2. Sindh Assembly speaker Nissar Khoro said that visa policies needed to be simplified to improve trade between India and Pakistan. He said that there was no issue about the Sindhi Hindu migration to India as Hindus from Sindh visited holy places in India every year and after these visits, they returned to Pakistan. He denied reports that Sindhi Hindus were leaving Sindh due to law and order problems. (Ibrat)

3. AJK speaker Sardar Ghulam Sadiq has accused India of diverting attention of the international community from the Kashmir issue by carrying out firing on the ceasefire line. (Jinnah)

4. In Kawish, Mehsan Babbar commenting on the Bhasha and Kalabagh dams says that government starts every big project on the Indus costing billions of dollars on the excuse that the country is going through a serious power and water shortage. Though the PPP-led government had made announcements about scrapping the Kalabagh project, during its rule, no such directives were given either to the PPP Punjab unit or even to WAPDA; this was why WAPDA kept taking up the case of Kalabagh till date. Babbar says that no foreign lending agency was prepared to extend loans to Pakistan for the Bhasha dam; every foreign lender gives excuses of the dam coming up in the disputed Gilgit-Baltistan region and the Indian claim over this territory. Babbar says these agencies claim they would have to take approval from India and only then extend loans for this project. Babbar says that activities over the last fortnight suggest that something big was cooking as far as Kalabagh was concerned; he says that this time round, even judicial activism tried to revive the Kalabagh issue, but it remains to be seen what stand would be taken by the federal government. He claims that there was a lot of difference in statements made in front of the media and those in the stand taken before the judiciary. Babbar says that if the government has to give a reply before the court on the Kalabagh dam issue, this would be kept secret and that it would not be about scrapping of the project. Babbar says that PPP kept saying that the Kalabagh was not possible without consensus amongst all provinces, but it had never said this formally as the provinces were not agreeing on it despite repeated attempts to convince them. Babbar says this project was not in the interests of three provinces and hence, it was being given up for good. (Kawish)

UNITED STATES
1. The US has said that the issue of minorities was a part of the negotiations with Pakistan. (Ausaf)

2. In Jang, Hamid Mir says while putting WikiLeaks Julian Assange on the most-wanted list, the US and UK have no shame in protecting Pakistan’s enemies like Musharraf, Brahamdagh Bugti, Harbyar Marri and others.  Mir writes that the difference between Assange and Musharraf is that the latter was working for the US while the former became a threat for American interests. (Jang)

3. In Jang, columnist Arif Bahar writes that NATO and the US were behind the Salala check-post attack which was carried out with the intention to deliver a message to Pakistan. Bahar is of the opinion that the message was that if Pakistan did not act against militants in North Waziristan or continue supporting them, it will not be tolerated. Bahar writes that Pakistan Taliban had stopped attacks within Pakistan as the impression was that the US-Pak relations had gone bad and that Pakistan will not kneel under US pressure to start operations against them. Bahar writes that the Kamra airbase attack was carried out after the ISI chief visited the US and after the American media gave an impression that Pakistan was ready to carry out an operation in North Waziristan against Taliban. Bahar writes that the Kamra airbase attack was sufficient to indicate that there will be repercussions to any operation in North Waziristan against Taliban. (Jasarat)

4. Nissar Khan, chief of Khaksar Tahreek, said that increasing American drone attacks on tribal areas was a cause for concern. He added that attacks in tribal areas on Eid were a sign of America’s anti-Islamic attitude that claimed that this act was to mock Muslims. (Ausaf)   

5. Jang editorially expressed relief that the Eid had passed off by and large peacefully. The daily however criticized the US for conducting drone strikes, saying that these attacks reduced Eid’s joy.  Pakistan has been saying from the beginning that drone strikes are not the right way to get a desired result in the war on terror. But unfortunately, the US is not willing to understand this theory and has continued to kill innocent people in the tribal areas; this has only increased hatred. Edit says Pakistan is US’ frontline ally and hence instead of going against the will of Pakistan, the US should ask India to end its 14 consulates in Afghanistan that have been providing all kinds of support to Afghan migrants in refugee camps to work against Pakistan. Edit says that the US should believe the words of PM Ashraf that no power in the world could threaten Pakistan. (Jang Edit)

6. Ausaf editorial on drone attacks on North Waziristan during the Eid says Pakistan had termed these attacks as a violation of international laws but the US was not paying attention to Pakistan’s protests. Pakistan resumed NATO supply lines under pressure from the international community and the world community was now avoiding the issue of drone strikes which were killing innocent women and children. Edit said Islamabad should adopt a firm stand against drone strikes and if the US did not stop these attacks, cooperation with Washington should be stopped in all spheres. (Ausaf Edit)

TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
1. An outfit called ‘Jaisha-e-Omer’ has the claimed responsibility for burning of UN’s storehouse in Quetta which was used to keep grain to support Afghan migrants. (Jasarat)

2.Aurangzeb Farooqui, chief of Ahl-e-Sunnat O Al Jamaat, said that they will not tolerate their activists being ill-treated in jails. He said that some state institutions were biased on religious grounds. Farooqui claimed that the activists of Ahl-e-Sunnat who were prisoners had been tortured before them being shifted to the Sukkur jail. (Jasarat)

3. Naeem Bhura has been appointed as the new in-charge of MQM target killers. He is using a sim card registered in Malaysia. (Ummat)

4. Ibrat editorially voiced concern that fundamentalism was on a rise in Pakistan and this had added to the country’s negative image. Despite being a nuclear nation, the public, Army, places of worship or key personalities were not safe from terror attacks. No major festival could be celebrated anymore in a carefree manner; even children could not be sent to schools without fear. The parliamentary committee on children recently said that about 2.25 crore children did not go to school across Pakistan. During the past 5 years, 500 places of worship in the tribal areas had been attacked by militants, resulting in forced denial of education to about 5 lakh children. There were several schools in Sindh and Balochistan that existed only on paper; if they did exist, they are reduced to the state of warehouses by the powerful in those areas. Edit says that if timely intervention is not carried out to arrest these trends, Pakistan will be heading to an era of illiteracy for which Pakistan’s leadership would have only itself to blame. (Ibrat Edit)

5. Daily Pak editorially endorsed federal Interior Advisor Rehman Malik’s decision to ban mobile services in certain areas during Eid. But it points out that mobile connections were provided without procuring any information from consumers and because of this, terrorists had started using mobile phones as remote controls for bomb blasts. Edit criticised Indian government decision not to allow more than 5 SMSes and said this was Indian government’s effort to suppress affected peoples’ voices, who had been rendered homeless in Assam. (Daily Pak Edit)

6. Jasarat says Interior Advisor Rehman Malik had found a new and laughable method to control terrorism which is to block mobile services. It says that blocking of mobile phone services during Eid caused problems for crores of people. Edit says that the government was reportedly thinking of closing down prepaid mobile services and writes that this method was not going to stop terrorism as militants may have purchased sim cards from foreign countries. (Jasarat Edit)

7. Ummat’s editorial has criticised the government for its restrictions like barring mobile phone services, restricting pillion riding on motorcycles and removing roadside hawkers. Such restrictions in order to save people from terrorists are hardly beneficial. Edit says that the government should have taken steps necessary to avoid untoward incident. (Ummat Edit)

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. The opposition has rejected government’s proposal to nominate Aitzaz Ahsan, Raza Rabbani or Asfandyar Wali as caretaker PM. (Khabrain)

2. It has been learnt PML-N has come up with a strategy to combat PPP and PTI in the upcoming elections. After returning from Saudi Arabia, Nawaz Sharif will hold a meeting with Pakhtunkhwah Awami Mili Party leader Mehmood Khan Achakzai and other nationalist leaders in Quetta; PPP’s dejected leaders would also be contacted. Other nationalist leaders including Sardar Mumtaz Bhutto had been involved in PML-N earlier.   Awami Tehrik leader Ayaz Palejo was also in contact with PML-N and very soon, a meeting may be held between him and Nawaz Sharif. Many PML-N leaders had been given a green signal for making an alliance with JI in KP. (Khabrain)

3. Former JI chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed said that the issue of writing to Swiss authorities should be left to the next PM. He said that even the caretaker government should not be asked to follow SC’s verdict. He said that the elections were a solution to the confrontation with the judiciary. (Jasarat)

ECONOMY-WATER- ENERGY
1. Federal Minister for Water and Electricity Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar said that there was equal load-shedding amongst all provinces and claimed that the public will not be misled in the name of load-shedding. He said that in the national grid, there were representatives of all provinces and power companies. He claimed that the Punjab government incited people on the issue of load-shedding to get political mileage. (Urdupoint)

2. Daily Pak’s editorial says global food prices are likely to rise due to shortages. Pakistan is self-sufficient as far as wheat production is concerned and is able to export wheat. If it adopted a correct strategy, it could export rice and sugar too and compete with India and Thailand which are exporting rice. The daily laments that Pakistan has to import edible oil.  (Daily Pak)

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWAH (NWFP/FATA)
1. KP CM Amir Hyder Hoti said that the issue of North Waziristan was an internal issue and that there were forums to take decisions on it. Hoti said that no foreign force had the right to interfere in North Waziristan. He said that the government, military and people will decide on North Waziristan collectively. (Urdupoint)

2. Ausaf editorial said government and private education systems in tribal areas had collapsed as many schools had been attacked and lakhs of students were deprived of education. Experts have warned that the youth, deprived of education, may become preys to militancy. (Ausaf Edit)

SINDH
1. Comrade Ghulam Rasool Saheto, who has been agitating for the past 3 months against water shortage in the Kherpur district, said one and a half lakh acres of land in Kherpur district had been destroyed due to water shortage and another one and a half lakh acres had been affected due to tube-wells not working. He said that the Sindh CM may be an honest person, but he was helpless as he had been asked not to intervene in irrigation-related issues. Saheto has moved to Islamabad to continue his protest. (Ibrat)

2. 12 people were killed and 25 injured in Karachi despite fool-proof security on Eid. (Jasarat)

POK/ G-B NEWS
1. As per the AJK News Papers Society (AKNS), all state newspapers would start regular publications from 24th August. (Daily Dharti)

2.Sources said the administration has put a ban on driving vehicles in Gilgit due to recent violence. (Jang)