• Mar30-2009--The confused supposedly new US policy in which again india is praised and pakistan literally brushed aside and literally brow beaten seems little different from previous eras...i dont think the US policy of we will help u beatup al qaeda and trust us not teh afghan taleban...will change anything...although they now realize that afghan taleban and pakistan taleban are two different species although gates seems to acknowledge carrying out bomb blasts in pakistan with indian help...?Obama quickly backed out from his suggestion that US troops will invade pakistan..from no blank cheques he moved to some accountability...why they wanted to start direct attacks on teh ISI just an hour after teh policy speech leaves many questions unanswered...with a pro US government installed in pakistan they hoped that attacks on the ISI will further confuse them and leave them at best flabbergasted...The US has moved to control pakistans internal politics as it expects pakistan to forget about its interests in afghanistan and kashmir...many see nothing new in teh policy and pakistan can at best expect further mayhem...although HIlary said there were some aspects of diplomacy in the policy although none are evident yet...
• Mar30-2009--Asif Zardari lifted governors rule as the PMLn started to distance itself from teh action and wanted a delay in teh assembly session until after an SC session...The PPP in a meeting with zardari decided to support a PMLn chief minister and sit in teh opposition...until an SC decision reinstated shabaz...?...They wanted teh PMln to give up its forward block which could possibly enable teh PPP-PMLq to form a government...Bilawal Bhutto played to PPP sentiments and plugged support for his father...the PPP is run by provincials in other provinces but in punjab they are being hegemonized by teh center with no powerful local boss..?...however teh PMLn said that the PMLq forward block had achieved a majority of 45 votes and could thus become a coalition partner after teh speaker approves atta maneka as teh parliamentary leader of the PMLq..
• Mar30-2009--In dir an ex nazim and DPO killed as they were attacked by kidnappers of a bank manager...
• Mar30-2009--ten khasadars and six religious activists kidnapped in area west of bara
• Mar30-2009--swat mullahs allow news channels on cable and islamic channels...
• Mar29-2009--Zardari accused of being dictatorial attempts to show a democratic face in his state of teh union address...suggests an end to punjabs governor rule and becoming friendly with teh PMLn again...asks parliament to move towards constitutional changes...last time he said that they should revisit teh process of constitutional changes...he showed teh three people in control with naek joining fehmida and him at teh dais...earlier rehman malik had taken control and now yusuf raza gilani seems to have some strings to pull...he also suggested that they would support a PMLn chief minister...claiming that a lacklustre economy was improving and that ways and means would be found in balochistan he forgot terrorism and drones focusiing on teh challenges to democracy...the PMLn hoping for a quick restoration by teh SC refused to support a new CM idea..
• Mar29-2009--US generals who were friendly to the ISI with the do nothing kayani in charge again think that pakistans supposed intelligence agency should sit and wait for american orders and have no role of its own...they accuse the ISI of having contacts with militants on both borders...pakistans intelligence agency supposedly has contacts all over teh world and would be extremely stupid if it did not think of problems on both its borders...even teh CIA has contacts in all militant organizations...nobody can work in a vacuum and pakistans interests are different in many spheres from those of teh USA..for example how will karzai or teh US start working to normalize relations with teh taleban...government speeches and newspaper articles dont solve problems...and nor do bombings and suicide blasts whoever carries them out whether they be indians, afghans, the US or teh militants of whichever color...the US must realize that personal contacts dont solve or create problems...even teh US ambassador was seen talking to hamid gul who is a US antagonist in many ways...would teh US agree to severe contacts with indian intelligence or their contacts with government opponents in pakistan...? when the US approach is solution oriented than they will solve afghanistan in a jiffy...
• Mar29-2009--militants torched four nato vehicles and offices at teh farhad US container terminal in peshawar
• Mar29-2009--presidential spokesman said that misgivings about islamabad always existed in washington given their habit to listen to india on pakistans problems..however a foreign office official said that teh government was not talking about major problems in the US policy...government leaders however seemed happy at the regional approaches suggested in the policy since it was not too different and there was something init for pakistan and Fata...however teh perception is that the US wants to continue teh policy of asking pakistan todo more even when all teh actions/operations/decisions are carried out by teh US...and bomb basts by teh taleban/afghans...
• Mar29-2009--Qazi hussein ahmed steps down from JI leadership after 22 years...
• Mar29-2009--US NSA general jones says US to have nothing todo with kashmir but will work to reduce tensions...and that drone attacks are successful despite saying attacks in afghanistan are increasing and there seems increased militant activity in pakistan too...
• Mar29-2009--The sharif brothers formally asked the SC for punjab government restoration and ineligibility reversal
• Mar29-2009--security forces attacked several places in ghalanai in restive mohmand agency killing 26...
• Mar28-2009--Obama suggests that pakistan has been getting blank cheques from teh USA ...while grant in aid to pakistan has been small with a lot of meaningless wrangling teh US interpretation is teh same as before as if they are fighting pakistan...pakistan cannot help them much with what happens in india or afghanistan...and obviously it cannot lay down and die for the indians and USA. to be happy..Obama suggests that pakistan aid be increased to a relatively reasonable amount but wants to continue teh same old failed US policy of strings and bombings that are neither healthy for a relationship nor conducive to a solution...he should study the policy that has not changed since vietnam......many in pakistan say that what happens in afghanistan is teh result of US policy failures, afghan and taleban attitudes and not pakistan refusing to cooperate..that is precisely why pakistan refuses to blame teh indians , afghans and teh US for what happens in pakistan...even though many in pakistan openly suggest that teh taleban are attempting to apply US/indian policies on pakistan...also many in pakistan are confused by teh logic that terrorism is international...it is not...most of it happens in pakistan, afghanistan and iraq and almost nowhere else...india, afghanistan and teh US are not helpful to contain terrorism in pakistan and will never be...US policy is headed down teh same old stretch of Bush policies and obama should study issues going way back to understand why such policies remain a consistent failure...only positive aspect is teh engagement of teh taleban at the provincial level which is the pakistani policy which has only succeeded in fits and starts and teh USA many say has no perseverance since it is not their country...since they lack responsibility they donot have to care about what they say and do....!
• Mar28-2009--zardari woos balochistan with a 46 billion rupee program to mainly build dams for agriculture...and a committee to talk with disaffected groups...a newspaper review says that the british policy was to honour the baloch, rule teh punjabis, intimidate teh sindhis and buy teh pukhtuns in explaining the continuous migration of pukhtuns all over pakistan, india and the UAE...many say zardari might be treading teh same path and could run into trouble....at the moment we have the pukhtuns fleeing nwfp as it turns into a fireball...punjab being subjugated by sindhis and mohajirs, sindh behaving as if it is an independent state and balochistan starting to find its voice...
• Mar28-2009--militant killed in swat as they seize eight military food trucks near qambar which were later released
• Mar28-2009--ghinwa bhuttos men clash with zardari men near larkana over ten acres belonging to bhuttos first wife and supposedly given to benazir bhutto
• Mar28-2009--enraged cleric fires at noisy wedding party outside mosque in gujranwala
• Mar28-2009--JI gets munawer hasan as its new boss after the militant tenure of qazi husein ahmed ends..
• Mar28-2009--government policy of wheat price increases started again with prices rising in three provinces..teh governments sttange policy of using international prices to increase local prices of gas, petroleum and wheat but not keeping them at par when they fall is at teh core of a negative perception amongst teh people...it matters little to people whether pakistan achieves self sufficiency or not when they cannot afford to buy it...
• Mar27-2009--50-80 killed in suicide blast at jamrud masjid during friday prayers...indians and afghan involvement suspected...
• Mar27-2009--The US tries to bring in the iranians and indians to fight alongside it in afghanistan as russians also join in to subjugate afghans...The policy seems designed to minimize pakistan and bring in forces who might have more influence on teh afghans than teh pakistanis...while pakistan provides teh afghans a route to teh sea they have been opposed to pakistan thru out history apart from troubled times...india, russia also not too friendly to pakistan while india has dual roles where it participates in afghan devlopment and destablizes pakistan by various mechanisms...
• Mar27-2009--baloch coalition in trouble as five PPP ministers resign...are than fired by teh chief minister and than the notification is taken back...Asif Zardari tries to paper over differences with the baloch whose nationalist groups are trying to ignite an ethnic strife while getting along with the zardari regime somewhat...many suggest that people only stand in elections from their area of residence...baloch, pukhtun and sea belt three areas of various ethnicities...baloch opposed even gwadar port during musharafs time as they thought that outsiders would take control of gwadar...other areas of concern are baloch resources and tribal domination in various areas...many suggest that since gas companies earn so much they could contribute to baloch development...rail and road links to north from gwadar should be built
• Mar27-2009--twelve killed in jandola region restaurant suicide attack claimed by taleban who attacked opponents of turkistan bhittani group..
• Mar27-2009--pakistan doubts that force alone will work to help stabilize afghanistan...concentrating on attacking fata region leaves the afghan taleban free to attack at their own pace...
• Mar27-2009--US general says that pakistan army and ISI have an ambiguous relationship with afghan taleban...many doubt that pakistan army and ISI had any relationship with the kandahar based taleban...who emerged from the rag tag mujahideen and attempted to take control of afghanistan failing finally after they could not take mazar sharif and the indian controlled/supported northern alliance than moved in to take control as teh uS invaded from teh south...
• Mar27-2009--Sharifs to participate in review proceedings of the SC on disqualifications
• Mar27-2009--SHC moves on a treason trial against musharaf
• Mar27-2009--500KV power pylon blownup near peshawar
• Mar27-2009--three killed as gunmen fire at baitullah mesuds men in a drug store in DI Khan
• Mar27-2009--Tal Parachinar road blocked again by militants...blocking Kurram agnecy from the rest of teh country...the road had been recently opened after ten months..
• Mar27-2009--six pukhtun owned shops set ablaze in hyderabad by motor cycle riding arsonists..
• Mar26-2009--another drone attack on a vehicle and truck near makin kills seven in south waziristan just a day after teh acting president said that continued drone attacks would cause a serious retaliation
• Mar26-2009--Punjab PPP mpa's dubious about Zardari policy of power grab in punjab...many would prefer to stay in opposition to counter PMLn attitude...
• Mar26-2009--US suggests tariff cut on textiles from pakistan where pakistan has been suffering viz other textile exporters...many doubt whether ROZ in fata and afghanistan would be productive as production there would be expensive given their lack of inputs...free trade agreement between USA and pakistan could be helpful...
• Mar26-2009--center ready to hand over gwadar operations to balochistan...with no train links and no direct road links to the north... gwadar would only be helpful to afghanistan if they use it in a big way
• Mar26-2009--protestor killed as bajaur affectees protest blocking pabbi
• Mar26-2009--there were no police men at the sri lankan attack site in lahore and even the police detail accompanying the bus had been halved...attackers used german, russian and chinese armaments...
• Mar26-2009--federal government seeks suspension of nawaz sharif disqualification ruling...
• Mar26-2009--as Zardari moves to disenfranchise mainly punjabis in balochistan... punjab too should move to disenfranchize pukhtuns who are literally taking over punjab...
• Mar26-2009--The PMLn protests the appointment of 40000 educators and 16 LHC judges by teh governor who also restarted projects such as the lahore mass transit, leh expressway and lahore-sialkot kharian motorway...
• Mar26-2009--military lifts seige of tor chappar areas in landi kotal
• Mar25-2009--The CJP who used to look like a one eyed ogre seems to have had some kind of eye operation as his face now looks normal...?
• Mar25-2009--SC divided between new PCO and old PCO judge benches as iftikhar chaudhry urges an end to judicial corruption...cases filed against PCO judges as dogar judgements might come up for review including those that allowed an army chief to stand for president and possibly something aginst teh former coup plotter...court could also overturn constitutional amendments, army chief promulgations etc...
• Mar25-2009--Acting president Farook H Naek says that there will be a befitting response if drone attacks donot stop...!!!
• Mar25-2009--bomb blast in quetta cafe and two gas pipelines blownup in pirkoh
• Mar24-2009--ANP moves to deseat khawaja mohammed khan hoti...
• Mar24-2009--Aitezaz Ahsan withdraws from lawyers politics as CJ does not attend aiwan a sadr gathering on 23 march...
• Mar24-2009--rocket hits school in kohat
• Mar24-2009--news reports suggest that Obama seeking a clear exit strategy from afghanistan which could bring peace to the area...
• Mar24-2009--intelligence agencies warn that baitullah mehsud has gotten hold of more suicide bombers and is threatening cities......the military has put on hold its attacks inside south waziristan...concentrating on other areas where direct threats had emerged...recently there have been two attacks in rawalpindi islamabad and one in lahore which was different from teh suicide attacks
• Mar24-2009-- suicide bomb blast outside sitara market thana in islamabad...two killed
• Mar23-2009--The odd natured punjab government started to enforce a Rs200 tax on entrance to teh PC Bhurbhan as the high courts thru out the legal challenges...
• Mar23-2009--The frightened administration cancelled teh 23 march parade and even the musharaf style enclosed space celebration barring a smaller ceremony at the presidents house...The military parades a hangover from communist state show man ship were thrown into a bad light after rampant terrorism and military coups...the current terrorism can be seen as being initiated by various events including the killing of anwer saadat at a military parade by JI militants after his agreements with israel..the russian invasion of afghanistan and the attacks on iraq and afghanistan and later invasions by the USA...
• Mar23-2009--The punjab administration consdered destroying teh chenab bridge to contain teh long march
• Mar23-2009--Nawaz Sharif says their disqualification showed teh SC's bias due to their political opposition and that the decision was constitutionally invalid and based on media reports and that they were not defaulters
• Mar23-2009--As the PMLq leadership refused to talk further on a coalition in the punjab..yusuf raza alone visited teh sharifs and got teh ball rolling with no decisions...nawaz sharif backed off from his anti zardari tirades and said they expected the majority of teh PMlq to join them and their coalition with teh PPP depended on teh review petition...governor rule was not opposed totally although the reasoning that governor rule would persist until a coalition agreement was said tobe counter productive...yusuf raza gilani pointed to the governors failure and said he would be doing teh talking...
• Mar23-2009--Salman Taseer broke new ground by talking to the Ji chief who was not too happy at the judges restoration
• Mar23-2009--The CJ hoisted his own flag at his residence and teh people gathered their were a mixture of dissidents lawyers and those that suffered as well as some madresseh students who too would like another power center to challenge the polarised soceity...
• Mar23-2009--CJ invited to pakistan day presidential gathering although no one is sure whether he would attend...
• Mar23-2009--two militant bases destroyed in qambarkhel area of landi kotal
• Mar22-2009--Nawaz Sharif invites hungry yusuf raza gilani to as they say have kukr and nan chola with him...Yusuf Raza needs nawaz sharif to gain some power in teh current setup as zardari grabs teh already disenfranchiized punjab mpa's decision making powers too...government seemingly moving towards restoring shahbaz sharif government while dogar court ruling says that judgement made out of spite rather than any judicial reasoning...SC should realize that not giving the right decision when either an argument is not properly made or not properly presented is a judicial farce...teh courts should get out of the habit of giving a judgement because they donot like teh attitude...an SC is not a monitor but teh highest judicial authority and it should not act like a child...
• Mar22-2009--ex servicemen seek musharaf trial for subverting teh constitution
• Mar22-2009--34 taleban released in swat
• Mar21-2009--Dawn reports that Nawaz Sharif does not now want to negotiate with the PMLq and thinks that the PMlq forward block is enough and even if they have to resign they can be re elected easily...Nawaz Sharif now moving closer to teh PPP which was uncertain and keeping itself at a distance from sharif as things could have gone either way...now nawaz sharif thinks that he can deal with teh punjabi gilani much more easily than teh sindhis and karachiites who have a lot of baggage viz nawaz and the punjab...
• Mar21-2009--following a rocket attack on the army on thursday night the army retaliated and destroyed houses,warehouses and shops as a dusk to dawn curfew was imposed on landi kotal killing ten
• Mar21-2009--The PMLq seemed to have irritated the sharifs who think they can now be easily defeated in elections...they wanted a 40 % share in the punjab government whether it was a two party or three party...
• Mar21-2009--The sharifs are however looking like funny unlikely revolutionaries..people who had four camp offices as chief minister and live on 350 acre estates can hardly think in a revolutionary style...peopel who could have been revolutionary have already been shown tobe more interested in murder and mayhem...pakistan has had all sort of governments from teh socialistic, beaurocratic,military, extreme capitalistic, economic, religious, foreign domination and even those like teh current who want just politics...revolution is a program that either is against sectors of soceity which is very unsuccessful in pakistan or a type of severe economic/social change that is different to the past and that changes economic forces and really affects those that have all the wealth and those that have none ...all are difficult given the power in teh hands of different sectors of soceity...revolution to teh sharif types means doing whatever they think fit with no opposition...in pakistan minor levels of change is the only possibility but without overall real programs no change is possible barring that of faces...pakistan has yet to have a poor ruler...and teh military officers who took power ended up as crore pattis too rather than keeping their initial supposedly humble origins image...people like the journalists sherry rehman and yusuf gilani also have apparently no idea of how to go about it..it could be a revolution if iftikhar chaudhry starts hearing real cases against musharaf and his coup as his first attempt at real change...
• Mar21-2009--both young gandhi male members seemingly anti muslim...with rahul gandhi stating last year that they will finish what they started in pakistan...? and now varun gandhi stating that he is frightened of muslims, mulsim names and would not like to meet one at night...
• Mar21-2009--one has seen many chief justices go but this is probably teh first government to give farewell parties to departing military rulers and controversial retiring chief justices...noora kushti... zardari-nawaz style..?
• Mar21-2009--another bombay involved man shahid jameel riaz remanded to FIA alongwith lakhvi, abdul wajid, mazhar iqbal and hammad amin sadiq
• Mar20-2009--power pylons blownup in peshawar with teh PPP unable to clearly identify its role in teh punjab at high level party meeting
• Mar20-2009--militant mullahs attack military base in landi kotal as military blows up warehouse killing five...
• Mar20-2009--The News says that the PMlq could combine with asif zardari to topple his self appointed primeminister who many say is aloof in most matters of governance affecting the peopel especially..frightened of irritating ministers or zardari they say but willing to sock it to the people..!...yusuf gilani many says is timid in his advice
• Mar20-2009--the PPP did not invite four prominent dissidents to its top level meeting at the presidency...as aitezaz ahsan tries to drag on teh judiciaries imbroglio...aitezaz has no role left and should return to normal politics...rather than be teh CJ's handyman...! sanam bhutto interview makes controversial headlines as Nawaz shariif prepares to participate in the judicial review of his disqualification...
• Mar19-2009--Reports suggest that the US believes that the taleban have a free reign in balochistan but since they are not fighting teh government they are literally in a safe haven even compared to Fata...The US has a deep paranoia about attacks being planned from pakistani tribal territories but it is almost impossible for such attacks to be carried out due to the logistics and given the type of manpower available to teh tribals...a recent US report refers to teh quetta shoora..paranoia runs dep amongst teh american intelligence community and they have theories about groups they know nothing about...eg teh quetta shoora, miranshah shura, haqqani group and alqaeda and their interconnections... the indians have instilled a fear of teh LJ amongst teh americans and now they too are beinmg considered a threat...what is known about the extremists in balochistan is that they are now fighting the afghan origin hazaras but have recently kidnapped a US/UN official...in balochistan other groups include the marris and to a lesser extent teh bugtis who are fighting on a low level secessionist level...since teh afghan taleban usually donot threaten pakistan and their only objective is afghanistan pakistan usually does not trouble them moving in and out of balochistan...however reports suggest that balochistan may be attacked by the drones too although the FC commander stated that the baloch pukhtuns donot support teh taleban...The US should considir talking to the indians about Solecki as the indians are usualy deeply involved in most of pakistans trouble spots...
• Mar19-2009--NYT report suggests that US planning drone attacks in balochistan too...balochistan FC commander says no safe havens in balochistan while raisani says that several conditions for soleckis release have already been met with some locations identified of where he might be held...negotiations for soleckis release held indirectly...
• Mar19-2009--Sherry Rehman says that she resigned because salman taseer and rehman malik were interfering in her ministry...she was today also tumbled from her party position as secretary information being replaced by fauzia wahab...her removal is said tobe teh result of an internal party movement against her although the preferred choice of farahnaz isphahani to replace her has not taken place...rumours about the various causes for her removal abound...none however refer to her own explanation of supposed principles...!!
• Mar19-2009--The PPP suggests that teh PMLn creating or using a forward block in the PMLq is against their own constitutional amendment and teh COD in which they had agreed not to try to break members of other parties...the only possibility for the PMLn to gain a majority on their own is to get ten to 15 members of teh PMLq forward block to resign...teh PMLn also states that the president should not meet anyone and remain isolated in the presidency...obviously the PMLn attitude of one sided principles is not a workable idea or solution...The only other solution is the coalition between teh PMLn and teh PMLq with a PPP governor and the PPP in opposition...which might work out better for teh PPP in the long run as teh PMLn policies seemed tobe more beurocratic and pro rich...for example while there are few policies in punjab to encourage higher education inside pakistan they were willing to create funds for those who wanted education outside pakistan which traditionally has been teh preserve of the elite who than come back and browbeat us...
• Mar19-2009--The government again threatened long periods of electricity load shedding
• Mar19-2009--Attempts to create a wedge between teh bhuttos and zardaris in a manner similar to PMLn attempts in teh nineties...
• Mar19-2009--five killed in chakdara as armed men open fire on a police van
• Mar19-2009--Nawaz sharif now also wants removal of 17th amendment and removal of governor rule...such actions can only be accomplished thru talks with teh primeminister or interactions in parliament...teh PMLn has adopted a confrontational approach shunning cooperative talks...obviously long marches cannot be held everyday...whether teh PPP lets them rule in punjab with teh PMLq forward block is questionable...because with nawaz sharif running a vendetta against their governor and attempting to make teh chief minister behave like a primeminister of punjab creates questionable logic...The PPP has two options teh nwfp or balochistan models or sit in teh opposition in punjab which they seem to dislike...or accept a PMLn minority government without participation..things however seem tobe moving towards a PMLn-PMLq coalition
• Mar18-2009--Dawn states that the experiment of the complicated financier Salman Taseer running punjab as governor does not seem to be a success and possibly another former PPP politician like mushtaq awan maybe brought in...financial wheeler dealers and politics donot mix in the punjab...
• Mar18-2009--pir wadhai bomb blast toll rises to 15
• Mar18-2009--as qazis takeover in swat teh regular courts have been threatened/stopped by the mullahs and concern on non availibilty of lawyers and high court access seems troubling to some...
• Mar18-2009--Asif zardari appionts the seemingly aging Hamid Mirza to teh position of CEC..from sindh he sat on teh SC benches dealing with iftikhar chaudhries battle with SJC and the steel mills privatization case...
• Mar18-2009--charsadda suicide blast mastermind arrested
• Mar18-2009--The punjab crisis lingers as no one knows what the SC will do inits review and four groups in the field ie teh PMLn, PPP, PMLq and PMLq-F seem to not get along all that well...teh PPP-PMLn scenario seems the safest with the PMLq split and teh other option seems the PMLn-PMLq-F....or a balochistan solution with a consensus chief minister from teh PPP...
• Mar17-2009--a suicide bomber struck rawalpindi killing 10
• Mar17-2009--about ten judges are tobe restored says teh Dawn
• Mar17-2009--aitezaz ahsan acknowledging the bad or wounded status of iftikhar chaudhry suggests that the judge not sit on cases of importance to teh government...trying to control iftikhar chaudhry by remote control seems just as inappropriate as destabilizing an elected government by bad judicial decisions...PCO judges or those appointed later could be in trouble but politicians , lawyers and judges should show magnanimity too as decision making is a simple process if teh constitution is followed...the judges appointed to teh court by the military dictator should also realize that military rule, decisions and even court decisions of teh period are suspect as well...
• Mar17-2009--militants torch 30 Nato vehicles at hazar khwani terminal in peshawar
• Mar17-2009--In late night moves the naka's came off...the blockages in teh PPP brains were knocked out by teh army chief says Al Jazeera and teh government reinstated teh deposed judges and Nawaz sharif called off the long march...Rehman malik and the new punjab police chief must like containers a lot as they used them all over punjab for blocking off roads and streets...in chandni chowk rawalpindi they used rehras to block the roads...the people were ready for a bloody or at least a rough standoff while teh leaders backed off according to a deal prepared many say weeks ago...as the tension mounted both sides reluctantly backed off from a conflict...the independence of teh judiciary was put back to 2013 when iftikhar chaudhry will retire ie if he too has not agreed to a deal...?...teh politicians many say were duped by teh army into accepting their pet judge as a supposed icon rather than a supporter of military dictatorship...if teh judge creates further trouble the government could be forced to restrict his extraordinary long term as chief justice which restarts on March 21...Nawaz sharif in theory should get an acceptable or friendly hearing from the supreme court in teh review...The PPP a product of a street revolution opposed using teh streets for decision making and looked lame in teh end not having a credible defence about its attitudes...however using teh governments powers is better than using the police and rangers to crush any sort of movement...section 144 was withdrawn and all arrested released...can their really be an independent judiciary after all that...?
• Mar16-2009--things have eased somewhat in lahore as the arrests of the top four rebellious leaders did not prove correct as nawaz sharif leads a relatively small rally towards islamabad...however pindi and islamabad are still cordoned off and people say pakistan has more containers and police than people...the internet has come on and and teh new information minister Kaira could not decide whether to be conciliatory or suggest harsh measures..Fauzia Wahab called sherry rehman a ghaddar and rehman malik stung by PMLn criticism said he would soon initiate a case against shahbaz sharif for ghaban...the SCBA leader Kurd was not allowed to leave Quetta and there were few people on teh streets of rawalpindi..aitezaz ahsan said they could wait a few days to hold teh constitution avenue sitin..however teh situation could get worse as at teh moment force seems the only option...with schools being closed teh availaibility of student manpower is assured however travelling the long distances without transport maybe a problem...one TV channel reported that the punjab police refused to arrest nawaz sharif and gave him safe passage upto rawalpindi...?reports of a deal did not prove correct and many in teh PPP said that nawaz sharif asking zardari to stand by his word would be like zardari asking nawaz sharif to join teh cabinet first...both sides willing to talk but about what since they donot agree...the first issue that could help would be agreement on where the sitin would take place which might assure a peaceful resolution...?
• Mar16-2009--Dawn seeks a liaqat bagh for islamabad as government nervous about demonstrators in front of parliament
• Mar16-2009--mqm starts wondering whether there will be new government soon and issues riduculous ultimatum to quit coalition...?
• Mar16-2009--nawaz sharif leads a relatively small rally out of lahore as police and home ministry at odds...GPO chowk scene of some conflicts...shahbaz sharif already in rawalpindi
• Mar16-2009--20 nato vehicles toched at peshawar terminal
• mar15-2009--resolution of conflicts with the sharifs moves forward with a judicial review suggested and urging by americans and teh army chief to resolve teh issues...On the army chiefs urging asif zardari told him that it was yusuf raza gilanis job to initiate proposals on most issues to the president...teh presidents domain is appointments and control of foreign and economic affairs under teh current constitution
• mar15-2009--government ready to call in army and rangers in rawalpindi and lahore if situation deteriorates
• mar15-2009--mqm getting ready to ditch PPP as well if government falls
• mar15-2009--Kaira takes over from the pro indian sherry rehman as information minister
• mar15-2009--The governors rule scrapped the elevated expressway and again restarted the nullah lai expressway...things like the elevated expressway need experienced designers as the local PWD/RDA has no such expertise...
• mar15-2009--drone or missiles hit house near bannu killing four
• Mar15-2009--In what can be seen as teh worst examples of elected rule the PPP regime literally has closed down teh country to stop protests against what can be termed as minor issues ...the issues of teh agitation include the suspect military stooge iftikhar chaudhry whose refusal to take a fresh oath have stymied the judges restoration...iftikhar chaudhry rose to teh supreme court under musharafs military rule and many say that he only took minor cognizance of military misrule and illegality towards the end when he wanted tobe made the primeminister...he is earlier said to have wanted to become a deputy to musharaf...one of the worst examples of an individual for which teh lawyers movement has geared up a huge country wide protest...The PPP frightened of being kicked out by the military if teh country revolts has fallen into teh traps of dictatorial suppression...teh countries cities and provinces have been cordoned of with huge containers to block a long march to islamabad...such examples of country wide suppression are rare in pakistan...where politics differs from city to city and province to province...the PPP government best decribed as a group who could hardly be elected on what they are doing has blocked islamabad completely and all teh cities leading to it...teh sharifs, imran khan and qazi hussein ahmed have been put under arrest...the sharifs have a cause because of being disqualified by what seems tobe a PPP or sindhi controlled judiciary...the matters are petty and can easily be resolved but teh PPP seems unable to get out or even reach out...a process of isolation typical to governments of all kind in pakistan who become embroiled in state power and forget their real duties...teh issue became more complicated as teh ppp aplied governor rule in punjab to force opponents to accept its dictat and chief minister in punjab...in punjab a controversial governor and apparent lack of development by the center and the province has been creating disillusionment aginst teh sindhis dominance so much so that teh sharifs too were unable to talk about sindhs attempts to usurp punjabs financial power and resources...a primeminister who became concerned with his own constituency family and pir biradri and failed to advise teh president properly and ministers who barely kept an open mind on issues...at least three one track ministers have resigned who either were unable to speak up or were not allowed to implement their policies...most ministers were not regarded as capable enough and are only attempting to keep their jobs by going along with unacceptable government policies...The government attempting to use all means and methods to harass and suppress a peaceful process...early on the designated finance minister had also quit after seemingly running counter to zardaris financial policy of people suppression... economically and politically..
• Mar15-2009--some tv channels ran teh story that the restoration of iftikhar chaudhry was an almost foregone conclusion
• Mar14-2009--The PPP suffered another setback as Sherry Rehman the supposed handler of nawaz sharif resigned over differences over media policy...many say the PPP tried to have Nawaz Sharif wiped of television screens while teh hoopla about GEO seemed just hype created by the jang group although some karachi based stations like sama went off the air...Geo griped that they had been dropped to the last spot on tv channels...
• Mar14-2009--while rumours persisted of an easing of policy by the government teh PPP only came up with offers of talks on the COD...and refused to back down on the long march handling and nawaz sharif demands
• Mar14-2009--India only concerned about its own views handed over teh answers to pakistans 30 questions on the bombay incident
• Mar14-2009--Asif zardari seemed to be preparing for a major announcement on teh countries crisis...many suggest that he could resign or announce the reinstatement of the three remaining NOv3 musharaf judges...he could also try to forge reconciliation with teh PMln by announcing an SC review appeal and appoint an interim punjab chief minister after which teh governors rule could be ended...other measures could include a new punjab governor...and the sharifs could be offered teh governorship of punjab in exchange for teh chief ministership...many options are open to asif zardari including using presidential powers to over rule the supreme court ruling or set aside its implementation...many suggest that the pro nawaz yusuf raza gilani has advised teh president poorly or does not have his ear even though he seems now to be trying to timidly act his role in contrast to teh dominating zardari...other options could be appointing Iftikhar Chaudhry the governor of balochistan
• Mar14-2009--Raza Rabbani becomes the second minister to resign from teh cabinet as minister for provincial coordination and senate leader...he could be part of the growing group of PPP dissidents such as enver baig, safdar abbasi and nahid khan alongwith aitezaz ahsan...most of teh dissidents wanted a continuation of teh Benazir policy of reconciliation with teh sharifs...
• Mar14-2009--army chief attempts to mediate on teh nawaz sharif row and judges issue while asif zardari seems adamant on a hardline position
• Mar14-2009--Nawaz Sharif has a long association with PPP governance as well as the military...in teh early 70's his families factory producing wheat thrashers and other iron products was nationalized...he exiled to dubai and tried to setup a textile mill their but failed.. zia ul haq brought them back...gave them back their mill and made nawaz sharif teh punjab finance minister...that position saw the family setup around eighteen other factories thru teh eighties and early nineties..zia ul haqs death brought him the leadership and he twice became chief minister and primeminister..the controversial appointment of musharaf as COAS who many say was part of a nawaz sharif inspired coup in teh seventies finally ended his government and saw him jailed for hijacking..his last period in government saw pakistan explode an atomic device and teh kargil small scale attempted incursion into occupied kashmir... ......cases on loans and repayments finally caused a division of teh empire between nawaz sharifs father and his other brothers leaving the sharifs with three factories and loans to return...they were convicted and exiled by musharaf...during the process they had a tremendous rivalry with benazir bhutto...in the early 2000's they got back with benazir to fight the military supported dictatorship and finally won the election with teh ppp...conflict with the judiciary and asif zardari caused teh SC to disqaulify the brothers which brings us to the present impasse...while nawaz sharif thinks that asif zardari refused to reinstate iftikhar chaudhry because he would not bow before him it is thought that controversial judicial decisions under teh military and iftikhar chaudhries refusal to take a new oath complicated things with some saying teh court under iftikhar would not approve teh NRO even though he supposedly said that decisions by his court would be according to government desires...!!!many think that the PPP has mixed up teh system causing decision making to become diverted by individualism and not basing decisions on party thinking or the national assembly or teh cabinet or teh prime minister...
• Mar14-2009--As the PPP went all out to stop the long march by literally blocking transportation between provinces ...arrests continued for the third day...containers were placed even in small cities such as jhelum, sohawa and mangla to block the movement of the long march...the SHO turned interior advisor said that not even a bird would be allowed onto the constitution avenue...
• Mar13-2009--Zardaris foreign visits since September have cost Rs150 million while musharaf spent Rs146 million on just one trip...foreign trips are at best rest and recreation for the personalities at the top and their friends...it would be best that the leaders spend their rest and recreation at home rather than waste money in foreign lands...pakistans rulers are usually teh most travelled...junketting as frequently as they wish...usually troubles at home are so frequent that they prefer to junkett away...
• Mar13-2009--another drone attack ...in kurram agency kills 14...drone attacks seem designed to create/escalate political trouble rather than solve anything...
• Mar13-2009--while the democrats are now wary of sanctions the US lawmakers are bent on creating trouble by insisting that aid have political strings attached such as the ability to question AQ Khan...teh americans unfortunately are unable to understand that nuclear capability cannot be given to any state...
• Mar13-2009--charbagh fort in landi kotal rammed by a suicide car
• Mar13-2009--the military pattacked several areas on the afghan border, michni and areas in mohmand and bajaur killing eighteen
• Mar13-2009--Political turmoil neutralizes asif zardari advantages over nawaz sharif as US attempts a neutral approach sensing that teh weak PPP government could easily be toppled..Us usually becomes embroiled with de facto rulers
• Mar13-2009--Asif Zardari now assured of having his men in control of important institutional positions might move to resolve some issues like getting on with a PMLn government in punjab or attempting at least a PPP chief minister who could work out a coalition with one of teh two other parties...Yusuf raza Gilani might attempt to file a SC review to get least shahbaz sharif qualified...to get PMLn support...
• Mar13-2009--rumours resurfaced of salman taseers sikh wife and son whose book says taseer has three wives and drinks and eats pork...!!
• Mar13-2009--PMLq forward block important to both sides..supporting the PMLn they have lost at least four to five members as teh PMLq did not fall into the PPP claws totally...
• Mar13-2009--car sales plunged 49 % in last four months while remmittances rose 19%
• Mar13-2009--seven qazis take charge in swat as US spy killed in lower kurram as 32 cd shops, netcafes and shops were blownup in nowshera while a netcafe and CD shop were blownup in karak
• Mar13-2009--The concern that the PPP may go for first term mpa in moonis or abdul qadir as the punjab interim chief minister has caused concern although teh PPP now thinks of zardari as a seasoned politician...others say monis could be quickly replaced by pervez elahi however teh forward block stands in their way..many suggest that the PPP go for a senior leader as chief minister who can make decisions and can run punjab intelligently and professionally unlike the childish PPP-PMln coalition...and who is not embarassed by sindhis to work for punjabs due rights financially and in respect of proportional federal development spending...PPP seems to have not planned anything for punjab in teh development sphere
• Mar13-2009--Farook Naek becomes chairman senate..a controversial person as law minister for insisting that Chaudhry Iftikhar take a new oath under teh constitution and appointing a whole list of new judges in various high courts...while 57 of teh 60 judges fired have taken oath the three that did not still create problems for the regime...why the punjab PP refused to elect him from punjab is not known...he has also caused a resignation from Raza Rabbani the PPP senate leader who harboured ambitions for the position and was supportive of Nawaz Sharif ...
• Mar12-2009--In what is being seen as a complete reversal of their election mandate teh PPP moves to form a coalition in punjab with Benazirs bitter opponents the PMLq after their disqualification of Nawaz Sharif and Shabaz Sharif ran into trouble..The PMLn quickly put their weight behind teh lawyers movement and started rallying their supporters...The PPP which makes much of their now supposed suppression at teh hands of military dictators fell into the same traps as the military rulers...people who suffer at the hands of dictators look silly when they take on the same role themselves...The PMLq might have a clearly defined role in Benazirs asassination and has amongst it people like teh much reviled former sindhi chief minister...chaudhry shujaat was amongst the chief hate mongers of teh PPP...As their suppression of teh PMln leadership got more and more complicated with their opposition to the reinstatement of chaudhry iftikhar the only coalition partners left to teh PPP were the former rulers who had no problems with leaving teh chaudhry out in teh cold...riduculously the PPP held out for the chief ministership but finally gave it to teh PMLq...they are now left with ministers as teh governor too is seen as a PMLq/musharaf supporter...teh PPP had been unable to create much of an image for themselves in punjab from the position of ordinary ministers...Nawaz sharifs singling out of Asif Zardari as teh only individual for his ire saw the PPP lose any hope of a pliant PMLn which unlike teh PPP has a huge voter based support in teh punjab...Asif Zardari who is seen as a figurehead in the PPP is hardly teh person to malign...after having broken the coalition on their own they drum beated the breaking of agreements by the PPP which has had no effect on them...the PPP almost controlled by PMLq decisions had already realized that nawaz sharif would not stay with them for very long as the teh PPP small time leaders seemingly turned into musharaf allies after Benazirs demise...if teh PMLq-PPP can muster 186 votes than one part of teh conflict will be dowsed however teh lawyers conflict might bring them down in teh long run...teh PPP quickly tried to end teh punjab government controversy after teh british and americans told them to tone it down...the PPP which now is a party of small petty interests trying to favour their near and dear ones has not been able to formulate any attractive policy in the past year dealing with one issue or teh other from teh past amd hanging onto government because of the support of ethnic provincial groups...
• Mar12-2009--The government inits smallness lauched a country wide crackdown against lawyers and aginst teh PMln mainly in punjab...several hundred lawyers and PMln workers were arrested in punjab and sindh...the PPP unable to handle the crisis thru talks and increasingly isolated from teh lawyers and teh PMLn went into suppression mode as teh two movements coincided and started to gain strength...teh government wants to head off the lawyers and PMLn from the parliament building which would look like a popular peoples movement attempting to overthrow a dictatorship...containers were moved to teh faizabad crossing into islamabad and teh government wants to bring teh punjab assembly to session on teh 16th...surprisingly they now say they will give the government to those in majority which they could have done on day one and not imposed the ineffective governor rule which has seen them turn punjab into a police state
• Mar12-2009-- Nawaz Sharif seems to have developed a personal paranoia about Asif Zardari about whom both sides had their doubts...with the PPP anti punjab lobby thinking he was selling off to the punjabis and vice versa in teh PMLn...many suggest that Zardari inadvertently worked right into the hands of teh PMln hawks...individually he cannot implement any agenda nor can the PPP on important matters...
• Mar12-2009--In peshawar a trapped suicide bomber blew himself up killing four
• Mar12-2009--Punjab government calls in the rangers as the national assembly tries to defuse lawyers movement by forming a committeee suggesting inter alia that a peaceful lawyers long march might still be possible even though teh government has made it all but impossible
• Mar12-2009--The industrialist sharif brothers who were brought into power by zia ul haq and are descended from a lohar are redesigning themselves as revolutionaries wanting to change teh system..earlier their huge loans and their repayments made them controversial...however they have surprisingly survived two exiles and suppression by zulfikar ali bhutto and musharaf......now teh PPP's attempts to forcibly remove them from politics has renergized teh dictatorial brothers on the basis of a surprisingly large popular support base which is largely based on teh PPP's anti punjab attitude...The Zardari regime took three key positions for sindh ie the NA speaker, CJ and presidency and appointed a subjugated punjabi from teh seraiki area as primeminister who increasingly looks like a dummy...that only left a punjabi as teh army chief and nobody from nwfp or balochistan got a top slot...the senate leadership the PPP wants to give to benazirs punjabi lawyer turned politician and elected as senator from sindh...teh PPP has not adopted a consultative approach on judges appointments nor brought teh national assembly into the process of selection of key appointments...nor has any attempt been made to end teh militaries intrusions into teh constitution...like dictatorial regimes they are becoming increasingly isolated...teh shabaz sharif regime was known for its Rs2 rotis and 2 lakh doleouts for tractors to the agricultural rich while teh PPP banked on making everything as expensive as possible whether it be teh dollar, electricty , gas or food...however the PMLn also suppressed the local government system and punjab literally had come to a grinding halt as they increasingly tried to bring back teh colonial era commissionerate system which was not successful as beaurocrats know little apart from suppression and subjugating people...
• Mar11-2009--reports of arrests start to make teh arounds as teh PPP intentions of suppressing the PMLn and the lawyers sitin emerge...yusuf raza's intentions of dictatorial rule emerge as reports of attempts to slot in his son as chief minister in punjab...PMLq starts to back out as both PPP and PMLn unwilling to offer them teh chief ministership...PPP only willing to offer coalition if its dictat is accepted...PMLq playing dual game as it negotiates with both but suppsoedly willing to sit it out if PPP and PMLn get together again...
• Mar10-2009--Asif Zardaris governor rule seemed tobe running into trouble as the PMLn started to blast zardari as well as taseer...also appointing farook naeq to the senate chairmanship triggered raza rabbanis resignation..teh PPP accepted jan jamali of the PMLq as deputy chairman senate..thus subjugating them in a way...The dawn says farook naek is emerging as zardaris main advisor...as rehman malik called teh PMLn attitude seditious...the sharif brothers saw him as attempting to steal the PPP mandate and some say the PMLn threatened to initiate an FIR against rehman malik for benazirs assassination...rehman malik and farook naek were key advisors as benazir started her comeback...the PPP also ran into trouble with teh PMLq whose support they were seeking to form a government in punjab..rehman malik many saw as overstepping his role in attempting to become a bridge between the government and punjab groups...since he is less frightened than the main government politicians in meeting opposition leaders and travelling.....he was accused by the PMLn of using huge resources in attempting to buy punjab mpa's
• Mar10-2009--The PMln started to praise/play gilani versus zardari in teh crisis even though gilani has a less forceful voice in decision making and is not a known advisor to teh president...
• Mar10-2009--Yusuf Raza Gilani said he was against governor rule but was not consulted say some as Musharaf urged the army to act...Kiyani many say would prefer tobe consulted but he seems a man of few words where politics is concerned...musharaf who cannot become president again as he has already been in the position twice has shown a preference tobe president again if the army or politicians wish...however rules never concern peopel as self centered as musharaf
• Mar10-2009--taleban kill three as US spies in south waziristan
• Mar10-2009--rocket fired at kohat tunnel
• Mar9-2009--As the PPP and PMLn display opposite attitudes the PPP's Raja Ashraf announces a coalition with the PMLq in punjab which might still fall short of a majority if teh pro PMLn forward block holds....with probably a federal minister like Nazar Mohammed Gondal shifting over as chief minister and Moonis as senior minister with teh PMLq being given ten ministries...teh PMLq's desires at the center would have tobe worked out later although the PPP not willing to offer them the senate speakership..there were rumours that raja ashraf had joined the PMLq during teh previous era but he still won in an area which was totally under teh PMLn spell...Asif Zardari seems to follow teh rule that when in trouble fly off to china...as nawaz sharif rallies in jhelum the government attempts to barricade islamabad and possibly arrest the nawaz brothers and two key lawyers and a judge to ward off further trouble...on teh other hand teh worthless musharaf in india wants teh worthless presidency back which might be a signal to teh india supporting army to coup or at the minimum bring in a technocrat government with politicians restricted to parliament...musharaf supposedly in india to collect his rishwat or pay...!!!...PMLq says governor rule imposed for this purpose and that they would decide by Mar11 if nawaz sharif fails to reconcile...rumours that teh PPP had challenged the PMLn to force the PMLq to join them or teh PPP as it was at best a group of splinters...while benazir cobbled a coalition with the PMLn the PPP's suspect parliamentarians started issue based cooperation with the PMLq in the previous era...PPP's punjab minions raja riaz and qasim zia might be forced onto teh PPP scrap heap...
• Mar9-2009--As the PPP and PMLn display opposite attitudes the PPP's Raja Ashraf announces a coalition with the PMLq in punjab which might still fall short of a majority if teh pro PMLn forward block holds....with probably a federal minister like Nazar Mohammed Gondal shifting over as chief minister and Moonis as senior minister with teh PMLq being given ten ministries...teh PMLq's desires at the center would have tobe worked out later although the PPP not willing to offer them the senate speakership..there were rumours that raja ashraf had joined the PMLq during teh previous era but he still won in an area which was totally under teh PMLn spell...Asif Zardari seems to follow teh rule that when in trouble fly off to china...as nawaz sharif rallies in jhelum the government attempts to barricade islamabad and possibly arrest the nawaz brothers and two key lawyers and a judge to ward off further trouble...on teh other hand teh worthless musharaf in india wants teh worthless presidency back which might be a signal to teh india supporting army to coup or at the minimum bring in a technocrat government with politicians restricted to parliament...musharaf supposedly in india to collect his rishwat or pay...!!!...PMLq says governor rule imposed for this purpose and that they would decide by Mar11 if nawaz sharif fails to reconcile...rumours that teh PPP had challenged the PMLn to force the PMLq to join them or teh PPP as it was at best a group of splinters...while benazir cobbled a coalition with the PMLn the PPP's suspect parliamentarians started issue based cooperation with the PMLq in the previous era...PPP's punjab minions raja riaz and qasim zia might be forced onto teh PPP scrap heap...
• Mar9-2009--The indians successful in frightening teh US of LET or vice versa which is at best a small group fighting for kashmirs liberation...With al qaeda almost fading out the US needs a new enemy to fight the south asia islamic axis...
• Mar9-2009--Farook H. Naek tobe made senate chairman says PPP as he might be the troublemaker who triggered the refuse reinstatement to chaudhry iftikhar to appease the dominant sindhis...
• Mar9-2009--14 khasadars kidnapped from chaperi near the afghan border found killed in shabqadar tehsil ...army kills 15 militants in retaliatory attacks...tehsildar and two others still kidnapped
• Mar9-2009--Rao Qamar Suleiman becomes airforce chief...
• Mar9-2009--takhtaband road opens in swat as sufi mohammed visits military base and leads military convoy...
• Mar9-2009--Ahsan Iqbal pooh poohs PPP's electricity price Tzar raja ashraf saying negotiations will end when teh Zardari negotiators say so and raja ashraf powerless even though reports suggest that zardari okayed move/verbal responses which are designed to end any links to nawaz sharif and join up with PPP antagonists in the pervez elahi group...
• Mar9-2009--Nawaz sharifs rebellion statement critisized by many and while altaf Husseins nine zero was not bombed in his rebellion teh military might bomb his raiwind hideout...given their current policies in Fata..nawaz sharif basically a softy can hardly lead a real rebellion and it is only a rebellion against teh dicatatorial minded sindhis...?
• Mar8-2009--Imran Khan says that lahore attacks could have outside influences while rehman malik says they were criminals...one picture showed a spare number plate for teh rickshaw...imran khan shows that he has some taleban sympathies when he says that all the taleban attacks were suicide bombings and they were retaliatory or revenge attacks...the suicide attacks in lahore on FIA, navy, police can hardly be characterizaed in th revenge category...the lahore attackers might have achieved their objective and gotten away when they could...the only outsider that comes to mind is the indians...although in these attacks many talk about the IJT, JI and some even the mqm...for many it is just an aimless jihad
• Mar8-2009--musharaf whose bravery was only against pakistanis saw his facile pretend friendship with india barely last one attack says the past should be forgotten...which past musharafs era or teh indians killing of thousands of kashmiris..musharaf who drank with manmohan who gave him cricket scores as if they were something unattainable had earlier thought that kashmir would be handed over by the indians on a platter ..later he suggested soft borders and now wants no borders at all...known for indian sympathies maybe he should stay in india permanently say many
• Mar8-2009--As zardari promoted controversial judges...nawaz sharif continued to attack the defenceless zardari even on teh issue of an FIR against benazirs assassination...the PPP while prepared to benefit from benazirs image has shied away from looking for the killers...nawaz sharif continued to demonstrate his popularity and was not prepared to fall into the next hole being prepared for him by again appealing teh judgement...probably nawaz sharif now realizes the pitfalls that teh PMLq and PPP avoided by the NRO...he should have accepted Benazirs offer to clear his way too...Zardari showed his animosity to sharif by promoting teh controversial ICJ CJ to teh supreme court and than promoting a junior lahore high court judge who gave teh judgement against nawaz sharif to the position of the ICJ CJ...attempts at keeping the pathetic sindhi dogar as CJ are also under study...or he might emerge as teh CEC where he was acting CEC during the musharaf era and was quite as controversial...
• Mar8-2009--the controversial drone...one said to have crashed in south waziristan
• Mar8-2009--car blast in peshawar kills eight
• Mar8-2009--The senate unanimously opposed governors rule in punjab while an mqm senator showed altaf hussein what honesty means...he said that teh zardari regime was promoting sectarianism and while the governments writ was terrible in balochistan and nwfp... governors rule was imposed in punjab due to personal opposition to the sharifs
• Mar8-2009--a PMLq mpa from rawalpindi joined teh PMLn supporting forward block while laila muqadas failed in showing anymore of her supporters as 26 PMLn women mpa's showed confidence in nawaz sharif...three women mpas did not attend the meeting
• Mar8-2009--while the PPP was happy to have david miliband solve their problems when out in the wild they find it difficult to accept his views that they should patch up with nawaz sharif...like teh indians on kashmir they now have something called intrusion in domestic politics
• Mar8-2009--yusuf raza gilani who only has the police to protect his government doubles salary of islamabad police...as long march looms..
• Mar8-2009--six including three women killed in orakzai as military bombs area
• Mar8-2009--another dozen militants killed in teh chapar area of khyber agency..
• Mar8-2009--while military rule ended a year ago enver baig usually known for the truth says military behind attempts to remove nawaz sharif from politics...with the PPP exercising complete control over the judiciary such claims seem hollow...
• Mar8-2009--rumours in rawalpindi suggest that communist qazi sultan behind teh desecration of benazirs assassination memorial in a bid to shore up support for the PPP...?nawaz sharif has been unable to locate teh vandals however...!
• Mar8-2009--On womens day one must say that women in pakistan under attack in nwfp are poor politicians and can hardly work the street or solve problems barring those behind closed doors although we have a female forward block leader in the punjab..also empowerment of women should not mean the subjugation of other life forms..
• Mar8-2009--The PPP has reenacted teh deal for joint manufacture of teh chinese JF17 which has taken over ten years to come of teh drawing board...pakistan had earlier suggested western engines and avionics as russian engine life was low...pakistan has acquired eight chinese manufactured JF-17's and wants to start manufacture 42 of its own...pakistan after acquiring a swedish awacs which obviously cant detect drones has also ordered a chinese awacs...since pakistan vcn hardly manufacture any major component it can at best do joint assembly or might be put in foreign avionics and engines...
• Mar8-2009--police say they have accidently captured maj gen alvis killers
• Mar8-2009--while finding jobs for ordinary people is difficult the PPP has appointed teh daughter of one minister a first secretary in ireland without any training and another provincial ministers wife as a commercial attache in england...?
• Mar8-2009--three khasadars and five militants killed in mohamand
• Mar8-2009--The swat deal moves forward as nwfp government releases 12 taleban..girls schools were opened and militants agreed to remove their qamber checpost from where several kidnappings took place...
• Mar8-2009--raisani says that the PPP has asked nawaz sharif to end involvement in lawyers long march for PMLn governments reinstatement and judges reappointment while nawaz links reinstatement with reconciliation
• Mar8-2009--zardari regime tells IRI to wind up operations...controversial US pollster
• Mar8-2009--PPP now set to increase abiana rates astronomically..?
• Mar8-2009--suicide attack in tirah kills five
• Mar7-2009--forward blocks notorious for attempts at joining whichever side is in power are being worked on by the PPP in punjab with one report saying teh the pro PMln...PMLq forward block willing to join them if pervez elahi announces a coalition with PPP...PPP delving into the field of murky politics with downright enemies...other reports suggest that teh anti sharif/anti bhutto chaudhries slipping toqards teh sharif as PPP's animosity towards the punjab becomes clearer
• Mar7-2009--As sindh attempts to subjugate punjab thru electricity and gas price increases, removing teh sharifs from teh political scene, breaking up teh PMln and usurping punjabs financial rights it seems that asif zardari and his gang of thieves/killers might have miscalculated...meaningless and needless elctricity price raises have been announced when oil is at its lowest for quite some time...Zardari and Tarin have to realize that teh peopel did not elect teh IMF...raising prices has never been a solution and they can see the history of teh systems failure...while the people have little interest in nawaz sharifs judges they do see teh negative impact on their lives of teh PPP's governance...attempts by teh PPP to turn it itself into a PMlq type party will result in a loss of popularity...PPP is already losing the fight on the judges restoration, economic policy and dominance in punjab...hell bent on imposing its own rule in the punjab it was defeated by its own rank and file in attempts at a coalition with the PMLq dubbed the qatil league by the PPP heirarchy earlier...teh PMLq with no other option left will have to turn itself into a sidekick for teh sharifs...nawaz sharif will obviously have to make major concessions to the PMlq to the extent of giving them teh chief ministership...on teh other hand teh PPP dented by zardaris bad governance only has the chance of accepting humiliation on teh judges and restoring shahbaz sharifs eligibility...otherwise it will have to create a dictatorial position in the punjab which will really push it into teh depths of military type rule...the PPP is still mired in its seventies rhetoric which sounds hollow and without substance..even nawaz sharif thought that zardari had created the roti, kapra and makan slogan...if nawaz sharif again falls into the PPP traps of fake facile reconciliation than his career in politics will not be helped by a rebellious stance...teh PPP has litlle left to show for itself except that it is we who were victimized etc.etc...when many children ask..?...zardari has to move into teh modern world rather than become a pariah like teh al qaeda or taleban...hiding behind mullah fazl and asfandyar shows how negative has become teh politics of those who supposedly came to power on teh basis of benazirs reconciliation efforts...if u are not embarassed at what u have been doing than why dont u or your party talk directly...
• Mar7-2009--In the rawalpindi area a stronghold of teh sharifs strike call was heeded in the main areas and not in the side streets...with murree remaining totally closed...
• Mar7-2009--Nawaz sharif compared his disqualification to zulfikar ali bhuttos execution by teh courts of another dictatorial ruler and pointed out that teh zulfikar ali bhutto and benazirs opponents now worked for zardari...
• Mar7-2009--lahore was deserted on teh strike call and the sharifs had a good jalsa which was probably delayed by negotiations...in the rest of the punjab teh strike call was a moderate success at best...
• Mar7-2009--rehman malik who was called the IG of liars by nawaz sharif as he said that teh lahore attack was not carried out by religious elements a conclusion which is dubious at best when teh investigators donot know who did it...many suggest an mqm-LJ link while teh sri lankans insist that the LTTE had links to peshawar based militants/LET and in1992 made a deal for weapons in peshawar...while peshawar is not said to be a base for teh LET the arms suppliers are not directly controlled by militants..however there have been reports of pakistani militants involved in sri lankan bomb blasts..however LTTE is said to have been controlled/funded by tamils, tamil nadu, indians, chinese and teh MI6...while others say the shah of nepal ran the LTTE which explains their sudden demise...while the pakistani military have advised teh sri lankan military on how to go about it..LTTE says the indians must be behind it with nobody else benefiting from such a tactic...on the rawalpindi street teh conclusion was that religious elements are the only ones who have financing to buy arms and can plan together...the use of rickshaws shows the involvement of pukhtuns a transport that is not checked by teh police...
• Mar7-2009--The US insistance on teh regional approach on terrorism wont be successful as teh south east asia region is no asean or even a central asia...
• Mar7-2009--union council nazim killed in roadside bomb explosion near bannu
• Mar7-2009--there are more women ministers in teh west(europe) compared to women legislators(31%) while it is the other way around in pakistan with Finland having the highest of 60% ministers
• Mar7-2009--PPP mpa beatenup by frontiers finance ministry staff after he slapped an under secretary of finance...
• Mar7-2009--PPP's known anti pathy to development in punjab became apparent when shabaz sharifs attempt to setup model schools-danish schools in backward areas was stopped by the interim regime...
• Mar6-2009--There seems tobe some condemnation for teh PPP regime which apparently bought am mqm demo in karachi unable to arrange one itself...demonstrations are usually against teh perceived injustices of teh rulers and pro government demos have little or no value in teh circumstances as even zulfikar ali bhutto realized...many suggest that sindhis are little more than troublemakers viz punjab given their attitude to loot punjabs share of resources, applying high prices of gas to unsettle punjab especially and looting punjabs governance as well...the PPP was literally embarassed when a PMLn woman mpa laila muqadas unknown before came forward with her PMLn forward block of supposedly 27 members...apparently teh PMLn leaders showed her no respect although other members of the block were not named...it did not end the PMLn status as the biggest party in punjab but apparently it ran counter to taseers supposed philosophy opposing forward blocks...reports of Asif Zardari suggesting he will replace all PCO judges as an alternate...PPP information minister saying zardari who created teh situation was not trying to aggravate or irritate...very funny sherry rehman...PMLq which is a splinter group of former PPP and PMLN members still on the sidelines..apparently more interested in forming a government at teh center...
• Mar6-2009--Investigators say there are LET footprints although how foot soldiers can come up with a weapons arsenal is hard to explain...the pro indian dawn says indian involvement is being ruled out despite the indians having all sorts of influences in various pakistani groups...obviously it was a sympathetic replay or reenactment of a bombay style attack but obviously an anti indian group cannot be anti pakistani too...apparently militants here lacking imagination copy events occurring in other areas of muslim militant activity...apparently those involved came from all corners of pakistan and many say they escape the area immediately after...many say they could be policemen since there was surprisingly no police presence on the major chowk...and reports circulating in rawalpindi suggested that teh indians or militants had been told to come as there was no security
• Mar6-2009--In peshawar pushto poets rehman baba's tomb attacked with bombs...
• Mar6-2009--reports of PPP allies at the center negotiating between teh PMLn and Zardari suggesting that teh problem in teh PPP is at teh top
• Mar6-2009--14 coalminers die in a mine blast near quetta
• Mar6-2009--The punjab CID chief was sacked for not being able to unearth the lahore attack
• Mar6-2009--pakistan reluctant to buy expensive gas from iran which literally seems to have them over a barrel
• Mar6-2009--all the match referees seemed extremely angry as they spent terrifying moments in a van as their driver was killed until a policeman came and drove them away...
• Mar6-2009--In takhtbhai 18 cd shops blownup
• Mar6-2009--wah factory made mortars fired at a village on peshawar outskirts
• Mar6-2009--PMln who seem tobe depending on the dummy primeminister who apparently is turning into an onlooker as teh sindhis vent their feelings against teh punjab and the sharifs...teh actions against teh sharifs are being seen as extreme examples of political victimisation
• Mar5-2009--while teh administration has no cameras installed anywhere in lahore private cameras captured teh escape of teh attackers of the sri lankan bus...referees were most vehement against teh lack of apparent police cover
• Mar5-2009--like teh indians they found simm owners from rahimyar kahn and apparently two of teh attackers picked up from karachi and lahore stations
• Mar5-2009--the TNSM moves forward in malakand and swat and is expected to implement harsh measures such as stopping CD sales and eviction of prostitutes and pimps, stop drugs and addiction, closeing shops during prayer times etc......The TNSM is being seen as little more than an alternate to teh police...many of the police they say were working for the swat militants...imamdheri handed over to sufi mohammed
• Mar5-2009--PPP to have 32 seats in the senate with pMlq at 21, mqm at 6 and pMln at 7 and juif at 10 and anp at 6
• Ma5-2009--military destroys militant Hq in darra adamkhel
• Mar04-2009--Qaim ali shah the sindh chief minister and top PPP sindhis seem tobe teh think tank behind asif zardari which seems tobe teh cause of most problems..their opposition to a balochi CJ as compared to the sindhi dogar...first they wanted to privatize the qadirpur gas fields and steel mills and now the jamshoro power stations...etc...etc..
• Mar04-2009--after what many say is a lull terrorists indian or otherwise struck the sri lankan cricketers as they approached the qaddafi stadium firing rockets, hand grenades and kalashnikovs killing five policemen and injuring some sri lankan cricketers who immediately went back home...pakistan should now stop organising international sports events and obviously focus on greater protection of sensitive events..india obviously too will lose the 2011 world cup which must be held in a completely peaceful place......there was obviously no real security as teh gunmen attacked teh convoy and escaped despite being spotted on camera...they did not seem like jihadis who fight to the death and were more like ajmal kasabs...the amount of bags, guns and rations recovered showed preperations for a much larger terror operation..the terrorism apparently called off due to fright or other problems...videos showed young kids or men barely able to use the guns retreating...teh government was being blamed in some circles to have staged the event to avoid teh political quagmire that it had fallen into...others blamed teh indians as they had tried to block the sri lankan visit and indian statements/propagandists immediately tried to take advantage despite teh shoe being on teh other foot...some blamed the tamil tigers which obviously is a long shot unless murli paid for it...the lame ducks in the PPP blamed imran kahan and nawaz sharif both lahorite politicians in a difficult spot...others said that the bangladeshi mutiny and this event clearly showed that the indians were directly or indirectly involved...the pakistani cricketers shown by the sri lankans tobe inept were blamed by some...
• Mar04-2009--asif zardari who had hastily ordered a suspect mobile courts bill withdrew it even more hastily
• Mar04-2009--in lahore a provincial assembly organized by the PMLn had 207 legislators show up as teh government set in for a long struggle to break party loyalties...many suggest that chaudhry shujaat one of the most anti PPP hatemongers in the benazir era was still the target of the PPP and teh PMLn...
• Mar04-2009--In swat the militants again moved onto the warpath killing two soldiers who were collecting water...militants have to realize that they can not function like that for peace to prevail...a few more such incidents and teh army will have to retaliate...
• Mar04-2009--The current army leadership which is close to the PPP leadership may have expressed disastisfaction at the new PPP attitude of what may be called the balochization of punjab...the PPP in a minority wants the chief ministership of punjab but is expected to settle for less...in sindh and balochistan PPP has farcical coalitions with everyone becoming ministers...
• Mar04-2009--in balochistans growing sectarianism five hazaras gunned down near quetta
• Mar04-2009--The PMLn set conditions for a resolution by faxing them to teh balochistan CM...
• Mar3-2009--the government is preparing to deal roughly with the lawyers long march and seal teh capital..teh ominous mobile courts says farhatullah babar are slated tobe an alternate administration mechanism duplicating the role of teh district and provincial administration...many say it would be used like magistrates who used to order firing on protestors at site in the old days
• Mar3-2009--Shabaz Sharif says Raisani emerging as a voice of reason in teh PPP as they meet at bahawalpur airport
• Mar3-2009--The dawn says that farook h naek was seen literally haggling over doling out of judiciary positions to PPP lawyers...
• Mar3-2009--voices from Nwfp state that swat deal in trouble due to foreign interference and extreme outlooks...the militants should understand that two opposing administrations cannot function and that they have to let the administration deal with law and order...
• Mar3-2009--Taseer accuses shabaz sharif of misgovernance, using funds for personal publicity and the food support program to shore up his parties support while shahbaz sharif said that he worked on providing roti at adequate prices and free medicines in government hospitals..shahbaz was seen as going overboard when he offered quetta a cardiovascular institute without approval from the provincial assembly...taseer said that a majority can only be formed by a coalition and not creating forward blocks...
• Mar3-2009--in pishin a suicide attack killed five in a madressah...
• Mar3-2009--In karachi the police has ordered 100 suzuki pickups as their other faster vans are misappropriated by teh governor and ministers...in one report there were at least 10-15 police vans covering teh governors visit to a minor cricket match...
• Mar3-2009--The q-league seems unable to settle matters with either teh PMLn or teh PPP it seems...with the new Zardari policy only the PMLn can form a minority government or hold new elections
• Mar3-2009--Sherry Rehman critisizes inflexibility of the PPP leadership and the PMLn..
• Mar2-2009--The rumour is that the new secretary of state shook hands with shah mahmood qureshi and than turned to teh afghan foreign minister and asked who else do u want to kill in Fata...the result another missile strike in fata killing seven...Robert gates is sadly mistaken when he says that Fata acted as a safe haven during the attacks on teh russians...all the people fighting the russians were in afghanistan and it was obviously impractical for them to go in and come back at intervals...most of the people being killed are those that robert gates funded and those who came back or ended their involvement...it is almost impossible for anything to happen with armed forces bristling on both sides of teh pak-afghan border...so what many think is that teh US fires of a drone whenever the pakistanis cringingly ask for a few more dollars...it probably satisfies some US senator worried about an attack on teh US by pakistani tribesmen who literally donot even have transportation..ie to teh US......if these militants or taleban were so dangerous or armed with modern weapons than no drone would be able to fly over Fata...
• Mar2-2009--The other story making the headlines is that apparently nobody knows when the primeminister has ever advised the president or when teh PPP advised teh president to impose governor rule...it seems asif zardari is ruling with a few of his cronies bypassing everyone, parliament , primeminister and party...many suggest that nawaz sharif should become a pakistan based altaf hussein who the PPP seems to have as its chief admonisher or advisor...
• Mar2-2009--Other reports suggest that sindh is after punjabs share of teh countries finances...little or no money from the karachi port has ever been invested in punjab...and one hardly thinks that tobacco money is being looted from nwfp...punjab pays literally all the money for gas and electricity and teh high rates and taxes on such things are not being spent on teh punjab...what teh center does with the money is known to them and sindh...little or no development taking place in the punjab...apart from underpasses in islamabad and bridges over the lyari
• Mar2-2009--many suggest that peopel are meeting nawaz sharif for negotiations while others suggest that he is attracting people from teh ANP and the PPP...Asif Zardari after doing all teh damage wants to negotiate while Nawaz Sharif seems reluctant too..obviously nawaz sharif is not going to negotiate on the removal of governor rule... another failed deal would have him on the ropes again...and the PMLn would start thinking that he is no longer the leader they thought he was...one thinks that living as a proud man persecuted by the reluctant sindhi martyr would be a better option...obviously asif zardari is no longer an admirer of the anti pakistan sonia gandhi...
• Mar2-2009--In swat another deal came under pressure as teh militants attacked an FC ambulance convoy and kidnapped a local officer of teh FC...Sufi mohammed also wanted his own bearded men as qazis in malakand as the ANP dithered and teh commissioner said he could select them personally...
• Mar2-2009--In balochistan also asif zardari's or Benazirs reconciliation was in trouble as the militants gave another four day deadline for solecki...one should release the men the militants want if they are in custody if that would end the meaningless baloch violence...
• Mar2-2009--In another move that came out of nowhere an ordnance was issued while teh NA was in session to setup mobile courts...said tobe for rural peopel many suggest it would be used to suppress urban demos not approved by the government...pir mazharul haq thinks that an mqm demo in karachi protected by police and government is a big think...one doubts he would be standing around for something with riot police and rangers charging at him with guns, tear gas and shields...
• Mar2-2009--rail track blownup in mach..
• Mar2-2009--Hesco hires former officials to check power losses and theft for Rs30 million...
• Mar2-2009--On the governor rule front teh PPP seems tobe in deep trouble as apart from the top two of teh PMLq few would want to join a PPP coalition after what they did to teh PMLn...many say that the forward block which already is pro PMLn leaves teh main PMlq with not enough members to form a government and teh PPP would need huge resources or sell off development funds to buy teh loyalties of teh PMLn who have in general stood by the sharifs thru bad times...on teh other hand it should be easier for the sharifs to buy or attract the loyalties of the 17 members they require to form a government...
• Mar1-2009--In what many say is a reaction to the negative attutude of sindhis towards punjabis and their dislike for benazirs reconciliation with nawaz sharif the national assembly saw a relatively bitter confontation between the naqli PPP(yusuf raza gilani group) mna's and the nura kushti group of teh PMLn characterized by chaudhry nisar...Yusuf raza was unable to explain why they are attempting horse trading when there is no realistic chance of a majority for them...he explained his support for governor rule as support of a party decision showing that he is the dummiest primeminister pakistan ever had...many suggest that asif ali zardari thinks of nawaz sharif as similar to the paid ministry of interior employee altaf hussein...obviously nawaz sharif can hardly play teh role of mazara to asif's wadera behaviour...punjabis might be deal makers and politically soft but they are not people who will wilt and die at teh slightest frown...nawaz sharif can easily run the party from home but you dragged him back and now must live with his politics...confrontation upto the breaking point has always been nawaz sharifs style and but he always backs off...The government can only function with a decision making primeminister and a functioning national assembly...one man rule from teh presidency failed again and again under various martial laws...
• Mar1-2009--In bajaur after a tough operation in which inayat kaley was literally razed to the ground teh military occupied the remaining areas after teh militants withdrew...
• Mar1-2009--The first real sign of a crack in teh federal coalition appeared as asfandyar, fata members,JUI(f) critisized governor rule in punjab...the PPP is after teh chief ministers slot but deals can only be made in a working provincial assembly and one doubts that teh PPP can achieve a majority from a minority position...salman taseer who appears tobe a PMLq person was unable to develop a working relationship with the chief minister...a new chief minister probably more neutral than even shahbaz sharif is probably on the cards although one doubts that it will come from either teh PPP or teh PMLq...shabaz sharif probably could have done better than impose beaurocratic control over the PMlq nazims..many suggest that the street reactions were not just pro PMLn but also showed teh frustation of teh countries youth at teh dismal economic policies and conditions...
• Mar1-2009--three security officials killed in mohmand
• Mar1-2009--abid jatoi joins sindh cabinet as mqm man tortured to death in karachi
• Mar1-2009--a taleban commander kills nine opponents in darra adam khel...also accused of killing polish geologist
• Mar1-2009--the PMLn tried to play up the weaknesses of yusuf raza gilani viz the gangsterism of asif zardari in teh national assembly...teh year long feud between the two parties can only end by the stepping away from politics of asif zardari and teh nawaz brothers who want each other to follow orders but are unable to work in a coalition...many suggest that teh PPP needs saner minds in its uneducated group which dominates the decision making CEC...
• Mar1-2009--Raja Riaz teh main culprit in the punjab on teh PPP side says they have the support of 250 members in teh punjab assembly which many say is plain politics...breaking up parties in the punjab will result in the failure at teh center say many...while the PMLn only threatens to block the working of the national assembly...many suggest that the PPP might be getting top heavy with sindhis in control of its decision making as not many in punjab knew what the zardari group was planning in teh punjab...the only support for teh zardari-taseer actions coming from the sindhis and mqm