The Daily PakistanPolitics August1-15, 2013

• August15-2013--devastating rains in KP, lahore and punjab cause nullahs in sialkot to overflow alongwith the chenab
  
• August15-2013--two activists of BNM and BSO-azad killed in turbat in encounter with FC
  
• August15-2013--Nawaz Sharif acknowledges teh failure of his indian policy and urges teh UN to intervene and straighten out teh indians attitude wise at least if not solution wise...Nawaz Sharifs men are going around saying their policy on india and afghanistan is weak...
  
• August14-2013-- Ban Ki moon who probably lives on another planet suggests that pakistan become friendly with evil and antagonistic neighbours and follow a people centric policy of development based on energy and education...and good jobs...!Education in pakistan which is awash with educational institutions of all sorts is hardly of much importance apart from the individual level
  
• August14-2013-- baloch mpa azeem buledi found dead in turbat...possible suicide...father also kileld in 1995
  
• August14-2013--two small blasts at two ismaili jamaat khanas in karachi kill two...the ismailis who are allied with teh shiites have a religious gathering every evening and distribute small amounts to the needy participants giving some incentive to followers to come and pray every day...they are generally regarded as a closeted secretive sect who live amongst themselves and help each others economically thru jobs...mostly based in karachi and teh gilgit baltistan areas they have slowly been migrating to teh economic centers and moving abroad...their purchase of teh countries biggest bank teh Habib Bank was seen as handout by teh government to the pro government ismaili leader...many regard them as descendants of an assassins sect from iran
  
• August13-2013--two die in quetta bomb blast while four miscreants killed in Bolan
  
• August13-2013--Ishaq Dar says no MFN status for india until it straightens out its military
  
• August13-2013--maj general amer riaz appointed DGMO...many regard it as a possible cronyistic appointment with a past linked to the 111 brigade and kianis removal of an outspoken brigadier as member of teh the hizbul tahrir...after a long time as army chief many regard General Kiani as possibly losing sight of professionalism and promoting the best..many also wonder whether the armed forces will sit around if india attempts something like teh abbottabad raid...
  
• August13-2013--the indian defence minister suggests that teh indian army too is independent of teh government and out of his control...as teh indians were firing almost across teh northern border with the pakistanis firing back...many suggest that the indians might be facilitating the withdrawal of their insurgents from pakistan or even vice versa...The pakistani government probably does not realize the nasty nature of teh indian phsyche and they are not what u may consider your nasty next door neighbours...others insinuate that the indians might be trying to force some sort of small scale war scenario and teh airforce should be ready for some sort of cross border action...
  
• August12-2013--The indian army chief seems tobe behind the continuous firing on pakistani border posts says teh dawn...since the beginning of teh year they have fired 190 times while teh indians only accuse pakistan of firing 58 times...The indian defence minister and teh congress have been unusually aggressive in attacking the pakistani embassy in delhi and teh samjotha bus in amritsar...it seems tobe a coordinated indian action probably suggesting to Nawaz Sharif that a ceasefire is all that he can expect...Nawaz Sharif as you know has even claimed that they had solved teh kashmir issue in teh late nineties...
  
• August12-2013--army carrying out operation in chilas
  
• August11-2013--eight armed men killed in in FC/levies operation in machh and Ispilinge areas of Bolan
  
• August11-2013--gunmen attack people leaving a mosque near quetta...ten killed...
  
• August10-2013--In a strange attack a suicide bomber attacks an empty mosque in barakahu near islamabad and is killed inside teh mosque as his bomb fails..one security guard killed
  
• August9-2013--172 people killed in ramazan in karachi...u might not believe it but for the last few months 200-300 people have been killed every month in karachi...so at least some killers are fasting
  
• August9-2013-- suicide terrorist attack on a police funeral in quetta police lines...senior policemen amongst 30 dead
  
• August9-2013--India accuses pakistan of killing five indian soldiers in poonch sector...pakistanis say incident occurred five kilometers behind teh LOC barbed wire...
  
• August9-2013--four major generals promoted largely from military organizations that many regard as probably not upto teh mark given teh recent history of military events...teh DGMO ashfaq nadeem was promoted despite being unable to handle volatile border problems, teh abbottabad attack and various attacks on military installations with any real authority...a weaker branch major general promoted was teh army air defence services which earlier had mushaks and now probably provides helicopter services for teh army chief and government heads and security sweeps areas like airports with lookdown radars...the key seems tobe that GHQ related major generals were promoted controlled by teh senior lt generals...and it also suggest that the military is low on studious tactical generals as they are unable to explain their attitudes in various events...Kiani has promoted people from varied branches...he had started to favor teh civilian handlers such as teh FC, sindh rangers and ISI but they have now been shown tobe unable to control things...in earlier times teh only major generals who got promoted were from prominent corps and teh DGMO and teh DGMI...a whole list of superceded major generals occupy senior positions in teh army
  
• August9-2013--one of teh bloodiest ramazans comes to an end...with new players in power the thinkings changed and many found different political players to blame..in the earlier years the terrorists also used to go pray in ramazan creating a lull..however many say teh control has shifted to less religious neighbourly countries and groups that seemingly are not too religion oriented...others blame anti authoritarian groupings such as nationalists, PPP and teh mqm
  
• August8-2013--motorcycle blast in crowded lyari market kills 11 young footballers
  
• August8-2013--84 die in recent rains
  
• August8-2013--three killed in mastung bazaar blast
  
• August8-2013--In bolan power pylons swept away in a flood leaving balochistan in darkness again..only 120MW available for quetta
  
• August7-2013--government continues to fool everyone on electricity prices and according to estimates must be making at least a 100% in profits...The same goes for privatisation where reports suggest that 64 government entities to be sold by September 30...government appointees to teh PIA board have refused to take the job as they are busy in managing their billions and obviously preparing to bid for the highly valuable state sector entities like banks which are tobe sold off quickly
  
• August7-2013--four innocuous blasts in karachi
  
• August7-2013--after karachi rain started to play havoc with areas in balochistan and as usual there was nobody with any real enmergency resources but teh armed forces...possible flooding in punjab and Kp as well..gas pipeline to machh disappears in floodwater
  
• August7-2013--Indo pakistani hatreds usually boil over on teh LOC as both sides claim attacks and firings...one pakistani soldier killed and five indians...Indians use such incidences for political hate mongering while pakistanis just wonder at teh indian attitudes and teh weaknesses of their armed forces and their politicians naivety
  
• August7-2013--In chilas, GB two army officers and an SSP killed in an ambush...
  
• August7-2013--gunmen in teh uniforms of levies and FC kidnapped 11 civilians and two security men from punjab bound buses near machh town in bolan district and shot them dead in nearby hills...mostly labourers from seraiki areas in punjab
  
• August6-2013--15 baloch districts plunged into darkness as power pylons of two transmission lines near machh were blownup
  
• August6-2013--John Kerry apparently thratened to impose sanctions on pakistan if they have economic dealings with iran like taking loans for the gas pipeline...the meek nawaz sharif probably will scrap teh pipline...
  
• August6-2013--blast in shalimar express kills one near toba tek singh
  
• August6-2013--mohammed sarwar becomes punjab governor...he talks socialism but shakes hands with industrialists or teh moneyed only
  
• August6-2013--government increases electricity rates for teh countries billionaire industrialists by up to 74%...alongwith them the others enjoying low rates teh commercial sector also to bear the brunt...The government attempts to also tame teh domestic sector by charging everyone at the highest rate applicable but a month later thus negating any concepts of subsidy...teh government has been making fun of teh people by suggesting that it is subsidizing electricity...recent campaigns suggest that teh biggest users are involved in electricity theft as well as teh lower end...upto now hiking rates has not solved any problem neither supply nor demand as electricity is a bigger necessity than even food...many suggest that areas like lahore and karachi use almost teh same amounts of electricity as KP
  
• Aug5-2013--26 more die in in devastating rains
  
• Aug5-2013--Raza Rabbani says that the eighteenth amendment specifically meant to deny gas to punjab which effects teh people...gas was not available in many areas in punjab for teh last three winters and teh PPP rulers enjoyed teh suffering it caused in punjab...amendments that are meant tobe anti punjab should be amended
  
• Aug4-2013--Khurshid Shah says teh PPP bent upon denying normal gas supply to teh punjab...The PPP caused immense suffering to teh people in punjab during the last three years and many feel that gas should be distributed on a population basis too...in punjab the biggest fertilizer plant belongs to sindhis...in sindh gas was wasted as it was neither used for electricity production or urea production...
  
• Aug4-2013--42 die across teh country due to heavy rains...karachi drowns in just five inches of rain and nine are killed as people blame teh road/overhead building of teh mqm who despite being constantly elected donot understand teh need for massive drains and refused to get to work to punp out teh water
  
• August3-2013--In what many say is the backing out of the SC to give an immediate judgement of contempt Imran Khan was given until August 28 to file a suitable reply...the court was angry at its conduct being described as "sharamnak' while it also berated Imran Khan on not having filed any case about teh elections...many feel that teh court mishandled the apparent corruption in the arsalan iftikhar case and Imran Khan who apparently misjudged his voter strength in most areas and the way Nawaz Sharif clung onto power by belatedly hugging teh PMLq voter base while distancing himself from the PMlq leadership and many say by eventually subduing Imran Khan...
• August3-2013--shiite leader and son shot dead in rahimyar khan
• August3-2013--government asks council of common interests to find a way to reduce wastage of gas by sindh...teh eighteentth amendment suggests that gas should be provided to teh province of production according to its needs on day one...many feel that gas like water should be equitably shared by teh bigger provinces...just as sindh used most of teh balochi gas earlier...
  
• August2-2013--survive on the bits and pieces aid Kerry tells Sartaj Aziz...says Obama just will not stop killing people but drone attacks will eventually stop probably in 2014...Sartaj Aziz says he is happy that kerry understands his point...many regard teh pakistani government as stupid for allowing their country tobe terrorized by teh USA, taleban, india and probably even iran...government supported television analysts say that Nawaz Sharif pretty weak and cannot take any action until teh removal of USA supported military chiefs...some analysts suggested jokingly that Sartaj Aziz only wanted Kerry to understand our concerns...congratulations coveyed to Nawaz Sharif on teh installation of a meter at a grid station in islamabad by USaid...!
  
• August2-2013--another five shot dead in karachi as Nawaz sharif tries to avoid teh murderous nature of altaf hussein and teh mqm body bags
  
• August2-2013--two oil tankers one supplying the airforce and the other going to afghanistan set on fire in balochistan
  
• August2-2013--John Kerry literally slapped the nawaz regime in teh face by refusing to stop drone attacks leaving the pathetic foreign ministry advisor in smiles...most terrorism in pakistan has resulted from drone attacks and probably teh military refusal to cleanup north waziristan...The only way to stop drone attacks is to destroy them in teh air...pakistan can only regain its sovreignity and honour that way...many say that Nawaz sharif is just a paper tiger with no real bite and ability to solve problems...
  
• August2-2013--The PMLn which many says is very misguided on increased hydel power production during these months...plans to increase electricity tariffs by around 20% without approval by parliament where it has said that power rates would only go up by rupees two...many fail to understand why electricity rates will go up in teh entire country but not karachi where electricity theft and losses are just as rampant...The misguided government will literally cause prices to hike across teh board
  
• August1-2013--tribal elder and two guards shot dead in quetta
  
• August1-2013--Mohammed Sarwar a lightweight british politician from Glasgow made punjab governor...shabaz sharif will probably have an easy time under such a governor who lacks political roots in pakistan
  
• August1-2013--Imran Khan indicted for contempt of court for attempting to belittle teh superior courts and election results...asked to appear on August 2...The courts have gone easy on many PMLq and PMLn candidates qualifications but have come down hard on two PTI candidates recently...which many see as being done on the orders of teh interior ministry...if sentenced on contempt charges imran khan could be fined or disqualified as an mna...!!
  
• August1-2013--The CEC Fakhrudin G. Ebrahim resigned after the the election commisions other members refused to follow his advice to create a constitutional crisis by not following teh decision of teh SC on teh presidential election schedule...Since everything that teh ECP does is under teh purview of teh judiciary so is teh schedule...many suggest that after a relatively successful reign as CEC the resignation came on a sour pathetic note and many suggest that teh CEC probably thought he was the Election Dictator rather teh election commisioner
  
• August1-2013--The CCI approves a power policy based on coal and relying less on hydel and instead of teh the two rupee increase in electricity prices it suggested in the budget a horrific 60 percentage increase in prices...it is also disastrously increasing domestic prices...the government suggestions that it is subsidizing electricity prices are met with scorn by experts...teh government says that it has been making huge payouts to the IPP's but others suggest that all the payments came from teh accounts of Disco's which suggests that teh government is attempting to use teh electricity price as a taxation mechanism rather than follow a realistic acceptable price mechanism....the almost negation of huge hydel projects is seen in teh light of sindhi opposition to dams and building huge hydel energy reservoirs...punjab also says that it has huge coal reserves but is going to attempt biogas and bagass power plants first and build coal plants in gaddani from imported coal