08-19-2009, 12:45 AM
Nightwatch 16 August 2009 update.....
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Pakistan: <b>President Zardari on 14 August lifted a ban on political activity in the Pashtun tribal belt on the Afghan border, Reuters reported.</b> Zardari said Pashtun tribesmen should not have a different identity, and because they are Pakistani citizens, all laws and rights should be apply to the people who live in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The story behind the story is that <b>the government is slowly using its political powers to break the political autonomy of the tribal agencies. The Constitution guarantees the agencies a large measure of political and administrative autonomy, under the Presidency, not the parliament.</b>Â
<b>In opening the agencies to Pakistanâs political parties, the Presidency is undermining the isolation and provincialism of the tribes that the current Constitutional arrangement promotes.</b>Â Pakistan just took an important step in the direction of breaking the hold of the elders, imams and the district agents.
Security. <b>At least 17 members of the Maulvi Nazir faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP aka the Pakistani Taliban), including Maulvi Nazir himself, have been killed in fighting with the Baitullah Mehsud group, rival leader Turkistan Bhittani told</b> a private TV channel on Sunday.
The significance of this is that <b>Maulvi Nazir and his fighters were pro-government militants for more than a year. The Maulvi sought to steer the movement to support fighting in Afghanistan to force US forces to leave. Baitullah Mehsud focused the movement against the Pakistan government as an agent of the US.</b> The two factions regularly skirmish.
<b>Pakistan-Turkey-Iran:</b> For the record. The BBC reported on Friday that Pakistan has begun its<b> first international freight train service from Islamabad to Istanbul. The 6,500km (4,040 mile) trial service via Tehran is a pilot project of the regional Economic Co-operation Organization.</b>
The train will pull 20 cars on its maiden journey from Islamabad railway station, delivering 14 to Tehran and six to Istanbul a fortnight after it sets off. The first journey will also take railway experts from the three countries on board to gauge performance and check for obstacles over the vast route.
Officials <b>expect it to boost Pakistan's trade with Turkey and Iran - currently estimated at $1bn - by as much as 50%. There are also hopes the route will eventually provide a link to Europe and Central Asia, and carry passengers.</b>
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Pakistan: <b>President Zardari on 14 August lifted a ban on political activity in the Pashtun tribal belt on the Afghan border, Reuters reported.</b> Zardari said Pashtun tribesmen should not have a different identity, and because they are Pakistani citizens, all laws and rights should be apply to the people who live in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The story behind the story is that <b>the government is slowly using its political powers to break the political autonomy of the tribal agencies. The Constitution guarantees the agencies a large measure of political and administrative autonomy, under the Presidency, not the parliament.</b>Â
<b>In opening the agencies to Pakistanâs political parties, the Presidency is undermining the isolation and provincialism of the tribes that the current Constitutional arrangement promotes.</b>Â Pakistan just took an important step in the direction of breaking the hold of the elders, imams and the district agents.
Security. <b>At least 17 members of the Maulvi Nazir faction of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP aka the Pakistani Taliban), including Maulvi Nazir himself, have been killed in fighting with the Baitullah Mehsud group, rival leader Turkistan Bhittani told</b> a private TV channel on Sunday.
The significance of this is that <b>Maulvi Nazir and his fighters were pro-government militants for more than a year. The Maulvi sought to steer the movement to support fighting in Afghanistan to force US forces to leave. Baitullah Mehsud focused the movement against the Pakistan government as an agent of the US.</b> The two factions regularly skirmish.
<b>Pakistan-Turkey-Iran:</b> For the record. The BBC reported on Friday that Pakistan has begun its<b> first international freight train service from Islamabad to Istanbul. The 6,500km (4,040 mile) trial service via Tehran is a pilot project of the regional Economic Co-operation Organization.</b>
The train will pull 20 cars on its maiden journey from Islamabad railway station, delivering 14 to Tehran and six to Istanbul a fortnight after it sets off. The first journey will also take railway experts from the three countries on board to gauge performance and check for obstacles over the vast route.
Officials <b>expect it to boost Pakistan's trade with Turkey and Iran - currently estimated at $1bn - by as much as 50%. There are also hopes the route will eventually provide a link to Europe and Central Asia, and carry passengers.</b>
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