[center]<b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>Pakistan : 5.5 percent GDP growth target fixed for 2008-09</span></b> <!--emo&:flush--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /><!--endemo-->[/center]
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>ISLAMABAD (June 03 2008) : <span style='color:red'>The National Economic Council (NEC) on Monday scaled GDP growth down to 5.8 percent for the current fiscal year, and 5.5 percent target for 2008-09.</span></b> The NEC, which met here with Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in the chair, approved Rs 541 billion Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for 2008-09. It includes Rs 371 billion of the federal government and Rs 170 billion of the provinces share.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
5.5 is very good for Pakistan size country, it means they are performing better than India.
Numbers look too good to be true.
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Jun 4 2008, 12:04 AM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Jun 4 2008, 12:04 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->5.5 is very good for Pakistan size country, it means they are performing better than India.
Numbers look too good to be true.
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<b>Mudy Ji :</b>
You are right on both counts.
Pakistan has done much better by a humongous increase in âPoverty for the Masses Programmeâ as well as fooling its people with Salwar Kameezâs Fine Art of Creative Budget Accounting :
[center]<b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>The subsidy issue</span></b>[/center]
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>But one cannot deny that it is the duty of the state to protect the poor. Officially, 71.2 million people live below the poverty line or are vulnerable â accounting for 44.4 per cent of the countryâs population. More people are likely to be pushed below the poverty line.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
[center]<b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>Govt misses wheat purchase target</span></b>[/center]
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>ISLAMABAD, June 4 : The government has missed the wheat procurement target of five million tons by 1.2 million tons, despite a ban on inter-provincial movement of the commodity
Official figures show that the government was able to procure only 3.8 million tons of wheat in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan by the end of May.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
It means in Pakistan we will see two class Military officer/Elite class and poor class.
Middle class will just disappear.
[center]<b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>âIndia plans to deprive Pakistan of waterâ</span></b> <!--emo&:flush--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /><!--endemo-->[/center]
LAHORE : India has constructed 60 dams on rivers Jehlum, Chenab besides two other rivers to deprive Pakistan of water and the country would face acute water shortage in the coming years, said the chief organizer, Sind Tass Water Council of Pakistan, Mian Azizul Haq Qureshi. Addressing a press conference at Lahore Press Club on along with the other members of the council including council chairman, Zahoorul Hasan Dahir, Engineer Salman and others Thursday. Qureshi said the government has made a blunder by shelving Kalabagh Dam. He said India has violated the Indian Water Basin Treaty by constructing dams on the Pakistani rivers. <b>"India has chalked out a mega plan with the help of Jewish lobby and international NGOs to build dams on the rivers flowing towards Pakistan from Kashmir and Kargil,"</b> he alleged adding that at present the nation has been facing a shortage of electricity due to the shortage of water in the rivers of the country. Mr Qureshi said shelving the Kalabagh Dam project after sending billions of rupees was the imprudent step of the present government, as the country needs this dam very much in this critical situation. He said the World Bank has promised Pakistan that it would cooperate in building three dams in the country and Kalabagh Dam was at the top on the list but it was not finalized after passing almost 30 years. "India is planning to build more dams on the rivers flowing towards Pakistan and also planning to divert the flow of water towards its own land," he said adding that the Indian side since 1947 was standing on one point agenda to destroy Pakistan and for that they are not ready to accept any appeal of the country. "The recent unsuccessful negotiations between Pakistan and Indian Water Board was the proof of stubborn attitude of the Indian authorities towards Pakistan," he added. He said at present the water level of the country has reached at an alarming level, while the nation has also been facing a shortage of electricity and it was very important to build new dams and water reservoirs. staff report
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<b>Wheat yield in Pakistani Punjab far lower than Indian Punjab</b>
PESHAWAR : Wheat yield per hectare in Pakistanâs Punjab province is far less than that in Indian Punjab due to a host of reasons, a seminar was told here the other day.
Among those reasons was the difference between wheat production systems of India and Pakistan, evident from wheat sowing and marketing.
The Soil Science Society of Pakistan organised a special seminar at the National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC), with Prof Dr Riaz A Khattak in the chair. It discussed wheat production in Punjab provinces of the two countries.
According to a press release, a joint group of Pakistani and Indian scientists conducted a comparative study, analysing the wheat production systems in both parts of Punjab.
One of the members of the study group, Dr Tariq Sultan, senior scientific officer of NARC, presented a review of the two systems. Wheat yield per hectare is almost double in Indian Punjab as compared to Pakistanâs. The main reason the data suggested for the high yield in Indian Punjab was the provision of subsidy on fertilisers, tube-wells and machinery.
It said the indigenous production of tractors, combiners and other farm implements led to high production in India. The data showed that sowing by drill method, availability of certified seeds, a farmer-friendly efficient and effective market system and a stable pricing system contributed to high production in India.
Total cultivated area in Indian Punjab is estimated at 4,224 million hectares and total number of farms is 1,093 while in Pakistan the cultivated area is 15,960 million hectares and farms are 3,864.
The study also showed a contrast in yields, which was 4,179-4,696 kg per hectare in Indian Punjab compared to 2,392-2,775 kg per hectare in Pakistani Punjab.
In India, DAP (di-ammonium phosphate) fertiliser is priced at Rs475 per bag and urea costs Rs250 per bag while in Pakistan they cost Rs3,200 and Rs630 per bag respectively, which are quite high.
Indian Punjab gives Rs350 per month subsidy on tube-wells while Pakistan offers no such facility. Similarly, methods of sowing in both countries also point towards differences between them. Two methods, drill and broadcast, are applied to sowing in Indian Punjab. Of these, 98 per cent sowing is done through drill method and one to two per cent through broadcast method.
Compared to that, in Pakistan only 20 to 30 per cent sowing is done through drill method and the remaining through broadcast method.
India manufactures its own tractors and provides certified seeds while in Pakistan tractors are imported and farmers use their own seeds.
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Musharraf cashing in on coalitionâs incompetenceâ </b>
LAHORE: President Pervez Musharraf is cashing in on the vacuum created by the coalitionâs incompetence and its failure to govern and deliver on their promises, PML-Q Secretary General Mushahid Hussain told Dawn News on Saturday. He said the coalition was using Musharraf as a decoy for its own incompetence. He said Article 270 (AAA) of the Constitution provided indemnity to the PCO and NRO. daily times monitor
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Dumbos, Mushy was so smart, he rigged election and gave 50-50 to Sindh and Punjab. Now Mushy is enjoying bull fight till mango or Apple crate arrives at his shore.
<b>Kiyaniâs allegations childish: Qureshi</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Qureshi said that recently the retired general tried to be in the limelight, but when failed, he came up with this drama saying that chemical weapons were used in the <b>Lal Masjid operation</b>. He corrected that white phosphorus grenades were used to create smoke to enable the soldiers move inside the premises. He termed the allegation of using chemical weapons as a white lie. âWhat a nonsense that a retired soldier could not differentiate between chemical weapons and phosphorous grenades. The retired general in fact needs a new course to know the difference between the two,â Qureshi said.
He said if Lt Gen ® Jamshaid Gulzar Kiyani had reservations against the Kargil operation, he should have the courage to speak against the same. He never uttered a word then. He also came up with double talk on briefing the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the Kargil operation and asked as to why Mr Kiyani did not resign if he was true to his claim.
âThis gentleman availed every offer during the last eight years by remaining on key posts including corps commander and chairman Federal Public Service Commission but has now chosen the other path for some ulterior motives. He did not talk from his head but it reflected that he was speaking for someone else,â charged the presidential spokesman.
He said Mr Kiyani remained on lucrative slots, may be after showing some loyalty to the president. Asked what this loyalty may be that jacked him up, Qureshi corrected himself saying the army is a professional institution and makes promotions on merit. He refused to comment on the charges against former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Lal Masjid is still in picture, I think this will bring crate for Mushy.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--> <b>PM Lands In Medina With $6 Bn Bhikh</b>
Â
MEDINA: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani arrived here on Saturday with comprehensive plans to request the <b>Saudi government for aid ranging between three to six billion US dollars in oil, energy, trade and agriculture sectors.</b>
Informed sources on the <b>PMâs special plane, carrying 80 guests of the Saudi government, including five federal ministers, said the package being envisaged includes free oil and lavish provision of wheat supplies by Saudi Arabia, now said to have abundant food supplies.</b>
In return, the sources said, the prime minister, who would be joined by PPP Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday, would offer the Saudis hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural land, which could be tilled by the Saudis and the product could be taken away for consumption in the Kingdom.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Begging and leasing land to Saudi. So now Pakistan is leased property.
Same Indian Queen is doing, watch N-deal.
MUST WATCH - Covers lot of Pakistan scerets.
Exclusive & Hot Episode of Merey Mutabiq
Close Friend Of President Musharaf
<b>Ex Core commander of Rawal Pindi & Ex commander of Triple One brigade Lt. Gen (Rtd) Jamshed Gulzar Kiani Reveals Hidden Facts About Kargil Operation , Lal Masjid Operation.
What happend in Jamia Hafsa & Tribal Areas & much more</b>
Video :
Host: Shahid Masood
<b>Guest: Lt.Gen ® jamshed Gulzar Ahmed Kiyani</b>
http://www.friendskorner.com/forum/f137/me...une-08-a-48662/
<b>30-MAY-08 : PAKISTANâS FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES REDUCED BY USD 333.5 MILLION DURING LAST WEEK</b>
NET RESERVES WITH SBP USD 8.6846 Billion
NET RESERVE WITH BANKS : USD 2.4937 Billion
<b>TOTAL LIQUID RESERVES : USD 11.1783 Billion</b>
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Nareshji,
Watch Land of pure carefully. <!--emo&  --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Interesting time ahead.
06-08-2008, 11:30 PM
(This post was last modified: 06-08-2008, 11:32 PM by Naresh.)
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Jun 8 2008, 08:17 PM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Jun 8 2008, 08:17 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Nareshji,
Watch Land of pure carefully. <!--emo& --><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Interesting time ahead.
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<b>Mudy Ji :</b>
I really thought that Pakistan had reached the bottom of the Dung Heap. I was wrong - Pakistanis have the uncanny knack for working themselves under - and of course lower - even Larger and Higher Dung Heaps :
[center]<b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>Former air, naval chiefs demand Kargil commission</span></b> <!--emo&:flush--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/Flush.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='Flush.gif' /><!--endemo-->[/center]
ISLAMABAD : Former Pakistan Air Force and Pak Navy chiefs of the Kargil era, Air Chief Marshal (Retired) Pervez Mehdi Qureshi and Admiral (Retired) Fasih Bukhari, have demanded a commission of inquiry to probe the Kargil operation and have agreed to appear before it to give their version of the events surrounding the Kargil episode.
They have revealed that the air force and the navy were not on board when the operation was planned but they declined to divulge other details about it in public.
Air Chief Marshal Qureshi, who is known as PQ Mehdi, while talking to The News on Saturday evening said that the whole world knew that the Pakistan Air Force was not on board when the Kargil operation was being deliberated. âThe whole nation is aware of what had happened in Kargil since on the initiation of the action. Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee accused his counterpart in Pakistan Nawaz Sharif of stabbing him in the back. My statement will make no difference about the facts.â
He said the government should order an inquiry into the events of Kargil and everyone who was relevant would turn up with his version. Nobody can say no to such a commission, he added.
He disclosed that the events, which transpired during the days of Kargil, were preserved in the record of the PAF like other forces. âIn case I am not in this world tomorrow, the whole record will be available for ascertaining the facts,â the former chief of the Pakistan Air Force said. He said that it was a serious matter and it must be taken with utter seriousness as it was linked with the future of the country and generations to follow.
Interestingly, Pakistan Air Force was not put into operation to counter the Indian Air Force due to strategic reasons. However, a PAF air defence unit shot down an Indian Air Force MiG-27 on May 27, 1999 that entered the Pakistan airspace. Pakistan also shot down another MiG-21, which had come into the area in search of the earlier downed pilot. Pakistan told the world with incontrovertible evidence that these two aircraft had violated the Line of Control (LoC) and entered seven miles into the Pakistan airspace before being shot down by PAF air defence and Pakistan Army surface-to-air missiles (SAM). The Indians claimed that they were in the Indian territory and that the aircraft were shot down by Stinger missiles.
The MiG-27 pilot, Flt. Lt. Nachiketa, ejected and he was captured by Pakistan ground forces as a POW. He was returned to India later when the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee pleaded for his release after cessation of hostilities. Four Indian Air Force personnel were killed on May 28 the same year when an MI-17 chopper was shot down by a Pakistan air defence unit.
Air Chief Marshal Pervez Mehdi Qureshi led the PAF from November 7, 1997 to November 20, 2000.
The former naval chief, Admiral (Retd) Fasih Bukhari, said to a question that he would be prepared to appear before an inquiry commission that would be formed by the government of the day. Such a commission could unearth the whole truth about the matter, he said.
The former naval chief, Admiral (Retired) Fasih Bukhari, became the naval chief on May 2, 1997 and relinquished the command on October 2, 1999, ten days ahead of the coup by his colleague in the Army General Pervez Musharraf against the elected government of Nawaz Sharif.
Admiral Bukhari was the first who disclosed immediately after his retirement that Pakistan Navy was not taken into confidence about the Kargil operation at any stage and it did not make any preparations for any huge eventualities. Since then, he has kept quiet about it.
âI have been maintaining silence about the subject. If the commission constituted by the government calls me for evidence, I will put across my point of view before it with each and every detail concerning the episode,â he said. âI am a military-man and I will not share with the media my experiences in the force since I am under oath,â he added. <b>âBut I will not be reluctant to say anything before the commission if I am called.â</b>
<b>Mudy Ji :</b> As Pakistanâs Highel than the Himalayas, Deepel than the Pacific Ocean and Lalgel than the Univelse Fliends say : Vee Live in Vely Vely Intelesting Times!
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Nareshji,
Something big is going on inside Military rank. I think biggest coup or civil war inside rank.
My question, Is this is civil war between Wahhabis and Unkle supported rank?
Kiyani interview was very enlightening, even if we clear self promotion, that interview sound to me civil war. It is not only kicking out Unkle supported puppet Muhajir but also re-enforcing Punjab control on Army. Currently, it is not clear to me whether this for Punjabi control or Wahabi control.
<!--QuoteBegin-Mudy+Jun 9 2008, 12:20 AM-->QUOTE(Mudy @ Jun 9 2008, 12:20 AM)<!--QuoteEBegin-->Nareshji,
Something big is going on inside Military rank. I think biggest coup or civil war inside rank.
My question, Is this is civil war between Wahhabis and Unkle supported rank?
Kiyani interview was very enlightening, even if we clear self promotion, that interview sound to me civil war. It is not only kicking out Unkle supported puppet Muhajir but also re-enforcing Punjab control on Army. Currently, it is not clear to me whether this for Punjabi control or Wahabi control.
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<b>Mudy Ji :</b>
Thanks above.
Be that as it may it is my humble opinion that Asif Zardari is absolutely, entirely and totally a CIA-US State Department Man and General Ashfaq Kayani is for the moment - the CIA and US State Department believe - a US man.
Whereas Zardari, having criminal cases to the extent of US Dollars Two to Three Billion against him along with a Murder case or two, cannot reinstate Chief Justice Ifthikhar Chaudhry as the CJ seems to be a Man with a Mind of His Own and as such not only CJ will ensure that Musharraf is impeached but also that the NRO which âforgaveâ Zardari, Nawaz Sherif and the whole is cancelled as the the Groub of <b>B</b>iggest <b>C</b>rimnal and <b>C</b>rooks <b>I</b>nternational Combine will be thrown out.
In this case CJ would take over as President and Aitzaz Ahsan would take over as Prime Minsiter.
Nawaz Sherif might escape CJâs wrath (Both are Pakjabis) in which case CJ will continue, make Nawaz the President until CJâs official retirement and then take over from NS as President. As such I foresee turbulent times in Pakistan, but, Zardari will Rule the Roost in cahoots with General Ashfaq Kayani with Mush the Tush remaining as a âPerformingâ Hijra-Eunuch.
India, would, normally be happy with such an arrangement and the only problem I foresee is that with Pakistanâs Economy and General Condition heading southwards the Three Crooks will be tempted to draw the attention of the Abduls Bulbul and Buqa Bilqisâ away from Pakistanâs Internal Massive Problems by starting a Kashmir âWarâ or re-starting the âKhalistaniâ Episode.
We shall see!
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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The end of President Musharraf: How Soon, How Bad? By Murtaza Shibli
The end of President Musharraf: How Soon, How Bad?
By Murtaza Shibli
Editor, Kashmir Affairs, London
www.kashmiraffairs.org
30th May 2008
In May 2006 while sitting at the house of Kashmiri resistance leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani in Srinagar on the Indian side of Kashmir, Geelani told me about his interesting meeting with President Musharraf at Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi. After talking about the lack of international support for Kashmir, Musharraf sought Geelani's support for his new Kashmir policy. Irritated by his lecturing, when Geelani asked about the viability of his new policy, Musharraf retorted, "Bush and Blair are with me and they support this formula". To Geelani's further remark that it would not be acceptable to the people of Pakistan or Kashmiris, pat came the same reply of Bush and Blair support. With Tony Blair gone a while back and President Bush having not long to go, General Musharraf's options are fast running out. And it seems that his end is very near.
The speculation of the end comes after the current Chief of the Army Staff, General Pervez Ashfaq Kayani held a three and a half hour long meeting with the President on Wednesday 28th May that went till midnight. According to the leading Pakistani daily The News, General Kayani looked his former boss 'in the eye' claiming that the 'longest one-on-one encounter' was significant 'as it took place after day-long consultations of the Army chief with his important commanders'. A day earlier, General Kayani shifted Musharraf's loyal commander Brigadier Aasim Bajwa from the elite Triple One Brigade; a group that has taken active part in all the previous military coups in the country's turbulent history. In addition, the new Army chief removed and replaced the elite commandos that guarded the President's security. Although the official version is that these transfers are routine, two of Pakistan's top defence analysts and former Army Generals â General Talat Mahmood and General Mueen-ud-Din Haider have termed these replacements as extraordinary. It is important to note that these changes came only a few days after the rumours that President Musharraf was trying to replace the army chief through his Constitutional power as the President to appoint new Army Chief.
There are indications which suggest that Musharraf might be sent packing as soon as this weekend. According to the latest reports, special security has been put in place in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi 'in view of significant impending developments' and special contingents have also been deployed at important installations as well as the Army House. The former Army Chief General Mirza Aslam Beg is claiming that Musharraf has been put under virtual house arrest by the Army who is finalising his departure, possibly to Turkey. The News, a leading daily from Pakistan in one of its news reports claimed that a plane from a neighbouring country is waiting as the 'packing at an important house in Rawalpindi is in full swing as the modalities have also been finalised for the exit of the significant family.'
The situation has changed dramatically over the past few days as the Persident is being further isolated politically. Last week, Asif Zardari, the main leader of the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) threw caution to winds and openly attacked Musharraf calling him as part of the problem and asked for his resignation. When his attention was driven towards rising price of commodities and growing public anger, his response that people can bear the price rise but they cannot bear the presence of Pervez Musharraf in the office anymore. According to Pakistani observers, Zardari hardened his stand against President Musharraf due to growing public anger and impatience with the restoration of judiciary that PPP and its leading ally Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had promised during their election campaign. The government's failure to restore judges has already created fissures in the coalition as PML-N ministers resigned in protest, putting PPP leadership under public scanner.
There is also growing media pressure on the PPP government for the restoration of judiciary and many news reports and commentators have directed their anger towards Asif Zardari for the failure to oust Musharraf or restore judiciary. There is anger within the PPP ranks as well. This was evident in a recent PPP meeting headed by the co-chair Asif Zardari wherein many party leaders led a virtual revolt on these issues. Many PPP members believe that going soft with President Musharraf is eroding the party image and that of the newly formed government. Responding to the public anger and political pressure, the PPP announced last week that it was cutting President's powers through a comprehensive constitutional amendment, turning him from an all-powerful leader into a ceremonial figurehead. Asif Ali Zardari's changed stance on President was reflected by the Prime Minister Gilani who in his latest statement did not rule out the possibility of impeachment against the President saying that his government can manage the required support from the law makers.
Although the US is still backing Musharraf and pushing for direct talks between Asif Zardari and the President Musharraf, there is hardly any incentive for Zardari. In fact, such a route is fraught with umpteen dangers as the pressure from multiple sources to dispense with the painful Musharraf legacy is growing. The visible American support is also going against Musharraf as he is seen as a total US stooge with hardly any appeal or utility for the Pakistani masses. Following its path of strategic blunders in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Bush administration is obsessed with Musharraf at the cost of eroding US influence in the region. It is no surprise that despite pumping billions of dollars in aid and assistance during the last 60 years of Pakistan's existence, majority of Pakistanis have a highly unfavourable view of the United States. Suspected 'American hand' is an alibi for all the failures and pathologies that haunt Pakistan today. By supporting Musharraf's undemocratic and dictatorial rule, the US has even lost support and goodwill of the secular civil society of Pakistan that has been spearheading a movement for social change and independent judiciary. Presenting a slice of Pakistani feelings, the Pakistani newspapers, web forums and blogs are littered with anti-American feelings and how Pakistan's civil society and intelligentsia feel betrayed by the US through its support to a President that is widely resented and hated. It is widely believed that it is due the American support that Musharraf is still holding on to his presidency and many Pakistanis have termed it as the insult for their nation that voted against dictatorship and overwhelmingly chose secular politicians to lead the country. Referring to the US influence in Pakistan, one of the Pakistan's senior and secular politician Rasool Baksh Palejo claimed that Pakistan will become America's Waterloo and prove more disastrous than Iraq and Afghanistan.
As the pressure on the President mounts, the US and the Western support may not be able to sustain Musharraf for long and his 'Bush and Blair' blurb seems to have lost relevance. Emboldened by the actions of new Army chief as well as the continuing public anger, the politicians are now calling for Musharraf's head. While the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief has repeated his demand for impeachment, the PPP is also toeing a hard line with the party chief Asif Zardari calling him the main impediment between the public and the government. Shahbaz Sharief, senior leader of the PML-N has called upon Musharraf to step down immediately or else he will be dragged out of his throne with no honour left. Another senior leader and head of the party in largest province Punjab, Zulfiqar Khosa has gone further and demanded that Musharraf should be put on exit control list and banned from leaving the country. He has also called for full investigation into the 'crimes' committed by the Musharraf regime and flayed those are talking about safe passage for the President. The angry voices that call for President Musharraf's head will be further strengthen as the lawyers movement is preparing for a country wide 'long march' against the government's failure to reinstate judges widely perceived to be opposed by the US administration. The planned march would be led by the PPP leader and prominent lawyer Atizaz Ahsan, who has also called for trail of President Musharraf.
The current situation has forced Musharraf's once close political allies into retreat. The Pakistan Muslim Qaid (PML-Q) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) have been strong supporters of the President in the past, but are watching the current developments without offering him any support. The indications are that the crisis might force the new civilian government and the Army to act together and perhaps remove the sticky president by force. Such a move would prove highly popular and reinstate the public image of both the Army and Pakistan People's Party and its government. Many leading newspapers are also calling for Musahrraf to resign. Pakistan's leading Urdu daily Nawa-i-Waqt, in an editorial headlined "King Musharraf," said he was running out of options and should learn a lesson from Nepal's King Gyanendra, who was forced out as monarch this week after its parliament voted to make the country a republic. Another influential English daily, The Daily Times also advised the President to resign adding that by delaying his departure, Musharraf would "only add to the number of his opponents and make them increasingly determined." The odds are heavily staked against the former elite Army commando turned President whose space for any manoeuvre is shrinking by the moment.
The pressure is also building on General Musahrraf to leave the Army House, his chosen seat of power, despite his retirement as the Army Chief last year. Scores of retired Army Generals including his former colleagues and mentors recently launched a public campaign to force him out of the Army House. To humiliate him further, a petition was submitted in the court to remove him from the illegal possession of the building. According to some reports, the new Army Chief General Kayani has also asked Musharraf to leave the Army House and wait for his fate in the Presidential House. Indications are that the President Musharraf is leaving the Army House, but his move into the Presidential Palace is highly uncertain. As the whole country is gunning for his blood, the distance between the Musharraf and his new seat of power is getting wider. It seems his career may be extinguished soon and he may never reach the Presidential Palace.
The writer is Srinagar born security and political analyst based in London. He is also editor of quarterly Kashmir Affairs â www.kashmiraffairs.org
[center]<b><span style='font-size:21pt;line-height:100%'>Mengal for scrapping Gwadar Port, IPI projects</span></b>[/center]
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>BNP leader Akhtar Mengal has demanded of the government to end all projects including Gwadar Port and IPI gas pipeline launched in Balochistan during the Musharraf-led regime, reported a private TV channel on Sunday.</b><!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Cheers <!--emo&:beer--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cheers.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='cheers.gif' /><!--endemo-->
from Telegraph
<b> Few takers for Pak film </b>
Srinagar, June 8 (PTI): Pakistani film Khuda Kay Liye has found few takers in Kashmir, <b>with only 15 persons turning up for its first screening</b> here.
This was the first Pakistani film to be screened in Kashmir in 40 years.
âIt is disappointing. The response continues to be poor even though we get good openings for an average film,â said Noor Mohammad, the manager of Neelam cinema which is screening the film.
Khuda Kay Liye has set box office records in Pakistan and earned accolades from around the world.
Neelam is the only cinema hall open in the Kashmir valley since militancy broke out in the late eighties.
Most other cinema hall owners shut shop after militant groups enforced the closure of cinema houses, liquor shops, bars and beauty parlours.
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