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Pakistan Iran Gas Pipeline Issue Some latest News USA said Pakistan make agreement with Turkministan.

Its capacity to feed its people adequately is under severe strain given the
long-term neglect of essential elements of the agricultural sector

A s Pakistan confronts a major humanitarian catastrophe in the wake of large-scale floods that have hit the country’s southern province of Sindh, its diverse groups of politicians appear increasingly busy with a futile venture – settling scores.
Nawaz Sharif, the opposition leader and former prime minister, has chosen to target the ruling regime led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) for its handling of flood relief work while members of the PPP have questioned Sharif’s sincerity in dealing with what he considers a national cause.
As rivals on Pakistan’s political scene choose to argue and counter-argue about exactly who is more sincere than the other, the people of Pakistan are suffering. For the moment, the crisis left behind by floods in Sindh continues to absorb the attention of most Pakistanis.
But eventually, once the immediate crisis begins to subside, a pressing need for long-term rehabilitation of the flood victims will come around to haunt Pakistan. Faced with an already daunting task of managing a country with a multitude of challenges, Pakistan’s rulers clearly have a monumental task.
There are many crisis-stricken elements of the challenge which faces Pakistan. Among the more obvious predicaments, Pakistan’s capacity to feed its people adequately is already under severe strain given the long-term neglect of the agricultural sector.
From basic inputs like seeds and fertilisers to water for irrigation, Pakistan has been confronting tough realities on every front. There are no easy solutions to any of these predicaments which affect the country’s ability to ensure even the basic level of food security.
Breakdown of governance
The challenges for Pakistan’s physical security are unending. For the past decade since the terrorist attacks of 9/11 were quickly reciprocated by a US-led (unending) campaign against terror, Pakistan’s army and security services have battled militants eager to wage war in the country. Along with this continuing conflict has come a breakdown of Pakistan’s internal governance structures, in part due to the choice made by former president Pervez Musharraf to dismantle a tried and tested administrative order. Musharraf’s decision to oversee the introduction of a system of elected representatives at the grassroots level, to prop up his otherwise questionable democratic credentials, has only added the proverbial fuel to the fire.
More than three years after Musharraf stepped down unceremoniously to avoid an impeachment by Pakistan’s parliament, his political credentials are nowhere near staging a recovery. Nor is the system of grassroots government that he left behind about to do any good for Pakistan.
Last but not the least, Pakistan’s economy faces a deepening crisis. In the past three years since the PPP-led coalition government came to power, stories of corruption in high places have been unending. While some of these claims may well be exaggerated, the government’s failure lies in its inability to respond adequately to its critics.
Failure of ruling elite
Ultimately, the conventional wisdom which sees Pakistan increasingly manipulated by its ruling elite, is making inroads into popular thinking. Other elements of the economic crisis have much to do with the failure of Pakistan’s ruling elite to get their arithmetic right. This essentially means that there is no obvious ability to begin addressing an ever-growing hole in the country’s coffers. The word budget deficit – the gap between revenue and expenditure, though already in an alarmingly increasing crisis mode, fails to be taken seriously by the country’s top leaders.
Surrounded by this all-too-obvious crisis, what are the choices? To begin with, a democratic government and its democratic opposition ought to start behaving like good democrats. This would not only involve acceptance of the crisis but indeed the initiation of credible steps to begin dealing with that crisis. At the earliest, a comprehensive parliamentary debate is long overdue which will help lay down the cards as they should be laid down. The authorities must not only concede the extent of the crisis but accept responsibility for their failure to address the challenges much earlier. The opposition must end targeting the ruling structure for the sake of it and resolve to join hands with politicians in seeking the best possible solutions.
An end to the continuing political wrangling, squabbling and bickering will be the first step, perhaps a very modest one before getting down to tackling a set of monumental challenges. But given the dire outlook, that first step could begin turning the corner for a country where an increasing number of people have lost hope in their future.
Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.

MQM Chief Altaf Hussain said on Tuesday that the current government along with the US was conspiring against the Army, ISI and other institutions responsible for national security, Geo News reported.

The MQM chief was addressing the joint meeting of the Rabitta Committee in London and Karachi.

Speaking about national security, self-esteem, conspiracies against institutions responsible for national security, mounting US pressure on Pakistan and reprehensible conspiratorial attitude of the government, the MQM chief said that the present government was contriving against political opponents and the MQM.

He said that despite the fact that the MQM stood by the government in its difficult times and proved to be its most trusted ally, the manner in which the government had betrayed the MQM was known to the people of Pakistan and the international community.

The MQM Chief  added that it was, therefore, the responsibility of the intellectuals, analysts, and anchor persons to inform the people about the conspiracies against the armed forces and institutions responsible for national security. He said that the nation should prove with their unity that they were with the armed forces and the national security institutions.

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Wikileaks has revealed that the US had made it clear to India that Washington was satisfied with measures taken by Islamabad to secure its nuclear weapons, and these measures had increased the US confidence in Pakistan. India had stressed that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons were in danger of falling into the hands of terrorists.

A cable was sent by US Ambassador in India, David Malford from New Delhi to Washington on 27, November 2009. The cable mentioned details of the strategic security dialogue held between Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Alan Tauscher.

According to the cable, Nirupama Roa said that India was at risk from dangers stemming from Afghanistan and Pakistan. Therefore, India had to increase its nuclear capabilities in order to match the nuclear threats from Pakistan, the cable quoted Roa. Alan Tauscher assured the Indian Foreign Secretary that Pakistan had assured the US that its nuclear weapons are safe.

The head of the National Nuclear Security Administration John Gerrad, who was also present during the dialogue, stressed that in recent talks between the US and Pakistan, Islamabad’s measures to secure its nuclear weapons had increased Washington’s confidence.

The United States and its allies are looking to increase pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down or allow for a peaceful transition of power, officials said Friday.

President Barack Obama’s administration is making it “abundantly clear that international pressure is beginning to build on him (Assad) and that he needs to stop what he’s doing or, as the president and others have said, get out of the way,” State Department Mark Toner said.

He spoke of “mounting pressure” on Assad, as Syria expanded its military crackdown on pro-democracy protests, killing at least 22 people.

Assad “has refused to reform, refused even to make any gesture towards reform other than empty rhetoric,” Toner added. “We will continue to look at ways we can up the pressure on him. What’s important here is that we make it clear to him that there’s growing pressure against his actions.”

His remarks came as Syria launched a major military assault on the flashpoint town of Jisr al-Shughur and neighboring villages, after hundreds of area residents streamed across the border into Turkey.

Protesters meanwhile poured into the streets of major cities and towns across Syria after Friday prayers, calling on Assad to step down and expressing solidarity with the residents of Jisr al-Shughur.

Syria has mounted a fierce response to weeks of protests modeled on the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia that ousted long-ruling dictators and inspired the so-called Arab Spring that has swept the region.

“There is mounting pressure, mounting recognition that what’s going on Syria cannot continue,” Toner said.

The spokesman mentioned US “contacts” with the Syrian opposition. “I don’t want to get into too much detail, because these people are clearly under tremendous danger in Syria. But at the embassy, we do have contacts with members of the opposition, as well as civil society members,” he said, noting Washington was trying to get a better sense of the nature of the opposition.

The US ambassador in Damascus, Robert Ford, has seen his requests for meetings with Syrian government officials repeatedly denied.(AFP)

MIRANSHAH: US missiles struck a suspected insurgent training camp in tribal district of North Waziristan on Wednesday, killing 19 people close to the Afghan border, local security officials said.

The strike took place at the village of Zoynarai in the Shawal area close to the border at around 12.00pm (0700 GMT), the Pakistani officials said.

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In North Waziristan US drones fired five missiles at a suspected militant training camp, killing 19 militants,” a senior security official said.