The Daily Pakistan Politics--Aug22-21, 2009

Aug22-2009--Abdul razzaks dumping from chanpions trophy one day tournament team widely critisized

Aug22-2009--seven die in Bara floods

Aug22-2009--Altaf hussein tries to protect his local government in karachi which under the LG system was the only one having any real resources to spend...provinces bent on turning LG system into municipality type system...while development and law and order become a provincial subject...in karachi mqm had refused to act to stop violent riots...

Aug22-2009--hand grenade wielding youths killed in kohat and quetta

Aug22-2009--twelve militants killed in mohmand

Aug22-2009--Yusuf Gilani opts to appoint a mohajir as pakistan steel chairman as he refuses to accept a sindhis appointment

Aug22-2009--trade with china falls 13%

Aug22-2009--Government insists on going with expensive rental power plants...raja ashraf who is being openly accused of corruption says that is teh only way...a rental power station in sheikhupura has taken around 2-3 years and most industrialists can setup small to medium plants in that time frame..speaker turned off the mikes of opposition speakers from speaking on teh subject

Aug22-2009--21 militants die in drone attacks in north waziristan

Aug21-2009--The PMLn walked out at Gilanis odd support for musharaf and refusal to allow a resolution tobe moved in the NA to start proceedings against musharaf...

Aug21-2009--the government approves the Bhasha dam tobe completed in 8-10 years with a height of more than 924 feet and just 35 miles from an earthquake faultline...sindhis say dam is too high... huge cost of Rs894 billion

Aug21-2009--60 taleban surrender at kanju airport as four militants are killed

Aug21-2009--a bomb blast near a police patrol in rawalpindis misrial road injures eight...

Aug21-2009--Sindh too to sell atta at Rs10 while punjab chief minister attempts to sell sugar at Rs45 when it is at Rs38 in the utility stores

Aug21-2009--new PMLq real faction headed by hamid nasir chatta is formed containing some big names such as MKM kasuri, salim saifullah,humayun akhter and gohar ayub..they demanded that teh US leave the region and apologized to balochistan

Aug21-2009--government says its PDL and subsidies have been jokes with the people as the PDL pays for teh subsidy...SC asks rationale for 16% sales tax on petroleum products...SC should ask government to reduce sales taxes on everything to 2.5%...similar excessive taxation on mobile phones of 22% and advance tax collection causes immense harm to people who are not usually taxable...since teh government never pays back the advance taxes...

Aug21-2009--Inayat Kalley bazaar in bajaur opens after a year

Aug21-2009--blast in nowshera

Aug21-2009--Police blow up six houses in lower dir

The Daily PakistanPolitics--July 19-22, 2009

Jul22-2009--In what may describe teh SC of this time and the future teh chief justice cleared the 2008 elections saying they were held under teh constitution...whether something is legal when one part of teh government isn't constitutional is something only the SC can say and do...earlier it has given strange decisions about military rule and its consequences and dealt with teh government of coup plotters and given them legality as it basically supported authoritarianism and opposed teh mixed up roles that politicians play...the SC must clearly state that coup plotters are never well intentioned and are bad army types...SC praises parliament on not validating Nov3 actions although not doing anything about it too... how it sees musharaf going scot free of any blame is difficult to understand...The chief justice said that they could visit the Iqbal tikka case but their judgments would not be retrospective showing teh court tobe frightened of dealing with many or some past wrongs...of late teh SC chief justice has blamed teh court for the execution of a primeminister and toppling governments by teh military and giving them sustenance...

Jul22-2009--mild to ferocious protests erupted in teh punjab over electricity outages and price hikes by the traders who went on a strike..a train was torched in jhang...

Jul22-2009--Indians told of their involvement in pakistans internal troubles as indian intelligence agencies based in afghanistan and iran have long had a direct hand in pakistans troubles..pakistan did not mention iran while teh USA only adopted a mild approach to indian involvement in terrorist activities...while being xtremely harsh with pakistan. Hillary however did make some sort of a parallel with teh guantanamo prisoners and those held by pakistan for teh bombay incidents...

Jul22-2009--in continuing operations in dir 12 militants were killed and security forces have taken control of many militant held areas

Jul22-2009--Everybody has their own angle on the power crisis...Raja ashraf says he has almost overcome teh crisis...wapda says bhasha will solve it...zardari has come out with electricity from tashkent..sindh wants electricity from air and Lakhra coal and Asim says that teh expensive iranian gas will solve teh problem of power fuels...while yusuf raza and teh WB/IMF say extremely high prices will solve teh problem...availability and keeping prices reasonable are the essence for the pakistani economy..Since 1982 the government has been unable to keep a sustainable power policy with many failed schemes which included only hydel power...save electricity etc. etc.....many suggest that unless the government keeps prices in control nobody will need electricity soon..? and that an overall electricity handling group might be needed to control IPP's, fuel providers like PSO and sui gas companies, Pepco, KESC, Wapda and other related organizations such as distribution companies..IMF/WB and the mean and nasty ministry of finance and power...karachis industrialists say that a captive power plant costs Rs5 per unit while PEPCO/KESC is charging Rs9 which shows unnecessary profits..by the state

Jul22-2009--3 die in karachi building collapse as death toll in rain losses rises to 50

Jul22-2009--Pepco tells peopel to keep calm against its price hikes and unnecessary load sheddings...Pepco spokesman said that load shortfall was 18% while loadsheddings were in the range of 30-40%...the primeminister and president are either blind or only concerned with karachis problems...

Jul22-2009--gas pipeline blownup near pirkoh

Jul22-2009--grenade attack in quetta and bomb blast in khuzdar

Jul22-2009--power protests in peshawar and sukkur/qamber as well

Jul21-2009--massive power outages continued from saturday to monday evening in karachi

Jul21-2009--pakistan wants EU arms and troop trainings too...?

Jul21-2009--two IDP camps closed in mardan...

Jul21-2009--problems continued in swat as one soldier was killed and 18 militants...four tribesmen were found with throats slit..a local cleric was also killed

Jul21-2009--dozens of militants killed in lower dir and three soldiers as well...

Jul21-2009--four police personnel killed on the outskirts of peshawar

Jul21-2009--In karachi consumers or gangs of roughians attacked 21 KESC outlets as power outages continued..in some places police had to fire tear gas shells...while KESC said that attacks on KESC will cause work to slow down and that only four grid stations were not working...

Jul21-2009--rain related death toll rises to 41 in karachi

Jul21-2009--The LG system was seen tobe relatively successful in grass roots development and even law enforcement was better handled apart from heavy rioting ...the current provincial governments attempt to push teh clock back and bring back provincial controls on law and order and development...Zardari who is generally influenced by teh mqm is backing out after punjab refused to share administrator appointments..law and order is also improving and only elections should be held under administrators...the PPP which under Benazir had been behind the concept of devolution would have preferred political administrators but the PMLn prefers teh beaurocracy...

Jul20-2009--Asim Hussein tries to justify the high cost of iranian gas which according to some sources is the most expensive gas in the world of pipelines...given current usage patterns it would not be available to generate power alone..asim had earlier suggested that the gas was so expensive that it could only be justified if used for power generation...

Jul20-2009--people in karachi protested at rain related power outages...instead of helping solve issues karachis educated started rioting...karachi says it lost power due to a 500KV kine outage at guddu which seems ridiculous as most of its power is locally generated...28 deaths reported in almost record rainfall that had karachi almost entirely flooded..karachiites many say are paranoid...

Jul20-2009--Asim Hussein is trying to explain away teh governments bad policy on petroleum pricing...taking taxes of Rs18-22 on a price of Rs63 is a bit harsh anyway...his calculation of Rs37 as the refinery price might be too high... It might be cheaper to import refined products instead many suggest...others suggest that the government should use the middle east oil price as teh base rather than western oil prices

Jul20-2009--PMLn says it will appoint all administrators in punjab and no share tobe given to PPP

Jul20-2009--In what many see as a mockery of not only free tractor distribution or discounted tractors teh chief secretary punjabs son and wife got a tractor each...why everyone in a family needs a tractor is hard to fathom...small landholders can easily rent tractors as they need it for a day or two in a season...tractors dont improve agriculture in themselves

Jul20-2009--three terrorists killed in malakand

Jul19-2009--In what many say is teh musharaf doctrine continuing who had thought that india in a few years would itself suggest a kashmir solution but that didnt happen...now yusuf raza says he will build trust thru talks...trust for what end...meaningless..seems that yusuf raza has some views about indians that are not based on reality...indians have never solved any problem preferring that they have a propaganda item whenever necessary... mere talks solve nothing...either pakistan should give up or talk aggressively on the issue...he says that he fights only those who fight teh writ of teh government and not its external enemies...in a mild rejoinder to the bombay incident pakistan gave india a dossier on what it had on indian involvement...in balochistan...they were also involved in swat and Fata..many say..

Jul19-2009--heavy rains in karachi, hyderabad and upper sindh...18 dead..roads flooded, cars marooned..68 powerlines snapped and karachi was without power and water

Jul19-2009--In what many say is teh PPP regimes belated understanding that they have to play by teh rules...Gilani withdrew the nomination for teh ambassador to France as 105 foreign service officers filed a court case in The ICJ

Jul19-2009--12 militants killed in Orakzai by air strikes on taleban positions with severe clashes in darra adamkhel areas

Jul19-2009--FIA clarifies that it is more democratic than teh current regime and political jokes and commentary will not be proscribed by a stiff law the PECO 2008..

Jul19-2009--despite teh immense problems generated by the  KESC privatization government bent upon privatizing other good and bad power distribution companies...

Jul19-2009--as the USA claims that india is a friend they say that they will still not start brokering a solution on kashmir immediately and will only urge india to open up...the uSA while being extremely harsh with pakistan is taking teh softest of approaches to india and is not even willing to take up issues on which it literally dictates to pakistan..india many say is deeply involved in trying to destabilize pakistan in every possible way whether it be karachi, multan, balochistan, swat or fata...

Jul19-2009--In what many say is a zardari like action who ordered link canals to punjab closed for a month a baloch minister closed the grang regulator to sindh for four hours...sindh is responsible for teh baloch share of 6000 cusecs..balochistan getting less than 2200 cusecs... ...rangers were called in to open teh regulator to the canal in sindh...

Jul19-2009--security forces destroy the lashkar i islam center outside peshawar

Jul 19-2009--many suggest that teh PPP and PMLn should restudy their liking for a subordinate LG system controlled by beaurocrats even though teh LG system served teh interests of the military dictatorship...winning elections should be the target/route to LG power and allowing substantial powers to devolve to district systems should be preferable as long as they work within the framework of teh country...crushing a system into disfiguration is not preferable and u might as well create a new one with new names...teh word nazim reminded everyone of teh jamat i islami...The worst part of the LG system is the extreme unequal distribution of resources and many suggest that is where the provincial governments should reccommend real change...

The Daily PakistanPolitics--July 11, 2009

Jul 11-2009--overseas remmittances rise 21% to over $8 billion

Jul 11-2009--orakzai air strike toll rise to 46

Jul 11-2009--another mqmh man gunned down in karachi

Jul 11-2009--advert in dawn says governments appointing administrators to local bodies is unconstitutional while yusuf raza gilani says musharaf attempt to impose local governments unconstitutional and undemocratic...teh LG system was relatively successful until the provincial governments started to curtail their powers...

Jul 11-2009--E10 a petrol derivative with ethanol starts selling ..price tobe around Rs60 per liter

Jul 11-2009--lawyer challenges PDL ordnance and asks SC to suspend it too..CJ says they will study their jurisdiction in the matter...earlier teh PMLq had stated that the PPP regime was trying to start a conflict with the judiciary

Jul 11-2009--drone attack in south waziristan kills three

Jul 11-2009--In Bajaur 14 militants killed after they attacked and killed a lieutenant and lance naik

Jul 11-2009--In zhob taleban attacked a security post killing a soldier..the military in retaliation killed ten taleban

Jul 11-2009--yusuf raza gilani wants to hide behind parliament in teh bad financial mechanisms of his government...teh parliament has shown no indication that it is representing teh peopel when its decisions are literally nothing but support for a system of bad governance...parliament has been supporting teh government rather than representing teh peopel...there are not many people amongst teh 160 million that gilani cites who support teh governments whacky economic decisions...

Jul 10-2009--In what can be said to be a mockery of both governance and teh judiciary the attorney general said that teh carbon tax was a mistake and zardari had promulgated an ordinance to reintroduce teh PDL and again raise petroleum prices within a day...The SC after listening to harsh remarks against teh government adjourned teh hearing for four weeks...in theory we now have both teh suspended carbon tax as well as a PDL...The gilani suggestion that he was unaware of teh reasoning behind teh carbon tax shows his lack of expertise in economic matters and that so called economic experts would explain the issue to the judges after their return from gallivanting in foreign countries...teh counsel said that the issue of the ordnance was malafide and repugnant as it was meant to repudiate teh judiciary...gilani on teh other hand suggested that parliament had passed teh budget without any objection...both the judiciary and teh government have taken a stance aginst parliament in the matter..SC to review petroleum prices later as lawyers said that teh PDL and whether taxes can be imposed thru an ordnance will also be challenged...

Jul 10-2009--IDP's to start returning home from teh 13th in four phases

Jul 10-2009--five FC men killed by blast in dera Bugti

Jul 10-2009--39 militants killed in orakzai as planes bomb their hideouts

Jul 10-2009--12 militants killed as planes bomb south waziristan hideouts of baitullah mehsud

Jul 10-2009--a policeman and an mqm UC councillor shot dead in karachi

Jul 10-2009--A Pesco lineman dies in blast in peshawar while repairing a 500KV pylon which had been blownup on thursday