2.  Nawa-i-Waqt editorial notes with approval the concern voiced by Russia over US military bases in Afghanistan. The daily says the US is building bases in Afghanistan since it has to vacate Shamsi Airbase now and knows that other bases like Shahbaz Airbase and Jacobabad Airbase will also not remain in its control for long. (Nawa-i-Waqt Edit)

INDIA
1. CIA Chief had a secret meeting with Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh before reaching Kabul and discussed important issues including relations with Pakistan, America’s new allies in Afghanistan and ending Pakistan’s influence in Kabul. Senior Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A. K. Antony, and National Security Advisor Menon were present at the meeting besides the chiefs of RAW and IB. (Jang)

2. Citing the recent killing of Hindu doctors in Shikarpur, 150 Hindu pilgrims had applied to migrate to India and sought Indian citizenship but the Indian Home Ministry has rejected these applications notwithstanding the support they were able to enlist from Indian human rights organizations and Hindu organizations. (Nawa-i-Waqt)

3. Yesterday Pakistan talked of approaching the UN against India on the water issue. But approaching the UN is a waste of time, since India has dishonoured the UN resolution. The right course of action therefore is building our own small and big dams including the Kalabagh dam; if needed, Pakistan must wage a war against India even if it has to be a nuclear war. (Editorial in Nawa-i-Waqt)

4. Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir is likely to go to India as the new high commissioner of Pakistan. (Kawish)

5. Writing about controversial Mansoor Ijaz in Awami Awaz, Abdulwahed Munshi says: the US based businessman has wide contacts amongst former and serving senior American insiders including in the CIA. He had been supplying information to India’s RAW on Pakistan’s atomic programme. He was also giving the names of those engaged in the Kashmir struggle to RAW and the CIA, and on the basis of this information several Kashmiri Mujahideen had been killed. (Awami Awaz, 5 December)

UNITED STATES
1.Pakistani leadership is carried away by the ‘single’ apology call made by the US President Barack Obama and wanted to normalize relations with the US but could not do so due to protests from national departments. It is however trying to send positive vibes to the US through the media. (Ummat)

2. Jasarat editorially disapproved the claim of US President Barack Obama during a telephone call with President Zardari that the NATO attack was not deliberate. Obama has proven that he was only following his predecessor by lying. (Jasarat Edit)

3. Jinnah’s editorial is on US president Barack Obama’s telephonic apology. The daily sees the apology as a fall-out of stoppage of NATO supplies. It accuses the US of wanting to turn Pakistan into Tora Bora and says Pakistan should remain firm and not be flexible at all in its dealing with the US.  (Jinnah Edit)

4. Pakistan has replaced envoys in Russia, Holland, Brazil, Germany, Egypt, Algeria, Cuba, Nepal, Kenya, Yemen, Tunis, Chile, and Serbia. (Jang, Jinnah, Daily Pak)

5. JUI leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that US President Obama’s telephonic apology over NATO attack on Pak border outpost is not acceptable. He criticized the US for killing innocent people in drone attacks and for killing Pakistani troops in Mohmand Agency. (Jinnah, Khabrain)

6. Nawa-i-Waqt’s editorial says: Pakistan is a surety for the protection of the entire Muslim community since it is a nuclear power and that is why false powers with the support of the US are against Pakistan. The Muslim community must support Pakistan at this hour. Pakistani Generals are kow-towing the US but the present government in Islamabad deserves commendation for taking a firm stand against the US. (Nawa-i-Waqt Edit)

DEFENCE
1. 607 people were killed in 78 drone attacks this year, according to Conflict Monitoring Cell. This takes the total drone attacks since 2004 to 306 and death toll to 2659. (Jang)

TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
1. Courts established by extremists in Bara Tehsil of Khyber Agency have started to deliver justice and punishment, a TV channel reported.  The report said a militant court two days back awarded death penalty to one Salim Khan who was accused of killing his son-in-law. He was shot dead in the Bara market in front of people. (Urdupoint, 3 December)

2. Ahmed Shah Waranvi writes in Al Qalam Weekly that American attacks on Afghanistan have made Mullah Omer heartbeat of good Muslims across the world, and a bright star in the history of Muslim warriors. When Americans attacked Afghanistan, nobody had thought that the war would last this long. Today the mujahedeen ranks have swelled by more than 30 to 40%, and more fidayeen attackers are waiting to die for jihad. (Al Qalam Weekly, 2-8 December)

3. One businessman was freed after an encounter with militants; three TTP militants killed in another encounter. (Kawish)

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. Sindh Interior Minister Manzoor Wasan has described Party Chairman Zardari as ‘Chor Chairman’. (Daily Intekhab)

2. JI chief Syed Munawar Hasan said that his party would form a better alliance in the next general election. He also said that Pakistan leaders and generals were creating fear in the minds of people by mentioning the might and capabilities of NATO and America. (Jasarat)

3. Former AJK Premier and PML-N leader, Raja Farooq Haider said considering the threat to national security, PML-N Chief Nawaz Sharif had no other option than to move the court in the Memogate issue and this forced Husain Haqqani to resign. He also said all roads to corruption lead to the Presidency and Prime Minster House and that PPP’s consensus policies had disturbed the ideological and geographical boundaries of Pakistan. (Daily Dharti)

4. Former Chief of JI, Qazi Hussein Ahmad, is actively working for the reviving Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Pakistan (Noorani Group) Chief Sahibzadah Abul Khair has called a meeting with JI Chief Munawar Hasan and JUI (F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman but both didn’t attend.  He contacted Sajid Mir of Jamiat-e-Ahle Hadith and Allama Sajid Naqvi, the chief of current the Islamic Movement in Iran. (Ummat)

5. Pakistan Rabita Council Senior Vice Chairman Maulana Fazl Ahmad Qadri said that the revolutions in Tunis and Egypt have influenced Pakistan. He said it is necessary to get rid of the corrupt administration. (Jang)

6. Nazir Naji, in his column, has appreciated PTI Chief Imran Khan declaring his assets. He welcomed PML-N senior leader Chaudhary Nissar’s call that Parliament should make an effective law regarding declaration of assets by politicians, bureaucrats, judges, and army generals and audit of such assets. (Jang)

7. Editorial of Daily Intekhab says: Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Chaudhary Nissar has held a press conference to react to the disclosure of property by PTI Chief Imran Khan. This shows that the embarrassment of the PML-N. It is strange that instead of welcoming Imran Khan’s move, Chaudhary Nissar tried to belittle him by saying that the cricketer turned politician did not disclose his complete property. (Daily Intekhab Edit)

8. Irfan Siddiqui in his column discussed the relations between the government and the judiciary. After the Memogate case, PPP has started being critical of SC CJ.  The ruling class in the country is always against a free and powerful judicial system that would not be helpful to further their political interests. Like Pervez Musharraf, President Zardari also got what he wanted from the PCO Court under the supervision of Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar; this is why the PPP high command considered Iftikhar Chaudhary led judiciary as its biggest opposition but had no option to accept it. The 17-member apex court bench should decide why it could not enforce its decisions. Irfan states that even judiciary is answerable to the people of Pakistan (Jang)

ECONOMY-WATER- ENERGY
1. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has suffered a loss of Rs. 41 crore in the past four months on account of cancellation of 1200 flights. (Daily Intekhab)

2. Ausaf’s editorial says: Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafiz, Finance Minister speaks of increasing taxes to address the twin problems of high inflation and unemployment. This is not the way to go about, more so since the country spends only 1.8 per cent of its GDP on education. Rich people, businessmen and political leaders should be made to pay more since they pay taxes only on the assets they kept in Pakistan. It is common knowledge that their assets are mostly abroad and these are not taxed. (Ausaf Edit, 5 December)

3.. Qurban Baloch writes that the need of good water management has become all the more imperative following floods in the last two years. According to local and foreign water experts, new rules and better administration can yield 20% more advantages. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwah have not been getting their share of water due to infrastructural problems; often bigger provinces have taken over their water share. The government is framing ‘new water rules’ to address the problem. Under the new rules, provinces that have surplus water can sell their extra water to other provinces. The new rules also will stipulate that water will be used more to produce electricity than for agricultural use. (Kawish)

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWAH (NWFP/FATA)
1. 15 terrorists were killed in an operation by security forces in Dir. (Baad-e-Shimal)

PUNJAB
1. Local people in Shahdara town handed over a Christian couple to police for desecrating the Quran. (Nawa-i-Waqt)

SINDH
1. PPP leaders have asked why Sindh always had to see its leaders martyred and said that if there were any more politically motivated murders, it should be in Punjab. Makhdoom Jameel Alzman and other PPP leaders said that PPP had fought for the judiciary, and honoured court decisions, so the court should hear PPP as well. (Awami Awaz, 5 December)

BALOCHISTAN
1. Baloch Liberation Army’s (BLA) Spokesperson Junaid Baloch in a satellite message accepted responsibility for various terrorist acts and warned that they would continue, if foreign investors did not leave Balochistan. The FC has denied any such report. (Daily Intekhab)

2. Baloch Leader Heir Byar Muree would soon release a Charter of Freedom of Balochistan. He said that he gathered good courage from the Norway rally and would start a freedom movement soon. (Jang)
 
POK NEWS
1. Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) has inaugurated its Nottingham Branch and Javed Chaudhary is nominated as its president. (Daily Dharti)

2. Maulana Sanaullah Sialkoti President (Amir) of Central Jamiat-e-Ahle-Hadith (UK) said Kashmir is the main reason behind tension between India and Pakistan and trade and friendship with India is inappropriate till the Kashmir issue is resolved. He and others from his party said Pakistani industry would be damaged if India was given the status of MFN and relations with India could not improve until the Kashmir issue was resolved as Indian leaders had not even accepted existence of Pakistan. (Ausaf, 5 December)

3. Lord Nazir said that federal interior minister Rehman Malik had called and asked him not to take Zulfiqar Mirza to the police. It was clear that he was conveying orders from above. He said that the AJK PM also called to stop him from taking the matter to police. He said AJK Prime Minister Chaudhary Abdul Majid and others were also threatening him over the phone. He added that if someone wanted to give evidence against someone to the police then they were threatened. He said that Indian agents had started the dirty politics in Pakistan. (Nawa-i-Waqt, Jasarat, Jang)

4. Royalties given to AJK for the Mangla Dam are utilised to make up the losses due to power theft, says the federal electricity department. (Jinnah)

G-B NEWS
1. There was uproar in Gilgit district jail when an ailing prisoner was not sent to the hospital; the situation turned ugly and the police had to be called in. (Baad-e-Shimal)

2. Baad-e-Shimal’s editorial is satisfied with the security arrangements made for Muharram in GB. It noted that with over 3000 policemen on duty, security arrangements remained foolproof and no undesirable incident took place.  (Baad-e-Shimal Edit)