The Nation, Aug 10
MANSEHRA – The spirit of solidarity towards flood victims cost PML-N Quaid quite dearly on Monday as he had to fly back to the Federal Capital to avoid public wrath at Garhi Habibullah, a suburb of Mansehra.
According to details, hundreds of angry protesters ‘thronged’ the helipad where Mian Nawaz Sharif landed to monitor relief activities in the flood-hit area. Tempers run high against the PML-N leadership after it gave-in to Awami National Party (ANP)’s longstanding yet unjustified demand for the renaming of NWFP in the 18th Amendment.
The angry masses were not ready to accept PML-N’s top leader’s presence in the region and stormed towards the helicopter.
Realising the gravity of the situation, the security officials had to cut short Nawaz Sharif’s visit and the PML-N chief, who was supposed to spend three hours with the flood-hit people, could not stay there for more than fifteen minutes. The people also refused to accept financial assistance offered by the PML-N leader. The PML-N chief was reportedly flown to Islamabad immediately.. http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online//Politics/10-Aug-2010/Spirit-of-solidarity-puts-Nawaz-in-trouble

2. Fearing unrest, Pakistan seeks more U.S. flood aid
By Karen DeYoung In The Washington Post, Aug 10
Pakistan wants the United States to supply immediately dozens more helicopters and significantly more money and supplies to help deal with the widespread flooding that has affected at least 14 million people there, senior Pakistani officials said Monday.
Pakistan’s plea is fueled by concerns that the government’s inability to provide relief quickly could boost the appeal of militant groups that have rushed to supply aid in the country’s northwest. Visible U.S. assistance, the officials said, could help reverse currents of anti-Americanism.
The United States has already diverted six Chinook transport helicopters from the Afghanistan war to Pakistan over the past 10 days for rescue missions and aid delivery. It has also sent hundreds of thousands of prepackaged military meals and a pledge of more than $40 million in disaster assistance, far more than any other country.
‘Risk mitigation’
A senior U.S. military official said transfer of additional helicopters, which are in short supply in Afghanistan, would require a political decision in Washington. "Do they exist in the region? Yes," he said. "Are they available? No."
 A White House official said that Pakistan has not delivered a formal request for more helicopters or vastly increased aid, but that "we are, of course, trying to respond to every request and to assist as best we can as it becomes evident what it is that they need."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/09/AR2010080905769_pf.html

3. Only $102m aid pledged so far for Pakistan flood
ISLAMABAD: The international community has so far pledged relief assistance of about $102 million for people affected by the worst floods in Pakistan’s history and only $10-20 million of the amount has been delivered through official channels.
Informed sources told Dawn on Monday that China had so far delivered to the government about $10 million worth of goods, including water filtration equipment, medicines, tents and electric generators while the department for international development (DFID) of UK has agreed to provide bridges worth $10 million.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has offered a soft loan of $10 million for flood relief but the response for the flood victims from most of the Muslim countries has so far been lackluster. The sources said that Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Indonesia had hinted at providing relief goods but economic affairs division (EAD) was yet to receive any confirmation. Saudi Arabia is reported to have sent some relief goods through non-government channels.
Most of the commitments for relief assistance have come from the World Bank, United Nations agencies, the United States, and European countries. www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/front-page/19-only-%24102m-aid-pledged-so-far-080-hh-02

4. JI moves Senate against Jang Group, Geo intimidation
ISLAMABAD: The Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) has submitted an adjournment motion in the Senate Secretariat against the closure of transmission of Geo TV and ARY TV channel, and burning of copies of The News and the Daily Jang.
The adjournment motion said the transmission of Geo TV was blocked, and copies of the publications of the Jang Group were burnt at the behest and patronage of the government.
LAHORE/KARACHI/ISLAMABAD – Political parties, journalist’s organisations and civil society held countrywide protest to condemn the blockage of some private channels’ transmission and burning of copies of the Jung groups’ newspapers.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online//Politics/10-Aug-2010/Countrywide-protest-against-TV-channels-blockage

5. Zardari likely to reshape his political strategy:  The Nation, Aug 10
ISLAMABAD – Caught with scathing criticism besides shoes throwing incident on his visits abroad while the floods were playing havoc with people back home, President Asif Ali Zardari is most likely to redesign his future political course.
According to well-placed sources, the President was really dismayed on his way back from England where he could not launch the career of his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is already de jure Chairman of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party. Now President Zardari would take a new course to future realpolitik, keeping in mind that there were “for sure hidden hands behind all this criticism and the incident of shoe hurling at him,” the sources added.
As they earlier defended the President’s visit abroad, especially to UK, despite floods in addition to British Premier David Cameron’s statement maligning Pakistan, the Ministers and PPP stalwarts have already started downplaying the incident of show throwing at him. But, sources underlined, the realisation on part of the President’s core group that such an incident of humiliation could be damaging for the son more than the father.
According to sources, certain serious elements in the PPP believed that President Zardari who was to formally launch his son as an active chairman of the ruling party in London has rather ruined his political career unfortunately. “The shoe-throwing incident would keep haunting the budding PPP chief,” they added.
Therefore, sources observed, the President would now on do a different politics that might appear to many as myopic but would be aimed to create enabling political environment for his offspring already determined to jump into fulltime practical politics. Now the President would, most probably, advise his children to put on hold their respective political careers for another couple of years at least, the sources added.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online//Politics/10-Aug-2010/Zardari-likely-to-reshape-his-political-strategy