The Daily PakistanPolitics 14-31 Dec, 2012

• Dec26-2012--punjab governor asks shabaz sharif to start consultations on teh new provincial interim setup...it is not known whether teh governor will act as teh opposition leader or raja riaz...?
• Dec26-2012--dawn says there are 1 million unverified voters in four punjab areas as compared to 3 million in karachi
• Dec26-2012--Asfadyar Wali who has opposed creating a political provincial setup in fata calls for allowing the ANP to handle teh violence, military operations and negotiations in Fata on the pattern of teh malakand qazi courts...earlier negotiations between teh ANP and teh taleban failed...two militants killed in khyber...while teh Ji calls for a taleban office in teh country
• Dec26-2012--In karachi the sectarian ethnic war took a serious turn as an AWSJ leader was shot and injured killing four policemen, a security guard and driver...sparking violence across karachi...16 more people were shot in different incidents
• Dec26-2012--In a change of policy the army announced a military operation in the mashkey division in balochistan after two FC soldiers were killed...several armed men and an FC soldier killed in operation while two BLF camps destroyed
• Dec26-2012--Dawn says that Farook H Naek has graduated from family lawyer to being teh brains of teh PPP and will handle the setting up of teh interim government after raja ashraf refused to accept Chaudhry Nisar's choices...The PPP which has had opposing attitudes in sindh and punjab has now graduated to some sort of accomodation in punjab with the appointment of a more acceptable governor...In sindh they have literally allowed teh mqm to walk all over them...raja ashraf has shown a much better sense than gilani upto now...he settled teh row over teh swiss cases and the CEC's appointment and allowed teh Zardari family to attempt a more haloed powerful and prominent look especially in sindh...he also sort of supports the PPP's divide and rule divisive policy of altaf in karachi.. zardari's in sindh... gilanis in south punjab and the ashrafs and kaira's in north punjab ...while teh two lawyer-ex judges suggested by Chaudhry nisar after top balochi leaders refused with one being a solid independent judge while teh other was a more pro government judge who headed the abbottabad commission whose report has not been released probably due to government and army objections...Dawn suggests that a tougher more political leader is needed who can resist calls for army rule by a canadian mullah recently...earlier there were reports that raza rabbani could be a consensus choice but those reports did not last long given top level PPP objections...Zardari supports politicians like mahmood ahmed teh new punjab governor with links to the sindhi pir pagara who are willing to change sides as well as work with both sides and are family politicians with past connections and area power...raja ashraf too was born in sanghar...!in the past politicians willing to retire have been selected...
• Dec25-2012--22 children die of measles in rural sindh areas
• Dec25-2012--ten killed across karachi in what is described as a sectarian , criminal and ethnic war...
• Dec25-2012--the mqm wont let go of the bone...they file review against delimitation decision even after it has become law...while teh argument that delimitation in one city alone is discriminatory can be sustained the mqm has to realize that teh census is now unnecessary as Nadra data and the housing census is generally sufficient...however delimitation is carried out so that people have relatively equal representation in teh ethnic and numeric sense...teh mqm has failed to represent all teh constituents of karachi and many feel some intervention is necessary due to the mqm's violent ethnic militancy and isolation from much of teh populace...
• Dec25-2012--Amir Haider Hoti who supposedly handles the anti terrorism of teh FC and police now wants a more sustained military campaign to douse the suicide bombers...as the senior minister bashir bilour told teh taleban we are pukhtuns and u are pukhtuns...bold and fearless...no tears for teh dead and buried...hardly worth critisizing islamabad's timid beaurocrats for...major attitude change needed...
• Dec25-2012--after the private sector fiascos in sugar, CNG, banking, atta, electricity, airlines, ghee, cement etc. now teh government wants it in gas transmission too...!!!
• Dec25-2012--After almost five years of terrible military economics teh NA's finance committee seeks teh removal of teh suitcase economist hafeez sheikh...as a citizen i can only point to the price of atta and the Rs15 per unit of subsidized electricity and of course the non availaibility of gas and electricity even in winter...do we really need such rulers...this is a new economic phenomenon...make teh people suffer all the problems and lets enjoy ourselves...an occasional sacrifice will suffice to subdue the aggressive popular reactions..maybe the mna's should also try to engage the people and know what they want too...its not only the economics maestro that is teh problem...
• Dec25-2012--five killed in balochistan ...four security personnel and a nato truck driver..in a convoy attack and a motorcycle bomb...in quetta, mashkey and and Hub
• Dec24-2012--while many feel that pakistan's remaining afghan expert amongst all the dead and past ISI experts...General Kayani... is largely responsible for much of teh militancy surviving with his timid handling and teh continuation of teh lingering afghan imbroglio...he has been behind teh americans staying on in afghanistan and also used to suggest strategic depth...others say he only changed after teh american bear hug became too uncomfortable for him personally..others feel that Hina Rabbani Khar has literally hit kiani for a six and allowed everybody to do whatever they want ...solution or no solution...this seen in the light of what many see as cross border suicide attacks...teh Dawn calls Kayani a thoughtful general who is now fully in support of reconciliation on literally all three fronts..this situation might have been realized earlier if teh PPP had not been too frightened of naming a new COAS on time...new military chiefs are known to be a breath of fresh air on complicated problems...many however feel that the US leaving could force the taleban to renew efforts to topple or trouble pakistans government even more...although if pakistan can get to mullah Omar early they could make a seperate deal for teh problems on the pakistani side of teh border...?
• Dec24-2012--policeman among nine shot dead in karachi
• Dec24-2012--Bashir Ahmed Bilour one of the most senior ANP men amongst children who was not made chief minister as teh ANP preferred a dynastic approach is buried...belonging to the multi ethnic peshawar the Bilours are in sharp contrast to bacha khans family dynasty
• Dec24-2012--Tahirul Qadri holds mamoth meeting in lahore and causes fears of an interim regime that would refuse to hold polls until things impove...
• Dec24-2012--The new punjab governor seems an enigma to many...some say he will better handle teh sharifs...others say he is gilanis man to knock out the bahawalpuris...while many feel that he could be a PMlq man who have teh ear of asif zardari...still many suggest that the zardaris have paid Benazirs legal bills and gotten rid of teh khosa...who had started a war with punjabi beaurocrats in fact asking teh LDA chief to answer charges of contempt for teh governor...i think it would be preferable to give teh PMLn adequate representation in teh punjab breakup commission to solve teh issue..others are calling him teh interim governor...
• Dec23-2012--11 killed near the iranian border on friday...possible illegal immigrants
• Dec23-2012--fighters bomb tirah..two killed
• Dec23-2012--KP senior minister Bashir Bilour dies in a suicide attack apparently carried out by the Darra adamkhel TTP's revenge wing...alongwith seven others in qissa khwani bazaar...the other bilour brother blamed for destroying teh railways and declaring a prize for eliminating a blasphemous filmmaker...he was shown on TV suggesting that they had held unsuccessful talks with the previous TTP leader who had also threatened to end the ANP government...he apparently never lost an election and won five times...he always got to sites of bomb blasts and visited those that had died in teh continuing carnage in and around peshawar...The Bilours had started to court the islamist elements for the next elections..The ANP had been at loggerheads with the mqm in karachi and it could be something election related as teh ANP is teh largest party in nwfp and is attempting to go it alone having previously been in coalitions with the JUIf and presently with teh PPP
• Dec22-2012--Pir Pagara kicks out mahmood ahmed punjab's governor designate from teh PMLf in presence of PTI's Jehangir tareen a former PMLf worker
• Dec22-2012--The Dawn says there were 650 cases of polio worldwide in 2011 of which probably 30-60 were in pakistan...many feel that the attention from government and terrorists is overblown and people must try to get their children immunized themselves and teh facilities must be available at all times in all hospitals given the threats to polio workers...while the threats increase governmental attention they will also cause many children not tobe immunized...the government knows the problem areas and they must be aggressively targeted...vaccines widespread availaibility at a low cost could also be of great help
• Dec22-2012--In what seems tobe relatively efficient performance teh EC says they will be able to complete verification of voters in karachi by Dec 30...mostly new ID card holders to benefit...
• Dec22-2012--John Kerry appointed US secretary of State as teh US tries to reverse some Clinton activities in egypt and afghanistan
• Dec22-2012--Asif zardari too becomes an orderly of the court as teh SC orders him to reappoint 2 judges one with a lacklustre performance who were approved by teh JC which he had refused to do..theoretically having signing power suggests that the president becomes the fourth power block in approving judicial nominees..
• Dec22-2012--taleban commander dies with three others in IED blast in his rustam office in south waziristan
• Dec21-2012--Malala seeks restoring of saidu sharif college name after students protested it being named after her
• Dec21-2012--while the PMLf refused to endorse teh PMLn...PPP catches Pmln's mehr sultana from karak while PMln also looking for candidates in many punjab constituences...Abida and fakhr imam also said tobe willing to move away from teh PPP if denied tickets
• Dec21-2012--an injured polio worker dies in peshawar...three punjab bound passengers shot dead in bolan...banker shot dead in karachi with one other
• Dec21-2012--only mqm opposes new karachi delimitations as teh mqm continued to protest in a parties meeting with the EC...many regard it as difficult to dent the mqm power in karachi since most mohajirs are already brainwashed and one sees it also quite difficult to create smooth ethnic electoral communities...only punjabis have a common 10% representation in all karachi seats...theoretically the mqm power should increase by delimitation as the few seats with opposition majorities would see that lead vanish...
• Dec21-2012--government passes a snooping bill which will allow everyones privacy tobe invaded which many say is already being done
• Dec21-2012--Asif Zardari fires uncooperative punjab governor and replaces him with mahmood ahmed the PML-F leader to drive a permanent wedge between them and the PMLn...PMln will now have to go it alone in south punjab
• Dec20-2012--Raisani moves no confidence against balochistan assembly speaker..some allege rules not being followed...
• Dec20-2012--PAC says that government should stop the plots and agricultural land perks for top officers in teh beaurocracy and military...employed people are already enjoying huge favors at teh expense of teh people...however military housing policies are praised...many feel that it is time given teh situation to end plot perks to military officers and privatise the DHA...it would save the government 50-100 billion annually much more than the losses in PIA, railways and teh steel mills...
• Dec20-2012--five gun attacks on polio workers in nwfp in three cities..two killed..two killed in sohrab goth gunfight as police go looking for polio killers
• Dec19-2012--policeman killed in karachi...two killed at landikotal checkpost as levies trooper fires at a car which refused to stop...ASWJ worker killed in gilgit and volunteer killed in Swat
• Dec19-2012--In what can be regarded as a strange turn of events teh military now wants to hold LG elections in the better funded cantonment areas which are generally run properly by teh station commanders...SC asks EC if it is possible at this stage
• Dec19-2012--altaf hussein backs out of anti judiciary protest campaign as it was causing vastly negative reactions
• Dec19-2012--another incident of terrorisn occurred outside the air force academy in risalpur where two masked gunmen threw hand grenades at job seekers gathered there injuring 18...
• Dec19-2012--in what could be retaliatory kiling four polio workers shot dead in pukhtun areas of teh mqm infested karachi..a tribal polio worker was shot dead a day earlier...possible involvement of teh mqm and teh taleban feared...the attacks took place in baldia, landhi and orangi in which four women were killed...karachi is probably teh only major urban area where polio attacks have taken place...killing women is a new phenomenon in teh countries ongoing terrorist war...many feel the attacks against teh soft under belly of the zardari regime as polio workers are neither armed nor protected and it obviously shows a cowardly nature usually not associated with taleban related terrorism...a women polio worker was also shot dead in a village near peshawar...many now feel that the polio campaign should be more voluntary and participatory and could be handled from hospitals or government offices that are more protected
• Dec18-2012--The interbank dollar market closed at Rs98.26 while teh kerb market went as high as Rs99.70
• Dec18-2012--EC transfers sindh election commissioner on political complaints
• Dec18-2012--polio worker amongst six killed in karachi...car bomb blast in jamrud kills 19...blast damages numerous shops and cars...shiite public relations director of teh balochistan government and two policemen shot dead in quetta
• Dec18-2012--The mqm which now is regarded as little more than an organisation looking for something to create trouble as it is regarded as teh main component of teh karachi problem...they also lack the maturity of considering people as equals...altaf hussein should have flown into pakistan and presented himself as a servant of teh state to the SC and apologized for any remarks he made...but instead the mqm tries to create some instability since they have little else todo..many feel that if altaf hussain wants to participate in pakistani politics he should have teh courage to do it from pakistani soil rather than from a hideout in england...
• Dec18-2012--according to reports in Dawn some of teh militants in the peshawar airport attack were of russian origin and one left a letter calling the pakistanis infidels who refuse to follow the divine faith and such heretics are liable tobe killed...the pakistani interior ministry also use's similar propaganda against teh militants suggesting that they cannot be muslims...the interior ministry would like to have teh militants considered as evil becauise of strange tattoos on their bodies...tattoos are usually strange in design and are sometimes used to enforce identities...rehman malik in india suggested that the indian security forces were tobe blamed for the success of the bombay militants and blamed the attitudes of hindu extremists for such reactions...in pakistan he uses the opposite logic
• Dec18-2012--The SC inits continued activism fires the education secretary as ED of teh HEC suggesting that the HEC should hire its own...many feel when teh HEC's Javed Leghari is showing continued favoritism by extending sohail naqvi for a third fourth year term as ED teh primeminister should have teh right to intervene...Javed Leghari too is apparently working for a private university too according to reports...on a more serious note the SC took suo moto notice after raja ashraf nominated his very junior son in law to the position of executive director in teh world bank...The PPP has managed to have him promoted to grade 21 despite having a very junior status...
• Dec17-2012--The PMlq backs out of supporting kalabagh dam...while other provinces specifically sindh are always willing to irritate or insult teh punjab they seem unable to deal with teh reverse process...many feel that sindh should bear teh brunt of electricity and water shortfalls in future...theoretically kalabagh should have no effect on sindh since their water supply could only improve and not detriorate...nwfp might have to lose 600000 acres of unirrigated hilly land and gain another lake and possibly more irrigation water so they too should have more benfits overall
• Dec17-2012--The PPP mulling elections in march which could be beneficial to them when there are no electricity shutdowns...however given teh current situation with electricity and gas problems continuing one doubts that even march could be trouble free...however raja ashraf would prefer May so that he can rule a bit longer...many feel with current trends teh CEC might have to appoint a caretaker setup as the PPP is unwilling to start discussions on teh process although he will have to pick one from the sugegstions of teh government and opposition leader...given a raja ashraf speech in kasur it is apparent that teh PPP has nothing to base anybody voting for it in teh next elections...their prospects seem better in teh nwfp but they could still be wiped out in teh punjab...
• Dec17-2012--five more of teh peshawar airport attackers killed at a hideout in peshawar...
• Dec17-2012--The mqm seems frightened of bringing altaf hussein to court for contempt of court hearings...many doubt that they can bring many people to teh SC on the Jan 7 hearing...Altaf Hussein who could have to face thousands of murder cases if he returns seems unaware of how to defend a case in court...many suggest that not accepting teh judiciaries orders seem common amongst teh PPP and it might have urged altaf hussein to bring his people onto teh street even though they have backed off from militant negative behaviour of friday when gunmen resorted to firing to close shops...many feel that a contempt of court case against a person who has been teh cause of thousands of deaths in karachi is the least form of punishment...a six months sentence or disqualification from elections is the only possible outcome even though the SC is known to avoid unpopular measures and usually backs away if huge levels of street support are shown...The mqm unable to understand that a monopoly is something that is undemocratic in politics and their militancy has caused teh country enough trouble
• Dec16-2012--three policemen shot dead in karachi
• Dec16-2012--In peshawar an attempt to duplicate the mehran base attack failed as two taleban vehicles went up in flames killing upto five militants and two civilians...the taleban said that 10 suicide bombers had been sent to attack the airport...reports of fighting inside teh airport...a few rockets were fired at the peshawar airport area...a vehicle blew up damaging teh boundary wall and a suzuki van went up in flames...
• Dec16-2012--Sindhs main cities remained shutdown saturdaay after goons riding motorcycles and firing into the air forced bussinesses in major cities to close down on friday...the fear and panic caused the cities to remain closed as an effigy of teh CJ was burnt in hyderabad...the mukti bahini style of the mqm protest against the SC issuing a contempt notice to altaf hussein was seen by many as a weakness of teh sindhis in general and of the law enforcing authorities in particular...The mqm is generally an ethnic based violence prone organisation supported by teh PPP inits antics in karachi but generally shunned by the rest of teh country...Dawn said that nobody had claimed to be behind teh shutdowns while there were some protest demos in karachi..many said that it was a protest while others said that teh closures were out of fear...usually busssiness remain open upto almost midnight in most areas...however normality seemed to return by saturday evening...
• Dec15-2012--The SC in a way held out an olive branch to Altaf Hussein teh mqm warmonger to come back and answer contempt of court charges in which he allegedly brought the SC into disrepute and threatened teh court on teh karachi delimitation order...Altaf Hussein could legitimize his return by coming back and appearing before teh court and apologizing for his generally contemptuous nature...many suggest that teh mqm has already backed out of opposing the new delimitations...Altaf Hussein fled teh country after karachi gangs threatened to eliminate him in a karachi at war with itself...The courts have generally shied away from initiating cases against teh ethnically militant mqm not even insisting on restarting the over 3000 cases of murder and mayhem against them...
• Dec15-2012--The SBP brings down its rate to 9.5% as pakistan literally destroyed by a lack of energy resources, high interest rates, continuous price hikes, an unstable rupee and declining foreign exchange resources due to IMF loan repayments...banks have made free money off the SBP and refused to lend as industrial loans are thought tobe a negative investment without adequate electricity and gas...The suggestion that inflation has fallen is only a perception as over four years money supply has risen and there have been price hikes of over a 100% in major commodities...
• Dec15-2012--The indian agent rehman malik who is busy concocting evidence aginst teh bombay accused says he is frightened to arrest hafiz saeed on teh words of a terrorist...ajmal kasab generally stated that they trained on teh streets, hills and forests and had only seen hafiz saeed at a jalsa...the indians suspect that hafiz saeed originally a university lecturer in islamic studies was the voice that the bombay attackers talked to but many doubt that..one of teh concocted stories made fun off is that the LT had a 25 acre training site near the thatta coast and that informers had reported to police about LT training centers which the investigators never visited...!
• Dec15-2012--fear gripped karachi, hyderabad and mirpurkhas as gun toting motorcyclists forced teh three cities to close down at 9 pm by firing into the air
• Dec15-2012--nine PPP legislators in punjab defect to the PMLn and PPP
• Dec15-2012--LHC CJ says that presidential immunity not absolute and that he cannot commit contempt of court...!
• Dec14-2012--The PMLn literally drops the kalabagh dam like a hot potato and refuses MMA legislators attempt to get a supporting resolution from teh punjab assembly...Nawaz Sharif says with chances of forming teh next government he has no need to anger the anti kalabagh forces...On teh seraiki issue dost khosa says the rival groups are bahawalpur sooba in bahawalpur...seraiki sooba in multan and south punjab in DG khan...!
• Dec14-2012--NAB chief backs down and cites procedural anomalies in tax collection and project spending as corruption...he also blamed punjab for 65% of teh corruption...he obviously forgets that increasing tax collections has made no difference to teh country..he and imran khan should remember that all tax collections are converted into price hikes...the same thing used tobe said when tax revenues were 10% of what they are now...the government must focus on reducing expenditure and ending dependence on foreign loans to improve teh economy...The PPP regime is more concerned about allegations rather than focussing on solving teh countries probblems...
• Dec14-2012--The EC to go ahead with new delimitations in karachi along multi ethnic lines...delimitations can be carried out on computer or with pen and paper since the numbers and ethnicities are supposedly known...EC says 10 political parties reccomendations have been received...given teh overwhelming nature of teh mohajir populace the EC can in theory create more baloch, sindhi and pukhtun provincial seats although changing the national constituencies is not expected to make too much of a differnce although many suggest that at least a sindhi and pukhtun seat or two could be demarcated at teh national level..punjabis who comprise around 10% of teh constituency populations in karachi not expecting to dominate any area...
• Dec14-2012--Punjabi airport manager shot dead in panjgur while hindu doctor shot dead in mastung..four shot dead in quetta by the LJ...In karachi four more shot dead including two police officials
• Dec14-2012--US study says that rural households in pakistan spend upto 18930 per month while teh rich spend twice as much as the poor...most of teh spending goes to food, utilities and petrol needs...many feel that food costs more than twice as much as before the PPP rule