2. Vice President of China’s Defence University, Lt. Gen. He Daoquan met Gen. Kayani at GHQ and discussed mutual cooperation. (Nawa-i-Waqt)

AFGHANISTAN –UNITED STATES
1. In Al Qalam Weekly, Maulana Muhammad Mansur Ahmed writes that the US was threatening Pakistan taking Haqqani Network as an excuse. He says that people expect the military and political leaderships to show some courage against the Americans this time. Ahmed refers to a statement of Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar about Pakistan’s patience running out if the drone attacks continued, and writes that Pakistani leadership issues statements but does nothing else.   (Al Qalam Weekly, 14 October to 20 October)

2. Australian High Commissioner Tim George called on JI chief Syed Munawar Hussain. During this meeting, Hussain said that the US intervention in the region was the main cause behind terrorism and that the US wanted to implement its own agenda in this region which favoured India over China. He referred to Indian allegations against Pakistan and said that more than 3 dozen separatist organizations were active in India and that Indian terrorism was home-grown. Hussain emphasized that all allegations levelled by India were baseless and till date, India had not provided any evidence. He also alleged that India was spreading chaos in Balochistan and in the border areas of KP; Hussain urged the international community to help in the resolution of the Kashmir issue. (Jasarat)

UNITED STATES
1. 28 Blackwater commandos have been issued visas for the security of Hillary Clinton on her forthcoming visit to Pakistan. (Khabrain)

INDIA
 JUI-F leader and chairman of the Kashmir Committee Maulana Fazlur Rehman has said that the Indian High Commissioner briefed him on India-Pak relationship in place of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. He also said that the Foreign Ministry was creating hurdles in the Kashmir conference. He advised that trade between India and Pakistan should be done via Kashmir and Kashmiris should be given permission to move on both sides of the border. (Khabrain)

DEFENCE
1. Religious leaders, including chief of Jamiate Ahle Hadis Prof Sajid Mir, and JuP’s Dy. President Shah Owais Noorani have welcomed COAS Kayani’s statement that the Pakistani Army has no objection on the government holding dialogues with Taliban. (Nawa-i-Waqt)

2. Jasarat EDIT on the Army briefing to the NA and Senate’s Defence Committee in which COAS Gen. Kayani spoke about the possibility of American strike against Pakistan from Afghan soil. Edit says that with his statements at the briefing, Kayani had thrown the ball in the government’s court. (Jasarat)

3. Daily Pak EDIT writes about Gen. Kayani’s determination not to bow to US pressure and Pakistan deploying forces at the Pak-Afghan border. It says that even though US-Pak relations are not satisfactory at the moment, they are considered important and that was why US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was coming to Pakistan to restore relations. It says that Pakistan believes in a steady and strong Afghanistan and if the US does not neglect Pakistan’s interests, then Pakistan will also give its full support. (Daily Pak Edit)

4. Ausaf Edit is on army spokesperson demand that the Afghan authorities arrest Maulvi Fazlullah and handed him over to Pakistan since he had killed around 100 Pakistani soldiers. Edit says this demand of the Pakistani Army was just but it was a fact that the most wanted people for Pakistan were being kept as guests in Afghanistan. It writes that the US wanted possession of every individual it claims to be its enemy but the Afghans were providing shelter to people involved in anti-Pak activities. Edit says that it seems Afghanistan and the US were involved in a conspiracy against Pakistan, in which India was a partner as well. (Ausaf Edit, 19 October)

5. Nawa-i-Waqt EDIT hails Pakistan Army’s determination not to submit to US pressure and its support to the government decision of holding dialogue with Taliban. (Nawa-i-Waqt Edit)

TERRORISM & EXTREMISM
1. After his aerial visit to Chaman, Balochistan, Interior Minister Rahman Malik said that militants had connections to banned groups of Punjab. He said that the government was ready for talks, if militants surrendered. He said that security has been ramped up for the Hazara community due to inputs from intelligence agencies that militants were going to target the community. (Awami Awaz)

2. Islami Jamiate Tulba has announced a movement to educate 10 lakh students.  The organisation’s international session was presided over by Qazi Hussain Ahmed, where besides representatives from IYF, WAMY, and IFFSO, representatives from 14 countries participated. The report says that Syed Ali Geelani’s video message was also played. (Daily Pak)

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
1. PTI Chief Imran Khan and former President Musharraf have been consulting each other for a possible alliance in the next general elections, sources said. (Ummat)

2. Senior PPP leader Nahid Khan said that Zardari is leading PPP into to a mess due to his craze to stay in power. Khan said Zardari was weakened in Sindh. She said that it was Zardari’s duty to see to the arrest of Benazir Bhutto’s killers but there has been no progress on the matter despite being in power for three years. Safdar Abbasi was of the opinion that some compromise has been done on this matter. (Ibrat, 19 October)

3. Jang EDIT talks about claims of good governance by PM Gilani while addressing the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Edit writes that Gilani’s announcement to give Railways and Pakistan Steel to business tycoons proves that the government never had any strategy for managing these departments properly. It says that whatever this government may claim, the fact is that the government has completely failed in running the nation. (Jang Edit)

4. In Jasarat, Arif Bahar writes that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has started making statements against the government. The columnist is of the opinion that bitterness of Sharif’s statements will affect the political milieu in Pakistan and the effect would be felt in the coming months. (Jasarat)

5. In his column, Irfan Siddiqui writes about the failure of Asif Ali Zardari and his government to do anything other than increasing problems for people of Pakistan. He writes that the Gallop survey conducted by Aijaz Gilani indicated that people were once again looking at the Army and that things could change this November. (Jang)

6. Jang edit talks about claims of good governance by PM Gilani while addressing the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Edit writes that Gilani’s announcement to give Railways and Pakistan Steel to business tycoons proves that the government never had any strategy for managing these departments properly. It says that whatever this government may claim, the fact is that the government has completely failed in running the nation. (Jang Edit)

ROW OVER DIAMIR BHASHA DAM
1. Writing in Ibrat, Ishaq Mungerio says that the launch of the Diamir Bhasha Dam has taken place at a time when Sindhis were reeling from floods. This dam will be built in the Chilas area of the Diamir district of Gilgit-Baltistan and it could sink a part of Gilgit-Baltistan. He says that the dam will block Indus waters but the royalty for power generation will go to KP. He says that due to the floods, Sindhis haven’t had a chance to oppose this dam on the Indus, but the people of Gilgit-Baltistan are very opposed as this will drown their homes. He says that people here have yet to receive compensation for their lands taken by the authorities in 2006 to construct colonies for staff members to look after this dam. The 1100 persons who were to get a compensation of Rs 262 million have been agitating for the past 3 days and have blocked the highway connecting Pakistan to China. Mungerio says that disputes about areas between KP and G-B still remain unresolved. Even India has objections over the location of Diamir Bhasha Dam; it contends that since the Kashmir issue is unresolved, a big project like this dam should not be allowed to come up here. Mungerio says that India has objections on environmental issues as well since this project is coming up in a seismically active region and could trigger big problems in the future. He says that India has also been pressuring world’s lending institutions to not release funds for this project and that was the reason why those people have yet to receive compensation. The Commissioner of Hazara has said that only Rs. 90 million have been received out of a total of Rs. 262 million. Mungerio says that once this dam comes up, approximately 100 kilometres of the Karakoram Highway is likely to drown. Ecologists have opposed this dam as it is coming up in the Karakoram Range which falls under the glaciers of Nanga Parbat of the Himalayas. Mungerio says that this dam is likely to affect the water availability to Sindh. (Ibrat, 19 October)

2. Daily Pak EDIT says that the Diamir Bhasha Dam was a great project, but the Kalabagh Dam was more feasible. It advises that the PM should use his position to get the construction on Kalabagh started. (Daily Pak Edit)

3. Khabrain EDIT calls for construction of the Kalabagh Dam to combat the energy crisis. Edit advises the government to take the ANP and Sindhi nationalists into confidence over this. (Khabrain Edit)

ECONOMY- ENERGY
1. Official website of the Iranian Ministry of Gas has claimed that Islamabad has decided to provide route to supply Iranian gas to China. This report states that by 2030, China’s requirement of gas will be equal to that of EU. (Urdupoint)

PUNJAB
1. Secretary of Punjab energy department, Rab Nawaz said that with cooperation from the AJK government, 600 MW hydel power plant will be built on River Jhelum. He said that 900 MW of electricity will be produced from coal. Nawaz said that China Water & Electric Corporation and Punjab government would  cooperate to build 120 MW hydel power plant will be built at Taunsa. He also informed that ADB will help Punjab build 80 MW power plants on canals. (Nawa-i-Waqt)

2. PPP and PML-N have started drives against each other in Punjab. PML-N took out anti-Zardari rallies in Dera Ghazi Khan. PPP took out rallies against PML-N at Sargodha where Babar Aiwan said that people will not accept personal fiefdom in Punjab. (Awami Awaz)

SINDH
1. Sindh government has decided to work out a strategy to hold joint study (by the Engineering corps of the Army and the Sindh government) for releasing flood waters. A meeting took place in this connection in Karachi attended by Sindh irrigation officials and by the Engineering corps officers. At this meeting, it was decided that Sindh’s irrigation department will study and set up drainage system in Sindh and then the Army officials will study it in the light of the findings. (Awami Awaz)

2. PM Gilani reached Karachi to resolve matters relating to the new civic system in Sindh as well as the matter of ministries to MQM members in the Sindh govt. (Ibrat)

3. Awami Awaz EDIT refers to Nawaz Sharif’s visits to Sindh and his awareness drive there. It says if Nawaz Sharif truly keeps aside his traditional, anti-Sindh politics and makes a new beginning as a Sindh-friendly politician who fights for their rights, Sindhis will definitely support him. Edit says that at present, there was a dearth of leadership in Sindh, so the early bird will win Sindhi hearts. It says that if a Punjabi leader talks about Sindhi rights, it will be a good breakthrough as until now, Sindhis and Balochs have traditionally held that their rights have been usurped by Punjab. Edit is of the opinion that if Sharif wanted, he could remove this anger amongst Sindhis and Balochs. (Awami Awaz)

BALOCHISTAN
1. Federal Interior Minister Rahman Malik said that an international conference would be called for ending sectarian differences in Balochistan. He said that national and international religious leaders would be invited to the conference. (Ummat, Khabrain)

2. Daily Intekhab EDIT is on the mystery of missing persons in Balochistan and the hunger strike by the relatives of people who have gone missing or tortured to death. It says that Interior Minister Rahman Malik who was visiting Quetta did not even bother to see the plight of the agitators. It says that the people of Balochistan were initially very hopeful about the PPP government, but eventually they have realized that nothing has changed for Balochistan. Edit says that the issue of missing people and discarding of dead bodies is an extremely sensitive one and criticizes Malik for not taking it seriously. (Daily Intekhab Edit)

POK NEWS/KASHMIR
1. AJK President Sardar Yaqoob has welcomed the decision of the Pakistan Election Commission for not excluding names of more than 3 lakhs Kashmiris from its voters list as indicated earlier. (Daily Dharti)

G-B NEWS
1. Senior leader of BNF and central president of BNSO Tauseef Hassan said that the ‘inauguration’ of the Diamir Bhasha Dam for the fourth time was basically just a drama. Hassan said that it was a controversial project and was being constructed at a controversial site and hence, it won’t be completed. (Ausaf, 19 October)

2. Work has begun on expanding the highway from Khaplu to Humayun Bridge by 40 to 50 feet. People in Khaplu were suffering from load shedding and that the business community had to buy generators to run their businesses. (Baad-e-Shimal)

3. G-B minister Mohammad Ali Akhtar said that the construction of the Diamir Bhasha Dam will bring prosperity to G-B and will help overcome the energy crisis. He said that after constructing the Bunji Dam, Pakistan will be able to sell electricity to other countries. (Baad-e-Shimal)

4. Kashrut district hospital (Gilgit-Baltistan) is facing a shortage of medicines due to negligence of the health department. There is also a shortage of nurses at this hospital.  (Ausaf 19 Oct)

5. Baad-e-Shimal EDIT writes that PM Gilani, while inaugurating the Diamir Bhasha Dam, said that PPP wanted to give economic independence to G-B. He said that Benazir Bhutto constructed the Karakoram Highway which symbolizes Sino-Pak friendship. (Baad-e-Shimal-Edit)