AFGHANISTAN
1.Role of China in Afghanistan will increase after the withdrawal of ISAF in 2014. If the Chinese become an alternate of US for Taliban, Pakistan will have to become the main ally of China against Taliban. China was interested in investing in natural resources in Afghanistan. (Al Qalam Weekly, 6 January to 12 January)

INDIA
1.Water mafia in Pakistan has been involved in selling Pakistan’s water for a long time; when this racket was busted, Jamaat Ali Shah was made the scapegoat on the Nimoo Bazgo dam issue….When the Nimoo Bazgo Dam issue was taken up with India under pressure from the intelligence agencies, the Water and Electricity Secretary Tajwar submitted his investigation report, only 7 days before Jamaat Ali Shah’s retirement; thus, the whole blame was put on Shah in order to save others. The government stopped Shah’s pension and his name was put in ECL but he was still able to fly to Canada. Other players in this scam, who were working for Indian interests, were still moving around freely. On his part, Jamaat Ali Shah denied all allegations and said that some people were trying to settle personal scores with him. He said that he visited Canada to see his ailing mother and that would return to Pakistan soon. Shah claimed that losing the Baglihar Dam case was Musharraf’s mistake. (report in Ummat)

2. Joint Secretary – Water, Imran Cheema has sent a summary to Secretary Water and Electricity for a high-level inquiry against former Indus Water Commission chairman Jamaat Ali Shah. According to sources, the government had not written to the foreign Office to include Jamaat Ali Shah’s name in the ECL, as at the initial stage, the charges against him were not so severe. (Nawa-i-Waqt)

3. Jang EDIT demands a thorough investigation and stern action against those involved in the water issues with India. It was a failure of security agencies that a person whose name was in ECL was able to leave the country without any problems. (Jang Edit)

4.Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh were also annoyed with India as it was trying to divert rivers. After Nepal’s Mahakali River, India is trying to get hold of waters of rivers flowing towards Bangladesh. The report claims that former Vice Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof Muniruzzman said that India was trying to stop waters of Bangladesh to make it barren. It claims that India was constructing a dam on the Barak River flowing towards Bangladesh by violating international laws. (Al Qalam Weekly, 6 January to 12 January)

3. In his column, Nazir Naji writes that India and Pakistan have a very big difference in their foreign policies. India has a strong and stable democratic system in place and its foreign policy is very strong and based on Indian interests. Pakistan only talked about sovereignty but real sovereignty could be seen in India’s foreign policy. Naji says that this had nothing to do with the size and population of a country. He writes that a small country like Malaysia also had a foreign policy based on its own interests. He says that when India made defence agreements with Soviet Union, it was on equal terms; India had always kept its own interests and benefits ahead of everything in trade agreements as well. Naji says that no government in India could make a pact with another nation that would bring losses to India as the powerful Indian Parliament kept a vigil on all matters. He further says that in Pakistan, power had remained in the hands of a single person or a small group of people; generally, the Army ruled the nation and for them, the interests of their own department were more important than Pakistan. Naji writes that Pakistan Army’s agreements with the US could be taken as a proof of this; he says that despite opposition, Pakistan has continued to work for the US. He says that despite doing everything for the US, it had discarded Pakistan on the Afghanistan issue. He says that Pakistan had lost its dignity in front of the international community; yet it was not ready to bring its policies out of Military hands. Naji says that Pakistan has become habituated to viewing international relations through   lenses of friendship or enmity and hence, no country was with Pakistan today. He says that Pakistan has been isolated and despite everything, it still hasn’t been able to see the hurdles in the way of its relations with China; instead, Pakistan has chosen to restore relations with the US. (Jang)

UNITED STATES
1. With permission from PM Gilani and COAS Gen. Kayani, DG ISI Lt. Gen. Shujaa Pasha met US officials in Qatar, according to sources. that the US is continuing with backdoor restoration of intelligence cooperation with Pakistan. US secret agencies released information to Pakistan regarding the joint operation against high value target in Pakistan’s tribal agencies and it is also said that there was possibility of Pakistan acting upon this information. (Khabrain)

2. Chairman of the Senate Standing Committee for Foreign Affairs Senator Salim Saifullah said negotiations with Taliban were going on and if the US could hold talks with Taliban, Pakistan should do the same. He said that the duration of the 2002 US-Pak agreement was almost over. (Jinnah)

3. Dafa-e-Pakistan Council has called for a meeting in Islamabad tomorrow to review the National Security Committee’s recommendations to open supplies to NATO. Maulana Sami ul Haq, Syed Munawar Hassan, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Gen. (Retd.) Hamid Gul, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Aijazul Haq and other leaders are in contact with each other in this regard. They say that supply lines for the USA and NATO forces in Afghanistan could not be reopened and that protests against India being given MFN status will continue. A meeting, presided over by Hafiz Saeed, was held at Al-Qudsiya Chaubarsi where it was decided that contacts with all religious and political parties would be intensified for an opposition to National Security Committee’s recommendations to open NATO supply lines. (Daily Pak)

4. Former ISI chief Gen (Retd) Hamid Gul said that US was in trouble and it was a great time for the government to get Pakistan’s demands accepted. He claimed that the US had directly approached Mullah Omar for a compromise. (Ummat)

5. Reliable sources have indicated that Sherry Rehman is in two minds about taking on her new assignment in Washington ass she is afraid that the establishment is ready to pack off the government at any moment. (Awami Awaz, 5 January)

DEFENCE
1.Security has been tightened in Karachi following intelligence inputs about a likely terror attack. Intelligence reports state that elements trained by one Mast Gul alias Habib Allah, a Taliban commander in Waziristan, have entered Karachi. The CID, Investigation Wing and other concerned authorities have also been put on alert. Hotels found open at night were also asked to shut down. (Awami Awaz)

2. Investigating departments were trying to find out links of TTP commanders Mast Gul’s and Qari Habibullah’s network. These departments have information that both commanders were controlling their groups in Waziristan from Karachi and were planning some terrorist activity. It was said that a militant called Farhan from the Taliban Punjabi Group confessed to two attacks on Rangers at the University Road. The report says that Farhan claimed that he got instructions from Commander Qari Aslam in South Waziristan via the Amir of Karachi Shakirullah. (Ummat)

3. Both Nawa-i-Waqt and Daily Pak uphold CJ’s statement on military courts and say that in a democratic set up, there is no room for military courts, as it would be come in the way of free judiciary. (Nawa-i-Waqt Edit, Daily Pak Edit)

TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
1. In his column, Arif Bahar noted that on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azah, Interior Minister Rahman Malik had thanked TTP for allowing people to have peaceful Eid. He says this is  the first indication that negotiations with TTP and its factions were underway. Bahar writes that negotiations with Taliban were a very significant development; this can also be seen in Washington’s latest statement that Mullah Omer was not a terrorist and his name has been removed from the list of most wanted terrorists. (Jasarat)

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has given a green signal for inducting leaders from other Muslim League factions into PML-N in order to restrain them from joining PTI. Sources say that a meeting of the Muslim league factions was held which was chaired by Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif’s son Salman Shahbaz; at this meeting, it was decided to unit Muslim league factions to combat PTI. Sources say leaders from Muslim League factions said that in the first phase, all factions would unite and in the second phase, they would join PML-N. Nawaz Sharif appealed to these leaders for acting on this plan by the end of this month. This meeting was attended by Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, Khwaja Asif, Muslim League Zia chief Aijazul Haq, PML-Q Likeminded group Humayun Akhtar. (Jinnah)

2. Taj Haider, senior PPP leader in Sindh stated that Nawaz Sharif seems to have got some assurance of support which has prompted him to rush to court with the Memogate brief. (Awami Awaz)

3. Musharraf said that Pakistanis should give him another chance, otherwise only God could save them from disaster. He said that he would return to Pakistan soon to handle the political crises. (Jang)

4. PML-Q leaders Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhary Pervez Elahi met with President Zardari and exchanged views on the national political situation. Both pledged to enhancing cooperation in the establishment of democracy and solving other issues.  (Jinnah)

5. Mujibur Rehman Shammi, a noted commentator, has said if Saraiki and Hazara provinces come up, then one day even Karachi province will come up. He said without a nod from the provincial assemblies, the federal government could not do anything to set up new provinces. (Awami Awaz)

6. According to a report, ANP Chief Asfandyar Wali Khan met President Zardari and said that ANP may leave the coalition in protest against the Bill on New Provinces that has been presented by MQM. (Ummat)

7. JUI-F Chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman said that JI’s demand for 50% seats for the restoration of MMA was illogical. He would think of other options if the MMA was not restored. He indicated that elections could take place before time. According to JI, they did not want any seats, but if Fazlur Rahman wanted MMA restoration, he needed to break relations with President Zardari.. (Ummat, Nawa-i-Waqt, Daily Pak)

8. Ghinwa Bhutto has alleged that Shoaib Suddle, former chief of IB who recently joined PTI, was involved in the killings of Murtaza Bhutto and 20,000 innocents in Karachi. (Ibrat)

9. MQM’s deputy parliamentary leader Haider Abbas Rizvi said that in the next general elections, MQM may have an alliance with JUI-F. (Jasarat)

10. Ausaf EDIT is critical of the debate over of formation of new provinces. Earlier, ANP politicized the issue of changing FATA’s name to KP. Nothing changed just by changing the name of the province. Edit says that politics over this issue were just another tactic to divert attention from other genuine issues of people. (Ausaf Edit, 5 January)

11. In his column, Shahnawaz Farooqui writes that the history of Pakistan could be divided into two parts – the history of dictatorship and martial laws and the history of getting rid of the effects of dictatorship. He said Pakistanis are creative in their political stances and have always pursued ideas which are not seen in either India or the US. Farooqui writes that this time, the Pakistani society will experiment with PTI chief Imran Khan. (Jasarat)

12. In his column, Irfan Siddiqui discusses the return of Musharraf. He writes that Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif, Shahbaz Sharif, Chaudhary Iftekhar Ahmad and many others were all true Pakistanis but were treated indifferently during Musharraf’s rule. He says that President Zardari gave Musharraf a guard of honour for his safe passage. He further says that Musharraf’s political family has gathered under PTI’s roof; Musharraf has frequently mentioned that PTI was also a guarantee for Pakistan’s welfare.  Musharraf’s politics, ideology and popularity should be left unto him but it should not be conveyed that a bad General could live without any trouble after his retirement. Siddiqui says that Musharraf’s return to Pakistan would be a difficult test for the Army as well. (Jang)

13. Nawa-i-Waqt edit on SC’s show cause notice to Babar Awan   says  since the government fears that the SC decision will not be in its favour, its members are not taking court orders seriously and are in fact making fun of them; if the final decision is against the government, it will be able to pose as an injured party and gain public sympathy. (Nawa-i-Waqt Edit)

14. Jang edit says that the Pakistani society is concerned about the turmoil in Pakistan. Keeping in view Pakistan’s internal requirements and the role that international community could play for Pakistan, policies should be made through which Pakistan would be able to control its problems and regain its lost dignity as a nation. (Jang Edit)

15. Ibrat writes that PML(N) now seems to be fighting for ‘somebody else’ as evident from PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal’s offer to give parties all 92 seats in the national assembly if MQM  and ANP went ahead to oust the present government. (Ibrat Edit)

16. Akram Sheikh, speaking for Mansoor Ijaz, told media persons that while the President is bound to appear before the Memo commission, the ISI chief is not bound to report to the PM. He stated that the ISI chief is bound to report to the Army chief. He told the media that Ijaz would definitely come to Pakistan to appear before the commission. (Awami Awaz)

PUNJAB
1. Nawa-i-Waqt urges that the Punjab government to immediately accept Turkey’s offer to set up an energy plant in Punjab since all industries have shut down due to the power crisis. Edit says that under the 18th amendment, provinces have a right to start energy projects. (Nawa-i-Waqt Edit)

SINDH
1. MQM has decided to devastate Mohajir Quami Movement with full force. It is collecting records of old cases against Mohajir Quami Movement activists and MQM patrons in 18 police stations of 7 towns had been given the job to start a new operation. (Ummat)

2. Speaking at a Benazir University function at Larkana, the Sindh CM said that division of Sindh into more provinces will never be allowed to happen. (Ibrat)

BALOCHISTAN
1. Ummat discusses the statement made by Sardar Ataullah Mengal that freedom fighters would have to think about whether they would be able to get freedom and more importantly, whether they would be able to maintain it. Edit supports Mengal’s statement and says that Balochistan wanted freedom more from tyrannies than from Pakistan. Feudals had done nothing for the downtrodden of Balochistan and hence, unless the power came back to the people, freedom from Pakistan would make no sense for the people. (Ummat Edit)

POK NEWS
1.Ausaf conducted a survey on the Kashmir issue and its report states that the people of J&K have not been given their right to self determination and India has continued killing innocent Kashmiris. It says that AJK leaders were busy in political tussle, when the people in J&K are struggling for their independence and many Kashmiri leaders are suffering in Indian jails. It quotes former advisor to Pakistan government Chaudhary Ali Shah saying that Army generals have always put Kashmir in cold storage and that since Pakistan had a democratic government which has taken a tough stance against NATO, it can take a tough stance to get the UN resolution in Kashmir implemented. . (Ausaf, 5 January)

2. Talking to a private TV channel, AJK President Sardar Yaqoob Khan said that Kashmiris were the protectors of Pakistan’s ideological and geographical borders and urged the international community to take notice of the black laws imposed in J&K. (Daily Dharti)

3. Speaking at the Governor House in Lahore, AJK PM Chaudhary Abdul Majeed said that the Kashmir cause would not be affected even if India was given the MFN status. He added that Musharraf had tried to divide Kashmir into parts only to prolong his dictatorship but did not succeed. (Daily Dharti, Ausaf 5 January)

4. Former AJK PM Barrister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhary has said that no compromise would be acceptable on Kashmir and added that if Pakistan did not come out its illusion, its borders would not remain safe. (Daily Dharti)

5. MQM leaders Tahir Khokhar, Saleem Butt and Farooq Sattar have demanded that standard educational institutions be opened in AJK under the OPF. (Daily Dharti)

6. Forest Minister Sardar Javed Ayub said that the government has no plans of making either AJK or Gilgit-Baltistan provinces and claimed that the opposition was just trying to play their politics by making it an issue. (Daily Dharti)  

7. AJK government has refused to accept demands put forth by the Intra Kashmir Traders Union and has forcibly transported 120 trucks to Rawalpindi from Muzaffarabad. Another report says that traders have ended their sit-in and have announced that they will stop the Srinagar –Muzaffarabad trade until their demands are accepted. (Daily Dharti, Baad-e-Shimal)

8. People of Gahkuch have announced that they will initiate a public agitation against discrimination in power supply. (Baad-e-Shimal)

9. Daily Dharti edit says that a tug-of-war over rights is always underway between the governments of AJK and Pakistan, and the bureaucracy. Edit says that the AJK government has failed to keep the bureaucracy under its influence; over past five months, AJK bureaucrats had rejected many decisions taken by the cabinet. This has affected the government writ. Edit says that the government should try to contain the bureaucracy. (Daily Dharti Edit)

G-B NEWS
1. Baad-e-Shimal expresses concern over law and order situation in G-B, after the murder of police personnel yesterday. It says that the government gave sectarian clout to any terrorist incident but failed to investigate and punish real culprits. It says that even though over 5000 security personnel have been appointed across a small city like Gilgit, criminals still managed to disappear after carrying out the crime. (Baad-e-Shimal -Edit)

2. Ausaf writes that  due to winters, the Attabad Lake is frozen and boat services have been stopped and 25000 people have been affected. Edit condemns the political system which did nothing and left the people at the mercy of God. Edit claims that Gilgit-Baltistan government and CM Mehdi Shah were doing all they could but the actual resources were with the federal government. (Ausaf Edit, 5 January)