UNITED STATES
1. Arif Bahar writes that the US Consulate in Islamabad paid USD 70 crores to Pakistan’s media outlets in the name of advertisement, in order to convince Pakistanis that the American government had nothing to do with the blasphemous film. Pakistanis did not buy this argument and came out on the streets to register their protests against the film.  Public tried to move towards American trade interests but the police used force against them which resulted in violence. Bahar writes that the media then started condemning the violence; he is of the opinion that this was an effort to reduce the seriousness of the issue of the anti-Islam film. (Jasarat)

2. US aid would be stopped if the Pakistan government did not take an action against Railway Minister Ghulam Ahmed Bilour. (Ummat)

3. Daily Dharti criticizes American authorities for misbehaving with AJK President and his delegates at the John F. Kennedy Airport, New York. Sardar Yaqoob was kept under arrest for two hours and one of his subordinates was taken into custody. The daily laments that neither the Pakistani government nor the Pakistani Embassy registered any protest. Just like the Indian government, the Pakistani authorities should also condemn such actions. (Daily Dharti Edit)
 
INDIA
1. India has started using Pakistani Hindus in Indian camps for anti-Pakistan propaganda. Local organizations and the Interior Ministry in Rajasthan were making efforts to get Indian citizenship for these Hindu families. The western media was spreading false stories of cruelties against Hindus in Pakistan. (Ummat)

2. On   a visit to UK, JI AJK chief Abdul Rashid Turabi said that   the All Party Kashmir Rabta Committee (UK) was a symbol of unity and that Kashmiris had made UK a base camp of the freedom movement. Turabi said that George Galloway, British MP from Bradford, had announced that he will begin a movement to end the military cordoning-off of J&K. (Ausaf, 25 September)

3. AJK President Sardar Yaqoob has alleged that the Indian lobby was behind conspiracies against him. He said that reports about his arrest were not true and in fact, he was given a great welcome at the airport. He said that OIC would be taken into confidence over the Kashmir issue and that he would not sit quietly until the right to self determination was achieved. (Daily Dharti)

4. Muhammad Omer Farooq refers to ongoing negotiations between Indian and Pakistan on trade and writes that efforts are made to suppress’ jihadi movement’ by raising voices against terrorism and extremism. Farooq writes that simple minded people were thinking that by talks Kashmir issue will be resolved and writes that by meetings of rich people Kashmir dispute will not be resolved and invites people to make their lives successful by ‘jihadi life’. Farooq writes that the 558 verses of Quran, the life of Prophet and his life of his companions shows that Kashmir and other issues can only be resolved by jihad. (Al Qalam Weekly, 21September – 27 September)

5. Speaking at Kashmir Council budget session in Islamabad, PM Ashraf said that just well-wishing was not sufficient between India and Pakistan; negotiations will have to be made meaningful in order to resolve pending issues. He said that Pakistan supported the Kashmiri right to self-determination; he said human rights violations in J&K will have to be stopped. Ashraf claimed that the Kashmir issue had been raised strongly at the foreign secretary level talks with India and it was also said that Kashmiris should be included in the talks as a party to the dispute. (Jasarat)

DEFENCE
1. Indonesian Defense Minister Dr. Purnomo Yusgiantoro met with his Pakistani counterpart Syed Naved Qamar and discussed issues of mutual interest. (Jinnah)

TERRORISM/ ANTI –FILM PROTESTS
1. Qurban Baloch says for the first time, people like him got scared during protests in Islamabad on Friday. PPP has so far been considered a secular and liberal party, but developments on Friday across the country during protests show that the love for Prophet has broken even this belief and exposed the claims that PPP was secular. He says that the violence took place when the President was scheduled for his US trip, where he was to address the UN; hence, this violence was a clear message to European countries that have depended on such parties for being liberal and secular. Baloch says these parties were no different from the rest. With regards to MQM’s ultimatum, Baloch feels this was part of the drama being played by PPP and MQM so that PPP consults MQM for setting up the caretaker government.  (Kawish)

2. Difa-e-Pakistan Council (Bannu) organized a convention (jirga) in which tribal heads participated; JI chief Syed Munawar Hassan, chairman of DPC Sami-ul-Haq and former ISI chief Hamid Gul said that tribals had never bowed down to anyone and that the US did not want peace in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They said that tribals were nationalists and that the atrocities inflicted on tribals on the pretext of war against the Haqqani Network were condemnable. They said that there was a possibility of destruction across Pakistan if the operation in North Waziristan was carried out and warned that no one in Pakistan would be safe in the aftermath of such an operation. Sami-ul-Haq said that the DPC condemned the drone attacks. He alleged that even the Pakistan government was not sincere in restoring peace.   Muslim Conference Chief Sardar Atiq, Maulana Fazlur Rahman Khalil and Ahl-e-Sunnat Amir Maulana Ludhianvi also attended the jirga. (Jang, Jinnah, Khabrain)

3.Young Welfare Society chief Tariq Bashir asked political and religious leaders to establish a think-tank that would guide Muslims in situations like the anti-Islam film. (Jang)

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. JI Secretary General Liyaqat Baloch said that President Zardari should oust MQM from the ruling coalition by showing courage. He said that MQM was resorting to extortion by threatening to leave the ruling coalition. (Jasarat)

2. JUI-F chairman Maulana Fazlur Rahman said that the MMA had been revived without JI. He said that JI had set impossible conditions, which were not acceptable. (Daily Hazara News)

3. Many senior PTI leaders would have trouble maintaining their positions except Imran Khan who would continue as the party chief. Sadaqat Abbasi told ‘The News’ that there was complete democracy in the party and that even he could contest elections against Imran Khan. (Jang)

4. Election Commission has sought details of assets of Senate members, MNAs and MPAs before 30th September. (Jasarat)

5. Jasarat editorially appreciated that President Zardari raised the anti-Islam film issue with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and in his UN address. All Muslim countries should jointly sponsor a joint resolution at the UN. (Jasarat Edit)

6. Daily Pak editorially endorsed the SC decree against MNAs and MPAs holding dual citizenships. It noted that these elected members had deliberately given wrong declarations while submitting nomination during elections. (Daily Pak Edit)

7. It is obligatory for the government as well as the Election Commission to act as per SC’s instructions in the dual nationality case. (Jang Edit)

8. EDIT criticizes the SC for harping so much on the issue of writing to the Swiss authorities as if there were no other important issues before the country. The state institutions should stop confronting each other on this issue and concentrate on the country’s problems. It was clear that the judiciary was helping the government complete its term under the guise of this issue. It all seems pre-planned and manipulated to distract the public’s attention away from actual problems. On the one hand, the SC has accepted the President’s immunity, but on the other, it was asking the government to take action according to its instructions. Edit comments that this was a blind game being played to save the semblance of democracy and maintain status quo. (Daily Intekhab Edit)
    
9. EDIT talks about the NRO case and writing to the Swiss government. It claims that the draft letter has been sent back from the SC with some changes within a day’s time. Edit says that even though this was a test of the government’s sincerity, it was taking a long time and was holding up other cases. Edit says that the government had completely failed and the public had no other options but to look up to the judiciary for justice; hence, the judiciary was under obligation to settle issues of national interest first. Edit says that the government was not ready to respect the judiciary and accept its instructions, but he NRO case would be a bitter learning experience for it. (Ummat Edit)

10. EDIT refers to MQM’s threat to leave PPP-led coalition and writes that this was an old MQM tactic of blackmailing the government. (Jasarat Edit)

11. EDIT is critical of MQM’s ultimatum to PPP at a time when President Zardari was attending the UN session in New York. Edit says that this was not the right time to get involved in petty conflicts. (Daily Pak Edit)

ECONOMY-WATER- ENERGY
1. Federal government has released Rs. 36 crores to WAPDA for expediting the completion of the Darawat Dam, 70 kilometres from Hyderabad in Sindh. President Zardari had laid the foundation stone for it two-and-a-half years ago. The dam is likely to be completed by the end of this year but the irrigation system will be ready by 2013.  (Kawish)

2. Despite heavy rains and floods, there may be a 17 per cent short fall in water availability for the Rabi season. Punjab and Sindh will get 17% less water while KP and Balochistan will be exempted from such cuts. IRSA Advisory Committee has rejected Sindh’s demand for water distribution as per the 1991 treaty on grounds that the distribution will be according to the existing system. It has been indicated that water levels in Tarbela and Mangla were satisfactory. Observers from Sindh think that water shortage could affect Rabi crops in Sindh. (Ibrat)

3. A SDPI report claims that 33% of Pakistanis lived below poverty line whereas 88% of the people of Balochistan were under BPL. (Jasarat, Daily Intekhab)

SINDH
1. PM Ashraf telephoned the Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad and told him that MQM’s reservations will be removed. (Urdupoint)
2. After MQM threatened to pull out of the PPP –led coalition, a meeting was held between Sindh CM Qaim Ali Shah and Sindh Governor Sindh. Shah assured the Governor about issuing a notification of reconstruction of local government system as soon as possible. (Jinnah)

3. PML-F’s Pir Pagaro has reiterated that his party rejects the new ordinance on local government. He said that PPP should have had this ordinance passed in the Sindh Assembly. He said under the ordinance, the Mayor would have more powers than even the CM. Pagaro said that even though the legal experts demanded the material on which this ordinance is based, PPP never provided it. (Ibrat)

4. Sindh Bachao Committee has given a call for a state-wide bandh; they have also called for all highways to be shut down. The Convenor of this Committee Jalal Mahmood Shah said that the Committee was ready for a debate on the new ordinance on the local government system. Addressing a press conference alongside Jiye Sindh Tehrik, Jiye Sindh Quami Mahaz, JUI, Pakhtunkhwah Awami Mili Party, and Sindh National Movement, Shah appealed for the bandh to be peaceful. (Ibrat)

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWAH (NWFP/FATA)
1. Khyber Agency’s political administration says that 20 WAPDA employees, who had been kidnapped from Peshawar, were being kept in captivity and the kidnappers were demanding the release of 20 terrorist held in different jails in exchange. (Awami Awaz)

2. Daily Hazara writes that the Mansehra Expressway has been pending since 1993. It is mega project and the road from Burhan to Mansehra was to be built in two phases- phase-I from Burhan till Haweliyan and phase –II from Haweliyan to Mansehra.  The daily laments that after spending a huge amount of money on the feasibility report, the project has made no progress. In fact, it is not possible now to build phase II along the alignments proposed. But no alterative route has been worked out as yet. More over, people whose land had been acquired for phase II have not been paid their compensation. Edit says that if the work is not completed on time, Asian Development Bank will not fund the project. (Daily Hazara News Edit)

BALOCHISTAN
1. Deputy Director of the Geological Survey Mohsin Jan was killed in firing by unidentified motorcyclists in Quetta. (Daily Pak)

POK/ G-B NEWS
1.  Speaking to a delegation of the Supreme Court Bar Association (AJK), AJK PM Chaudhary Abdul Majid said that there would be no compromise on either the Kashmir issue or any other national issue. He said that Kashmir was enmeshed with PPP’s identity as it was formed on the Kashmir issue. Majid referred to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s declaration of a 1000-year war for Kashmir and expressed his commitment to the issue. He claimed that President Zardari had adopted a firm stance on the Kashmir issue and internationalized the issue, giving the movement a fresh zeal. (Ausaf, 25 September)

2. JKLF UAE has said that Kashmir is an issue of the cultural, economic and social freedom of the Kashmiri community. (Daily Dharti)

3. Sources say that hired killers tried to kill AJK Transport Minister Tahir Khokhar of MQM while he was on his way from Muzaffarabad to Islamabad. The assailants took away Khokhar’s driver but released him later. (Daily Dharti)