By Murtaza Ali Shah in the News, Aug 7
LONDON: President Asif Ali Zardari insisted on Friday that the relationship between Britain and Pakistan was “unbreakable” after holding talks with British Prime Minister at Chequers but failed to confront Cameron over his allegations against Pakistan.
President Asif Ali Zardari had sworn that he will “educate” the British prime minister about the real role of Pakistan in the war against terrorism after the British premier made controversial remarks in India, accusing Pakistan’s security services of double-dealing with the Taliban militants, aiding terrorism and cheating the Western partners.
But a joint statement issued immediately after the meeting of the two gave no hint that Cameron was any better “educated” as a result of Zardari’s visit.
Standing next to Cameron, after the formal talks, President Zardari went out of his way to thank the British government for its support in the floods affecting (Pakistan). “I’m looking forward to a relationship where Britain supports Pakistan around the world,” he said.
The leaders confined their brief appearance outside Chequers to handshakes and utterances of few sentences only and failed to hold a joint press conference following the meeting.
UK has pledged £10 million of immediate relief for flood victims. The Pakistani delegation was expecting that the British prime minister will make a major announcement for the victims but that didn’t materialise. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=30555
2. Nuclear deal with India reflects lack of America’s trust in Pakistan, says US scholar
By Shamim-ur-Rahman in Dawn, Aug 7
KARACHI, Aug 6: The United States and Pakistan lack the required level of trust and personal confidence on nuclear issue and this has led to the recent US-India nuclear deal, says the visiting American scholar, Walter Russell Mead.
The Henry Kissinger Senior Fellow for United States Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations was specifically asked why Washington did not accept Islamabad’s plea for a similar civil nuclear deal with it.
Addressing members of the Pakistan Institute of International Relations (PIIA) on ‘Future of American foreign policy’, he felt that while US policymakers valued their strategic relations with India as part of their global policy, they might not have taken Pakistan fully on board. He was of the view that US would like to have the level of trust and full accountability with Islamabad for entering that kind of arrangement, implying that despite rendering so much of sacrifice in the ongoing war on terror, the relationship was not so deep-rooted.
In fact, he said, American policymakers felt that they had not been properly taken into confidence on the nuclear issue and there was a lack of personal confidence about the nuclear file. He said that Pakistan government had to take this basic decision.
He also dispelled the impression that US was running Pakistan’s affairs, and said: “If that was the case, Pakistan would not have been a nuclear power, Dr A. Q. Khan would have been handed over (to the US) long ago, Pakistan would have had universal primary education, we would have worked for arms reduction between Pakistan and India and comfort level would not have been affected.” www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/nuclear-deal-with-india-reflects-lack-of-americas-trust-in-pakistan%2C-says-us-scholar-780
3. MQM, ANP agree to follow code of conduct: By Tahir Hasan Khan in the News, Aug 7
KARACHI: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) and the Awami National Party (ANP) have agreed to follow a code of conduct proposed by the federal government to maintain peace in Karachi.
Officials claimed that both parties would sign the code of conduct before Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Saturday. Interior Minister Rehman Malik presented the proposed draft of the Code of Conduct in a combined meeting held on Friday with the MQM and the ANP leaders at the office of the National Crisis Management Cell here. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=30559
4. Cabinet meeting on floods decides nothing, Finance minister not invited
By Tariq Butt in the News, Aug 7
ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet that met on Wednesday failed to seriously discuss in detail alarming matters relating to the massive floods, which are ravaging different parts of the country.
“The finance minister was not invited when he has to be there as all issues involved pertained to allocation of funds,” a senior official told The News. He said there was a dire need to re-shape the federal budget in view of the unprecedented damages done by the national calamity.
The participants were told that another special cabinet meeting would be held to mull over the damage after the water would recede as only then the authorities would be in a position to talk about the precise damage done to the infrastructure. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=30557
5 .Lack of trust hindering revival of MMA: By Amjad Mahmood in Dawn, Aug 7
LAHORE, Aug 6: Two major constituents of the now dormant Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) are engaged in bickering and accusing each other of halting its revival.
The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) believes that the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) wants to use the MMA as a bargaining chip to get benefits from the coalition government, while the JUI-F alleges that the JI is increasing trust deficit between the two parties by contacting and encouraging its disgruntled elements called Nazariati Group.
JI secretary-general Liaquat Baloch rejects the prospects of restoration of the APDM minus the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.
The proposal in fact came under discussion for a couple of times when Qazi Husain Ahmad was the JI Amir, he says, but since Syed Munawwar Hasan took charge of the part, the prospects diminished.
Some religious leaders claim Maulana Fazl fears that ditching the government may result in targeting of its leaders and seminaries in the tribal belt in the war on terror.
Both the JUP and the JI admit that ignoring Maulana Fazl in parliamentary politics is difficult for “he (Fazl) represents 90 per cent of the Deobandi school of thought voters”. http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/local/lahore/lack-of-trust-hindering-revival-of-mma-780
6. WB links $6 bn aid with improved governance
By Mehtab Haider in the News, Aug 7
ISLAMABAD: The World Bank has linked $6 billion lending for Pakistan under the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) with improved governance, saying that the Worldwide Governance Indicators suggest that Pakistan is at or below the 25th percentile on key dimensions of governance, and significantly below the South Asia averages with the exception of regulatory quality.
The WB’s CPS (2010-13) 118-page long report (exclusively available with The News) states that ultimately governance challenges lie at the heart of most of Pakistan’s economic development priorities.
Quoting a survey, the CPS states that the result of a range of survey confirms Pakistan’s governance challenges. The WB states that the ascendancy of militancy in Swat, for example, was directly linked to perceived degradation in the responsiveness of the justice system.
The region also hosts among the largest demographic segments of young men between the ages of 15 and 29 years while offering little in the way of employment and livelihood opportunities. Young men are particularly vulnerable to the economic incentives provided by militant groups.
Unemployment among young men aged 15 to 24 stands at 10.5 per cent in KP (numbers are dramatically higher in tribal areas than in settled districts). In contrast, unemployment in Sindh province for the same segment is at 4.1 per cent, and for the country as a whole the figure rests at 7.1 per cent. The adverse impacts of these disparities, in terms of their contribution to the nurturing of grievances and to militancy and insecurity, are increasingly felt beyond the northwest frontier region.
Political and governance deficits may be the single most important driver of crisis in FATA and KP today, perpetuating a historical experience of disenfranchisement, alienation, corruption, poverty and underdevelopment, and facilitating the conditions of lawlessness, insecurity and extremism that have fuelled the downward spiral of crisis. http://www.thenews.com.pk/top_story_detail.asp?Id=30565
