out to be teh new version of teh chief justices nura kushti a bench was hurriedly created to hear Gilanis appeal against a seven judge bench which ordered Gilani tobe chargeable for contempt and is almost ready to pass a sentence against Gilani for contempt...The appeal goes in direct opposition to its own views that teh seven judge bench was quickly moving towards a decision without giving it a proper hearing...many think that teh president might indeed be a real criminal as he suggests an illogical worldwide immunity for criminal acts....such an immunity cannot be allowed to any human suggests Baber Awan as even God has to answer for his actions...there is also teh case of Hazrat Umar who was questioned asto why he had appropriated more to himself than an ordinary citizen...Aitezaz Ahsans reasoning that teh swiss case had already been concluded proves that writing a letter would have no consequence at all and the primeminister and president were mocking teh judiciary just as they are teh military and thus obviously guilty of contempt...
  
• 09-Feb-2012--The PPP which in teh last four years has only implemented its divide and rule policy on provinces now thinks it can fool the people by suggesting to its dumb primeminister that relief be provided to teh people in teh next or its last budget and that heads will roll who had been consistently devising anti people policies......many regard teh PPP as autocratic and unable to understand even teh basic needs of teh people...they seem to think that advertisements satisfy people...!
  
• 08-Feb-2012--US considering to apologize for teh attack on pakistans borders...however many consider the US tobe unreliable and it must guarantee no attacks inside or onits borders
  
• 08-Feb-2012--The confused PPP is being riduculed by various allies and their various new province bills...teh nationalists in sindh also oppose teh move and many suggest that punjab would be much happier if its divisions were all turned into provinces..that would at least equalize development in teh much maligned area....The PPP has a strange policy of not working on new provinces in sindh and balochistan but wanting to break the much broken punjab further to increase sindhi power...the punjab has already been broken into four provinces...karachi and teh vast balochistan could be more viable for the new provinces move...teh PPP logic that it does not apply to sindh and teh anp logic that it does not apply to nwfp and only teh liberal punjab can be broken up show the negative anti punjab nature of teh PPP...with one of its allies even having opposed dividing karachi into four districts
  
• 08-Feb-2012--The fall of teh armies power is seen in an SC case asking it to restrict the unstable PPP regime from removing teh unremovable generals
  
• 08-Feb-2012--PPP to force thru its 20th amendment as PMLn unable to force agreement on a caretaker setup and election commission
  
• 07-Feb-2012--another soldier dies in the lower kurram militant attack...while government says that it has received teh 18 new and ten old F-16s while its 35 older F-16's are also being upgraded...with the indians buying 125 french rafales pakistans air superiority would be regarded as limited to teh next few years...teh F-16's are apparently used for bombing militants in fata...
  
• 07-Feb-2012--three gas pipelines from teh Loti gasfield blown up...railway track also blownup near dera murad jamali... as karachi police unable to nab domki killers which issue was raising hackles in teh balochistan assembly and SC
  
• 07-Feb-2012--defence minister says he cant improve the working of PIA...why a PIA deputy managing director lives in dubai is also unexplainable...PIA..most of whose planes are old and unusable and which works on world class salaries and pakistani class operations is losing out to arab airlines which connect to almost teh entire world with thai air having daily flights from its main hub to every important place in asia and europe...PIA is usually only profitable to places where pakistans major immigrant populations are concentrated...one should think that a change at teh aging defence ministry could positively affect its working and the do nothing minister should be thinking of retirement..many say PIA could be more effective just flying to saudia, UAE, england and new york...?PIA should also start thinking of shorthaul flights to domestic destinations as well...with the railways going out of bussiness...!others say that most of the people on teh bussiness train to karachi were railways officials...how they can spend 220 million on a train boggles teh mind...the only change seems tobe more staff and replaced seats...
  
• 07-Feb-2012--The IMF says pakistans economy is highly vulnerable...it has always been like this since the 1960's although we have reached exceptional heights in tax collections with most governments apart from military regimes always protesting teh shortage of funds...the present federal government is the teh worst example in pakistans history on funds utilization and development...The world bank on teh other hand says teh economy is improving...pakistans politicians still want even more tax hikes and price hikes...the negatives in this economy are barely mentioned by teh WB and IMF...ie energy shortages and how to control tax hikes and price hikes...obviously the methods suggested by teh IMF and teh PPP regime are clearly unworkable...many suggest that the governments should stop creating more energy needs and stop wasting funds on meaningless roads, airports, armed forces, housing, industry until the country reaches a relative energy equilibrium...
  
• 07-Feb-2012--consensus on the meaningless 20th amendment bill was stymied after teh PPP insisted on having its own man leading a caretaker electoral regime...elections under a non caretaker regime/non independent election commission are usually never acceptable given teh exceptional powers of an incumbent government in pakistan with teh courts usually unable to determine fraudulent elections
  
• 07-Feb-2012--pakistans money minting industrialists true face was further made uglier when 20 died as a factory collapsed in lahore...industrialists are making teh people suffer by creating gas and electricity shortages...! the provincial government developed widespread pharma industry has been shown tobe producing drugs without proper regulation for consumption in government hospitals...with bad quality controls..even a better known relatively efroze pharmaceutical company cannot explain how malaria medicine is mixed with angina medication......punjab governor khosa has suggested that the two health ministers running teh show ie yusuf razaz gilani and shabaz sharif should be hanged for negligence in regulating drugs...drug regulation has been handled by teh federal DG health...upto the present...
  
• 07-Feb-2012--the crooks running the PPP show Asim Hussein and hafeez sheikh were suspended from parliament after the government failed to achieve any consensus on teh 20th amendment...the correct process was that the illegally elected people should resign and new bye elections held rather than get a constitutional amendment that elections can be held under an improperly constituted EC..The constitution, SC and parliament were thus reduced to a farce when meaningless constitutional amendments were discussed but not real issues affecting teh people...The SC suspended the membership of 28 people suspiciously elected many of whom donot even have a claim to representing teh population...
  
• 05-Feb-2012--Balochistan remained shutdown for the third day running against the killings in karachi of Brahmdagh Bugtis sister and her daughter also Akber Bugtis granddaughter and great granddaughter..two others were killed in a protest at a bridge over teh river nari near Sibi after a confontation with security forces...those killed were also teh wife and daughter of a balochistan mpa...the killings are regarded possibly as a retaliation against the BRP...in a related move teh JI moved a bill in teh NA to control intelligence agencies who are seen as running vendettas and even the relations with foreign powers..teh bill is also aimed at restricting teh transfer of people to foreign countries and objectionable detention powers exercised by teh military run agencies...many regard pakistans intelligence agencies as sponsors of state terrorism...
  
• 04-Feb-2012--If india finds hafiz saeeds utterances objectionable than it too should block anti pakistani utterances by its religious, nationalist and extremist groups...even if one goes by ajmal kasab's rendition than he only attended one friday meeting of teh religious orator..india should realize that unless it moves to solve teh kashmir issue and arrests anti pakistani indians such things cannot be dealt with effectively by pakistan in isolation what to talk of the terrorism espoused by teh indian army
  
• 04-Feb-2012--Government jacks up domestic LPG cylinder cost by 188 while LPG suppliers say government is earning 10 times the cost of production...government enhancing local prices in gas and LPG to finance imports they say
  
• 04-Feb-2012--two policemen shot dead in karachi...four die in pishtakhara car blast..one FC men dies in bara..
  
• 04-Feb-2012--Imran Khan urges teh SC to stay bye elections until proper electoral rolls are available..
  
• 04-Feb-2012--in teh Kurram conflict eight soldiers and 24 militant attackers killed
  
• 04-Feb-2012--The contrasting views of the government and the leader of teh opposition on elections were evident of teh conflicts amongst pakistani politicians...an independent election commission and a caretaker government...with Gilani also now seeking early elections since his own fate is drowning fast with reports of his taking over or leap frogging the racketeering zardaris in corruption figures and literally knocking out the zardaris politically who want to drag along on benazirs image and have no image left outside sindh...the convoluted BISP image which started out honestly but now has conflicting aims...more but funds not available...if funds are not available for teh basic function than how will other functions be covered......it is better to control teh economy, jobs and prices than dole small amounts for electricity, health insurance and poverty assistance and bigger amounts for running bussinesses and education...Bisp trying to turn into a bank like teh economics minister who wants to loan out tax revenues rather than utilizing them for proper purposes......similarly the PMln views of doling out houses, cars and education slots to a tiny number of teh populace is also seen as ineffective...both sides are attempting to create a group of afficionadas that are being helped out...poverty is quite widespread and the small target groups barely help those that need assistance...
  
• 03-Feb-2012--In what is being seen as teh political opportunism of Aitezaz Ahsan and Gilani to vituperate on teh immunity issue... the SC judges quickly put a stop to aimless posturing and asked gilani to appear before teh court again on teh 13th to perhaps clarify his views and whether he wanted to change his stance or not...many suggest that allegations that gilani was involved in a 600 million scam might have prompted the judges so that events such as elections or the resigination of gilani might not end the case without a decision...
  
• 03-Feb-2012--The toothless national assembly reluctantly suggested that teh government withdraw oil price hikes while teh equally powerless primeminister said that he would see what he could do...no wonder teh people want to take all teh issues to teh SC...the national assembly has been a silent spectator as teh PPP regime rides roughshod over teh economy into shattering peoples lives thru price hikes and shortages
  
• 03-Feb-2012--PPP regime raises brick prices to Rs8500 per thousand after threatening to impose a sales tax
  
• 02-Feb-2012--In the first major accusation of direct links to corruption a bussinessmen accuses Gilani of involvement in a 630 million Khurram rasool scam
  
• 02-Feb-2012--In continuing clashes in teh marget area of Sibi at least 15 Fc men have been killed
  
• 02-Feb-2012--The war in upper kurram continued with airforce bombing 38 militants to death
  
• 02-Feb-2012--The do nothing anti army chief...primeminister could be indicted if logic of immunity is not proven says SC...Gilani who has been the most ineffective primeminister yet thinks that presidents or primeministers should not have to answer for criminal charges such as those of corruption...the immunity many say is only for normal acts of government and does not extend to corruption or criminal acts...one judge remarked that Gilani was following beaurocratic advice but not orders of teh SC..
  
• 02-Feb-2012--The other anti people minister asim hussein has conflicting logic for solving teh gas crisis...evil price hikes...apparently they have not even started building teh gas pipeline from iran...which will take another three years...price hikes apparently to attract foreign investment which is obviously going teh other way round...PPP's price hikes in the energy sector have only seen greater shortfalls in the gas and electricity sector...PPP management of gas supply to teh domestic sector sees gas shutdowns during teh entire day and most of teh night in rawalpindi...many suggest that sindh looting punjab thru higher gas prices and restricting or literally in teh case of rawalpindi stopping gas supplies...
  
• 02-Feb-2012--meanwhile teh evil natured PPP interior minister cannot see teh hand behind teh killings in karachi which are almost the same as the policies enunciated by altaf hussein thruout his anti pakistani politics run from london...the only major groups or parties involved in sindh are the mqm and PPP who are diametrically opposed to teh people being killed...
  
• 02-Feb-2012--Shabaz sharif in response to animosity prone propaganda from the khosa's and the PPP responded with action against a karachi based firm suggesting they were mixing malaria medicine with anti angina medicine Isotab supposedly the most famous medicine produced by efroze chemicals of karachi...the PPP has been running a meaningless evil propaganda war against teh punjab now fronted by the crookish lawyer Latif khosa after baber awan was knocked out by teh SC
  
• 01-Feb-2012--In teh continuing PIC scandal in which over a hundred peopel have died supposedly due to medication reactions manufactured in pakistan.Many suggest that it could be due to known side effects, natural deaths or over medication...the medicines are generally standard prescriptions...Governor Latif Khosa moved to further create a farce as his son filed a case suggesting that a hamza shabaz/shahbaz sharif owned company Al Falah Pharma was involved which had been given supply contracts all over teh province and that teh federal government was not involved in teh unapproved manufacture of teh medicines...medicine regulation is still the function of teh federal government while teh purchaser is teh provincial health deptt and prescribed by the PIC...no advisory has yet been issued to not use specific medicines concerned...
  
• 01-Feb-2012--The PPP's inability to run a steady economy mirrored in another oil price hike as HSD reaches the unprecedented level of Rs 103.46 and petrol jumps to Rs 94.91..oil prices could rise further as teh unsteady US iran/gulf policies are zigzagging all over teh place..
  
• 01-Feb-2012--35 militants and 8 security personnel killed in what can at best be described as the militaries flailing away at whatever stone is thrown...Kurram not previously known for militancy but more for tribal sectarianism...fighting has centered around Jogi which lies on the movement path of militants from various tribal regions
  
• 01-Feb-2012--relatives have been allowed to meet some militants involved in attacks on the military in rawalpindi kept at the LRH peshawar who said they were not properly looked after
  
• 01-Feb-2012--six FC men killed in ziarat area after being attacked by militants..six militants killed in Kohat frontier region near darra adamkhel in clashes with teh military
  
• 01-Feb-2012--various types of terrorism continued in karachi with a doctor killed, an attack on a mobile franchise killing two and a bank robbery...while attacks on mobile franchises are new.. bank robberies and killing doctors are said tobe typical mqm revenge acts and collection of resources for elections since the mqm's typical local government financing has been restricted...?others suggest that the military and ISI also involved in robbing banks to fund politicians and their marriages...