Posted by Arif Rafiq on February 29th, 2008
As late as a few days ago, Amin Fahim was widely believed to be the People’s Party’s prime ministerial nominee. His fate has since changed. The potential candidate pool has grown. There is a reported trust deficit between Fahim and party Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari. The basis for this is unclear; Fahim is as loyal and complacent as it gets.
There are also indications that Zardari won’t run for a National Assembly seat in the by-elections and will play a Sonia Gandhi-type role (governing through proxy). If that is the case, then Zardari would need a capable, but not wholly independent prime minister.
The alternatives to Fahim–Ahmed Mukhtar, Yousuf Raza Gilani, and Shah Mahmood Qureshi–are all from Punjab. Zardari perhaps seeks a Punjabi prime minister to project his party’s reach beyond Sindh, but at the same time, a premier from one of the smaller provinces could also strengthen the federation. However, a Zardari presidency could also do the trick.
Mukhtar defeated Shujaat Hussain in the latter’s hometown of Gujrat in the recent elections. A correspondent for GEO also stated that Mukhtar, who was previously commerce minister, has good ties with the business community, which the People’s Party leadership values due to the current economic troubles. Gilani is a former National Assembly speaker. Qureshi is perhaps the most urbane and articulate candidate among the four. Articulate and Cambridge-educated, he has the capacity to speak authoritatively for the party in both Urdu and English, which is necessary given Pakistan’s global challenges.
Posted by Sajjad on February 29th, 2008
It is still February, yet even in the evening, the cooling fans have come on and I'm down to a single t-shirt. During the day, it feels as hot as summer which officially is still almost half a year away so the actual hot season may be the hottest I've ever seen. We've even started thinking about the air ..... Read more
Posted by Pakistan News on February 29th, 2008
After the blast, the gunfire shots were heard. The sources said the most wounded people are in critical condition.
Posted by Arif Rafiq on February 29th, 2008
A deadly bomb blast, believed to be a suicide attack, hit a funeral procession this evening in Swat. The attack occurred at the funeral of Deputy Superintendent of Police Javed Iqbal, who was killed earlier in the day by militants. The bomber reportedly detonated himself during the gun salute. GEO reports that over40 have been killed.
Posted by Pakistan News on February 29th, 2008
DIG Bannu, Hamza Mehsood told Geo News that DSP Javed was on his to way office when a blast occurred near his vehicle in committee area near police headquarters killing DSP Javed, his driver and a gunman on the ...
Posted by Pakistan News on February 29th, 2008
' Eight suspected Islamic militants, including four men of Middle Eastern origin and two from Central Asia, were killed early Thursday in a triple missile attack on a house used as a training facility in ...
Posted by Pakistan News on February 29th, 2008
Islamabad, Feb 29: China has conveyed to of Pakistan that it wanted to install 405 MW integrated coal mining-cum-power project at Sinda-Jerruk area at the cost of 600 million dollars. via Newkerala.com
Posted by Pakistan News on February 29th, 2008
"The device targeted the police van, killing three people and critically wounding two"
A roadside bomb blew up a Pakistani police vehicle in a northwestern town on Friday killing three people including a senior officer, police said. via New York Times
Posted by Arif Rafiq on February 29th, 2008
Senator Joe Biden commented during yesterday’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Pakistan:
“One of the things that startled us the day after the election is the first comment by [Nawaz] Sharif…[It] was that he wanted to see the release of A.Q. Khan. That was the first official statement he made, to the best of our knowledge. Fortunately, he [Nawaz Sharif] did not win outright, but it reinforces your [Dick Lugar’s] point about the national hero status [of A.Q. Khan].”
Apparently Joe Biden wasn’t watching Nawaz on the campaign trail. The former prime minister said that he’d consider nominating A.Q. Khan as president of Pakistan.
Biden also noted in the hearing that he found Asif Zardari to be clean and articulate.
What a pity. They got off to a great start (see above) and share the same propensity to let their tongues get ahead of their brains.
To my pleasant surprise, I discovered the other day, when I stopped by at the site while traveling on the Karakoram Highway, that a new signboard had been installed alongside the old signboard displaying a gist of the edicts both in English and Urdu. (See pictures.) One would like to think that the new signboard was the result of suggestions and comments made on the ATP post, but the fact is that the Archaeology Department had done it on their own much before the ATP post appeared. (And I doubt if anyone in the Archaeology Department reads ATP.)
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