Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Tobacco revenue

Tobacco is grown in Swabi, Mardan, Charsadda and Mansehra districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Okara, Sahiwal and Gujrat districts of Punjab. Its crop as per hectare yield is higher than many countries of the world and fetches huge revenue for the country. The crop is cultivated on over 6.5 million hectares in both the provinces with a production of 136 thousand tons. About one million people are associated with its growth, manufacturing, distribution and retailing; and growers are 32 per cent of them, the main chunk. The sale of the crop and its end product-cigarettes, cigar and pipe tobacco

— makes a hefty 4.4 per cent of the total GDP that is over Rs30 billion in real terms. Total revenue from this industry is in excess of Rs60 billion, including Rs18.17 billion in excise duty and Rs15.54 billion in sales tax. But Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is restricted to collect about Rs280 million in cess development fund while Rs180million was the annual share of the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB). This board was established in 1968 owing to the crop’s economic importance and its objective included conducting research and solving growers’ problems. It has regional offices in Peshawar and Lahore.
It was in this background that leaders of top political parties got together at Swabi, the house of tobacco production, on Friday to demand that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should be empowered to collect all the revenue generated by tobacco. Such an authorization for the province has become all the more important following the devolution of power that saw the transfer of agriculture to provinces. Local journalists sponsored the debate on “Status of Tobacco Crop after the Eighteenth Amendment”. ANP MNA Pervez Khan from Swabi set the tone of the discussion by saying that tobacco manufacturing companies were exploiting growers by paying them much less than the crop’s actual price. He called for the dissolution of the Pakistan Tobacco Board for failing to work for the growers` welfare, and instead serving the tobacco companies’ interests. Jamaat-i-Islami leader Mohammad Usman said the centre had been receiving Rs45 billion to Rs48 billion through sale and excise taxes on cigarette and tobacco and this ratio has almost deprived the growers of their rights. Other speakers observed that all revenue generating from tobacco must go to province, particularly Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that was producing 90 per cent of the crop. The fact that the PTB fixed earlier this month the price of the commodity that growers feel is below the cost of production. PTB fixed the price at Rs124.30 per kg while the production cost is Rs170 per kg, according to farmers.
What the meeting at Swabi observed and how the farmers reacted to the PTB affairs, manifests that growers are not getting even the production expenses and the PTB has a definite tilt in favour of tobacco companies. Let the board’s affairs be investigated by the provincial governments of Punjab and KP and if the body is doing nothing to the objectives of farmers’ welfare, it may be dissolved to bring in some viable arrangement to conduct research for improvement of the tobacco quality and quantity. The devolution of tobacco growth is also a genuine demand and the federal government has to meet this constitutional obligation.

Pabbi, Peshawar: The hepatitis headquarters

There is no way one can tell when will Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour’s promise of new pipelines into the streets of the metropolis Peshawar will start supplying fresh water and rid us of the germ and rust infested water we are drinking. The minister has just made an announcement of intention by the government. When will the plan be approved, when will estimates be made and okayed, funds released, tenders called, work order issued and the actual work on the ground start, when will the whole work be completed. There are a lot of ifs and buts to be crossed and a lot of years to wait before the people of Peshawar take a sip from the water supplied by these new pipelines which have only been announced by the senior minister. In the meanwhile, the city of Peshawar and probably Pabbi, Nowshera and Khyber Agency seem to be emerging as the hepatitis headquarters of the province, The disease may become a full blown endemic in these areas as we wait for such time when the new pipelines are ready to supply fresh and uncontaminated water. Till then all of us should prey that somehow, it does not cause our deaths. The senior minister is not an ignorant man and knows that a sick population not only increases financial burden of the government in health expenditure and stretches thin the ability of the health services to cater to so many sick individuals, it also takes off many workers from the job force and adds to the poverty of the already poor. A free camp for diagnosing hepatitis in Peshawar found out that 14.20 percent individual out of the people they examined had this deadly and fast spreading hepatitis. That is not to say that contaminated water causes only this ailment. It can cause a number of illnesses from skin rashes, itches, stomach disorder, constant headache, aching joints and blindness. You name it and contaminated water has the ability to cause that disease. It is a matter of with what is the water contaminated. The ratio of hepatitis in the rest of the country is about 8 percent which means that in Peshawar and the nearby areas the rate of people getting this disease is just a tad less than double. And this is not the first time that there have been published statistics which revealed that this disease was fast spreading in this area. Doctors report that by the number of patients they are diagnosing, the next most affected area might be Pabbi and the surrounding villages like Dagbisood, Mohibbanda, Khudrizo, and many other villages on the way from Peshawar to Nowshera. The reason is said to be that because the area of Pabbi is in a depression and like the bottom of bowel water flows into it from the surrounding areas. This has raised the water level there and with it many chemicals under the ground and harmful for human health have dissolved in the water. In Peshawar however, it is not the underground water level but rather the rusty, leaky old pipelines which are supplying mixture of fresh and sewerage which is causing all these diseases, the most deadly and costly to treat of course is hepatitis. In Khyber agency which borders Peshawar city, the conditions of sanitation and supply of fresh water is not different rather worse and if data is collected it would show as much worse results There is a move in the government circles to provide free treatment right away to individuals diagnosed with this ailment. The number of such individuals can run into millions just in Peshawar and the surrounding areas and it would cost billions of rupees if the government really carries out its intentions. However, the fact is that had this money been spent on time in providing fresh and clean water to the citizens, this sickness and many others would not have even existed and the currently stationed doctors would have been looking after the patients with normal ailments which are present in any population. Still one would wish that the government wakes up to the magnitude of the issue and starts an awareness campaign among the international community and ask for help in this regard. It is not a job which a provincial government can do alone. Both the cure of hepatitis and laying fresh water pipelines in the whole city.

Pakistan's Dynastic politics: Hamza likely to be made provincial general secretary

SHAME SHAME SHAME SHAME.
Nawaz Sharif, at a recent meeting here in the city, had told PML-N leaders that it was time for Hamza to take on a bigger role as he was the party’s future. Nawaz recently made his son-in-law Cap (r) Safdar chief organiser of the party’s youth wing.
No more than one candidate would be nominated for each post. If Khosa preferred a central office, his son MNA Saifuddin Khosa could be made general secretary in Punjab and Hamza president.
So that means the common workers of the party have no right to move up the ladder. PML-N should be re-name to “Nawaz & Family League”.It is the sign of the weakness of political party that it has to be kept in the “family’. Why are Pakistani parties so weak? Inbreeding is not a sign of health.Moonis Illahi, Hamza Shehbaz are the royal blood and not the true representatives of the 98% people of this poor nation. People should condemn family politics.
It is important for a country like Pakistan with fudal system still intact and flourishing to have a grass root political movement from labours and peasants. Only this would ensure their rights and an end to this repressive system.

Hina Rabbani Khar,Woman, 34, fills void as Pakistan's foreign minister .

Arizona Daily Star
After a five-month hiatus, Pakistan - a country with tense relations with its eastern and western neighbors and a deteriorating relationship with the United States - finally has a new foreign minister.

Hina Rabbani Khar, 34, was sworn in this past week as the country's head of foreign policy.

Khar is not only the youngest person but also the first woman to occupy the prestigious post in Pakistan's 64-year history.
Khar's appointment is not exactly a surprise as she had been serving as a sort of junior foreign minister since February, when a Cabinet reshuffle saw former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi lose his job. The circumstances of Qureshi's dismissal remain unclear, but the fact that it took five months to replace him gives a measure of the current government's internal tensions as well as friction with the powerful military establishment, which traditionally holds sway over Pakistan's foreign policy.

Najam Sethi, a political analyst and editor-in-chief of the Friday Times, said Khar's appointment is the result of a compromise between President Asif Ali Zardari, who needs someone he can trust politically; and the army, which Sethi said is "very comfortable" with the choice of Khar as the new foreign minister.

"The reason they got her as foreign minister is that she is very amenable and pliable," Sethi said. "In this country the foreign minister can't be an independent entity."

Khar started her political career in 2002 as a member of the National Assembly and later served as a minister in former President Pervez Musharraf's government. She then switched her political affiliation to the current ruling party - Pakistan Peoples Party - and in 2008 was named senior official in the present government's finance ministry.

Her latest appointment has received mixed reviews. While some observers have deemed her political and diplomatic credentials too thin for such a prominent position and have hinted at the disadvantage of being a young woman in South Asia's male-dominated political environment, others have saluted Khar's femininity and youth as a breath of fresh air.

"We must hope these factors alone can bring in some fresh thinking into the running of foreign policy and how to improve Pakistan's declining standing in the region," the Express Tribune, a local English daily, wrote in an editorial. "Ms. Khar has shown over her relatively brief career as a politician that she is quite capable of going about her mission with determination and sincerity."

Determination will be only one of the qualities required for the task at hand. Tension between Pakistan and the United States has been rising steadily this year after a CIA contractor killed two Pakistanis and a U.S. raid targeting Osama bin Laden was seen here as a breach of national sovereignty.

Meanwhile, recent allegations of cross-border attacks have marred Pakistan's warming ties with Afghanistan.

Russia Reclassifies Beer

Until the moment Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev signed a bill that reclassified beer as an alcoholic beverage, any drink or “foodstuff” in beer’s case under 10% alcohol (beer is around 5% alcohol) was not considered alcoholic.

The World Health Organization along with other health agencies have been scrutinizing Russian consumption of beer which has almost surpassed the consumption of vodka, the Russian staple alcohol.

Most likely because it is being advertised as a more healthy choice than vodka, beer has been selling out rapidly during the past few years as vodka’s popularity slightly waned.

Popularity of beer

is so high that beer is casually drunk almost everywhere in public by almost everyone, including public service workers which presented both a health and working problem.

The huge availability of beer at anytime and anywhere in contrast to other alcoholic beverages also makes beer more popular.

In order to control sales and consumption, the Russian government slapped a 200% tax onto the beer industry just last year.

The bill that President Medvedev signed will now allow Russian officials to control beer to the same degree as other alcohol meaning that like other “adult beverages” (vodka included), the sale of beer will be banned in unlicensed stores, kiosks and train stations.

The entire bill will take effect in the year 2013 which will also restrict the selling of beer between the hours of 11 P.M. and 8 A.M.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa starts Polio campaign from July 25

A 3-day polio campaign would begin from July 25 in four districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in which drops would be administered to the children below 5 years of age.
Deputy Director of EPI Dr Janbaz Afridi told Geo News that a polio campaign would begin in Mardan, Nowshera, Batgram and Tang from July 25 which would continue till July 27.
Polio drops would be administered to more than 0.7 million children during the campaign, he added.

Gandhara art exhibition opens in South Korea

A 10-day exhibition of the Gandhara art and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa photography opened in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, on Friday.

The exhibition sponsored by the Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) is being attended by the ambassadors and Buddhist scholars from 32 countries across the world. Artists, archaeologists and historians will deliver lectures on Buddhism and Gandhara art and civilisation.

A press release of the TCKP Media Cell said rare relics, antiques, antiquities and ancient photos of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been put on display in the exhibition for the visitors and researchers of the Gandhara art and civilisation.

The exhibition is aimed at introducing and promoting the Gandhara civilisation in South Korea and other countries of the Buddhists world. Peshawar valley was once the centre of Gandhara art and its several cities and towns including Chota Lahore and Hund in Swabi district, Takhtbhai in Mardan and Taxila in Punjab were the centres of Buddhist civilisation.

Gandhara is mentioned in the Rig-Veda, the oldest book of Aryans, which dates back to the second millennium BC engraved on the rock edicts of the Achaemenian emperor of Iran when it was part of that empire.

The Gandhara art has not only influenced the art of India but every part of Buddhist world including Tibet, Sri Lanka, Burma, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Japan and Central Asian states.

One woman's challenge to Syrian regime

CNN.COM
She asks that we call her "Laila" but it is not her real name, as she has to protect her identity for her own safety.

A human rights activist and lawyer, Laila says she has been to at least two dozen anti-government demonstrations in and around Damascus and wanted to observe firsthand violations by the Syrian regime.

"The security forces jumped in front of the protesters and there was less than 10 meters between them and the security forces started shooting," she recalls of one protest.

At least five people next to her were shot and killed, despite that fact the demonstrations were peaceful, she says.Asked how often she witnessed security forces firing on protesters, she replies, "all the time, every time."

But a top adviser to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad maintains that the government is not attacking peaceful protesters and claims "armed gangs" are responsible for the violence.

The unrest in Syria began in March this year after teens were arrested for writing anti-government graffiti in the southern city of Daraa.

As the clashes intensified, demonstrators changed their demands, from calls for freedom and an end to abuses by the security forces to calls for an end to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

On Wednesday, Human Rights Watch said security forces have intensified their campaign of mass arrests in cities that have had anti-government protests.

The cities include Hama, Homs, and suburbs around Damascus, the group said.

But Laila insists all of the protests she has seen have been peaceful.
"How do these protests finish every time?" she asks rhetorically. "By the security forces and al-Shabiha (pro-regime gangs) attacking the protesters."

Laila says she also visits wounded demonstrators and catalogues their stories -- though she says she has to hide their identities as it would put their lives in danger.

She herself was detained once, for 48 hours, but released unharmed. She believes her legal knowledge kept her safe.

However, she says it's different for others.

"I see how they treat the prisoners there," she says. "They don't find them like human beings in front of them.

"They make the prisoners being naked and they beat them every step of the way. Like if they want to go to toilet they will beat them all the way. I saw how they force a prisoner to drink from toilet water."

But she remains relentless and undeterred in her mission to tell this story. She is forced to sneak around her own city, constantly looking over her shoulder, risking her life time and time again.

The protesters themselves seem similarly undeterred, posing an unprecedented challenge to the Syrian government.

For the first time in 50 years the old method of the military putting down or buying off opposing voices isn't working, according to Beirut-based political analyst Rami Khoury.

"So there is a kind of slight schizophrenic response which I think is a function of the regime not knowing how to deal with this mass political change," he says.

"They never faced anything like this before, they don't have the tools to deal with this kind of approach, and that's why you see these apparently contradictory political and military responses that don't seem to make any sense."

On the one hand, he says, the government has realized there has to be a political solution -- hence the national dialogue conference and talk of significant reforms.

But at the same time the regime continues down the military route, refusing to let up, targeting what it says are "armed gangs" fueled by foreign powers, intent on bringing down Assad's government.

"This nature of challenge has never been experienced by these regimes and we can see that they don't quite know what to do," Khoury says.

In Homs, activists fear the government is deliberately stoking sectarian tensions in its desperate bid to cling to power.

The feeling among many is that the demonstrations and resulting bloodshed will continue for months.

According to Khoury, this will happen until the Syrian economy starts to buckle.

"So the combination of internal economic stress and external political pressure I think will force everybody to finally look for a political way out of this," he says.

"It's hard to see a political reform process that will actually satisfy either side completely. It's very difficult, what you have is an existential challenge to the nature of this government and regime, done by people who are prepared to risk their lives."

People like Laila.

"You asked me why I am going out? Because it's our country ... and it's our responsibility to make it better."

Local journalist battles plight of Afghan women

CNN.COM
In some countries, the written word brings more than just readers to those bold enough to publish.

Local journalists who attach their names to scrutinizing articles in Afghanistan are often subject to threats of kidnapping, acid attacks and death -- especially if the writer is a woman.

That's the daily reality for Afghan journalist Farida Nekzad, who says she's been threatened by extremist groups warning her against publishing articles that cast a critical lens on local customs and national politics.

"You have to fight everyday," said the former managing editor of the Pajhwok News Agency, the country's largest local provider of independent news.

"You have to accept the risk, and that's why we face such challenges."

The once fledgling news agency began as a small project in 2003, and later flourished into a nation-wide network of correspondents with eight bureaus and an average output of three dozen stories per day, according to its website.

Nekzad began as a journalist there, also having worked as a radio reporter.
Earning her stripes covering the local effects of the U.S.-led war and her country in transition, she took over as managing editor and began training a corps of budding young journalists.

Many of them were women.

"Everyone needs information, particularly women need to know and have information for their awareness," she told CNN. "I think one of the ways we can do something is by starting with this profession."

But after years of receiving threatening e-mails and phone calls, the prospect of violence became reality when a bomb detonated on the driveway of her home.

"I was displaced from my home for nine to about 10 months," forced to leave because her neighbors complained.

They said "you have to leave your building," according to Nekzad.

Leaving Pajhwok in 2009 in an effort to lower her profile, the longtime journalist says she sought to avoid the limelight that had brought extremists to her door.

"The threats and warnings scared me," said Nekzad, who at the time was pregnant with her daughter, Muska.

But she had also laid the ground-work for what would become her next venture, working alongside her husband to set up a separate news agency called "Wakht," meaning "Time."

Today, Nekzad is the agency's director, overseeing a staff of more than two dozen journalists who cover Afghanistan's forbidding terrain in an effort to root out stories in all of its 34 provinces.

And again, many of her reporters are women."She typifies the double jeopardy under which women journalists in Afghanistan are forced to operate," said Bob Dietz, Committee to Protect Journalists Asia Program Coordinator. "Reporting and editing and running a news operation is tough enough there, but doing it as a woman makes it much more of a challenge."

Even after the ouster of the Taliban from Kabul in 2001, social and cultural restrictions against women in Afghanistan have remained heavy-handed.

Despite the adoption of a constitution that greatly expands women's legal rights, most women are never taught to read.

About 14% of Afghan women are currently literate, according to a statement from the Ministry of Education.

They "are uneducated and away from education," said Nekzad. "Women need for women to share their experiences, share their problems and share their challenges of how they suffer."

But with Internet access restricted and its penetration especially low in rural areas, online news agencies -- like Wakht -- struggle to deliver information beyond the country's few metropolitan areas.

Still, there are signs afoot of a quietly developing women's rights movement.

Last week, a handful of women -- mostly Kabul residents -- marched in the capital streets, carrying placards in protest of male harassment.

And yet with NATO in the process of a drawn-down, handing over the first seven designated areas to Afghan Security Forces, many fear the effects of a resurgent Taliban or a negotiated settlement that allows militants to come back.

"This is really a very critical question," said Nekzad. "The biggest problem is that there is no guarantee (for women's safety)."

The veteran journalist said that while she supports negotiations that could lead to peace, she questioned "who will guarantee that the Taliban...will agree that women should be a part of the activity and a part of the society to work?"

Although the troubles of Afghan women were there prior to the Taliban's arrival in the mid-90s, the hard-line group has traditionally taken a tough stance against them.

"When the Taliban first entered Kabul, the religious police beat men and women in public for not having long enough beards or not wearing the burka properly," wrote Pakistani author Ahmed Rashid in his widely-acclaimed book "Taliban."

Still, the costs of the near decade-long conflict seems to appeal less and less to the war-weary public of Europe and the United States, whose electorates are still reeling from the aftermath of recession.

Last month, nearly three-quarters of Americans polled said they support the United States pulling out some or all of its forces out of the country.

How those factors will affect international resolve to promote local institutions and bring about lasting security in Afghanistan is still unclear.

Pakistan:Crimes against women

Daily Times
Aurat Foundation has presented its first bi-annual report covering cases of violence against women in the country from January to June 2011. According to the report, crimes against women constituted three percent of total crimes, and on average, 28 crimes against women took place each day in the reporting districts. Regions of Punjab and Sindh reported more crimes against women compared to those of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. The most frequently reported crime against women was abduction in addition to early/forced marriages, rape, honour killings, acid attacks, burning, domestic violence, trafficking, harassment, sexual assault, torture and injury.

Not a day goes by without reports of criminal activities against women, which seem to be steadily increasing in volume. Perhaps the increase in volume is because more crimes are reported now compared to previous years. In a patriarchal society like ours, women have historically been subjected to sexual harassment, domestic violence, inhumane treatment and brutalities like acid attacks and honour killing due to the deep-seated bias against them. Even today, the situation of women in Pakistan has not improved much. Women belonging to the lower and middle classes are subjected to ill treatment at the hands of their employers, husbands, in-laws, brothers, and sometimes even their parents. They have to suffer harassment and discrimination whenever they step outside their homes, which leaves them highly vulnerable to being harmed physically, sexually or psychologically by the men in their communities.

Although the present government has passed a law against harassment of women at the workplace, there is still a long way to go. Regrettably, the government did not pass bills on acid attacks and domestic violence and a bill proposing amendments in the criminal law to protect women. Unjust traditional practices like vani, sawara (marriage of women to settle disputes) and karo kari (honour killing) are being handed out and implemented by illegal panchayats (informal courts). There is a need to improve women’s status by upholding their rights. Their engagement in mainstream politics by allocating them 17 percent seats in the national and provincial assemblies and Senate and 33 percent in local bodies and their appointment on a few important assignments is laudable, but we still lag far behind in improving the status of women in our society. Our women constitute more than half of the country’s population. We cannot progress meaningfully until they are provided due respect and rights.

Balochistan and the army’s ‘concerns’

EDITORIAL:
Daily Times
The Commander of the army’s Southern Command, Lieutenant General Javed Zia, has said the army “considers the killing of missing people an abhorrent act” but tried to take away the blame from the army high command by adding, “Certain ‘elements’ who do not believe in the courts are involved in killing and throwing the dead bodies of missing persons...however, there is no such policy by army chief General Kayani.” Lieutenant General Javed Zia expressed his concern that the way things were going, it might result in Balochistan breaking away from the country. On the one hand it is a good thing that the army has finally realised what the consequences of the kill and dump policy could be but on the other it is quite audacious of the army to sweep everything under the carpet and blame ‘certain elements’, unnamed. The people of Balochistan have long been saying that the Frontier Corps (FC) is running a parallel government in the province. The intelligence agencies and the FC are accused of the abductions of thousands of Baloch people and hundreds of deaths of Baloch nationalists. This is not without reason.

On Friday, unidentified gunmen killed Jumma Khan Raisani, senior leader of the Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M), along with three other people in Khuzdar. In the past, the military used to target dissident separatists but for some time now it has been targeting moderate nationalists. Despite several military operations in Balochistan over the past decades, the state of Pakistan has not been able to achieve what it wanted: to make the Baloch subservient to the establishment’s highhandedness. The Baloch are a proud people with an iron will. They do not succumb lightly to oppression. After a forceful accession, the Pakistani establishment has tried to oppress the Baloch for over six decades now. The demands of the Baloch are legitimate. Provincial autonomy was finally given to all provinces this year under the 18th Amendment but the way successive governments, both military and civilian, have tried to undermine the Baloch struggle for rights has alienated the people of Balochistan. Military might cannot and will not ‘tame’ the Baloch if that is what the military establishment has in mind. The only solution is political. For this to happen, the government needs to first stop the ongoing military operation and then talk to the Baloch leadership, especially those leaders who are living in exile.

General Zia may have tried to ‘dispel’ the notion that the army wanted to capture the resources of Balochistan by saying the army would not get anything from these profit-making projects but the truth is that these projects are not benefitting the Baloch either. Settler colonialism is the actual beneficiary of these projects and the army has high stakes in such ventures. Inspector General (IG) FC Major General Obaidullah Khan was also present when General Zia expressed his ‘concern’. Instead of pretending to be a silent Buddha, Major General Obaidullah Khan should have been ashamed of what the FC is doing under his command in Balochistan. How many more deaths would it take for the army and the FC to own up to their mistakes? Showing ‘concern’ is not enough. What is needed is an end of the oppressive military regime in the province. The Baloch genocide must stop. The army cost us half our country back in 1971. It must retreat now before history is tragically repeated. *

Obama pushes compromise plan,Senate to vote on GOP debt measure

The Senate is set to vote Friday on the "cut, cap and balance" deficit reduction plan backed by tea party conservatives but dismissed by President Barack Obama.

This plan, which calls for cutting the nation's debt by about $3.7 trillion over the next 10 years, was passed by the Republican-led House of Representatives on Tuesday.

"Cut, cap and balance" is widely acknowledged to have virtually no chance of clearing the Senate or overcoming a promised presidential veto. Voting on it, however, allows Republicans to demonstrate their preference for steps favored by many in the tea party movement.

The plan includes the requirement that Congress pass a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution before agreeing to extend the federal debt ceiling.

The vote will happen some time Friday, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said.
Obama was continuing Thursday to pursue a different plan that White House Press Secretary Jay Carney called the most "significant deficit reduction package possible."

The president and Vice President Joe Biden met for almost two hours Thursday with Democratic leaders from the House and Senate as sources indicated the negotiations were focusing on a deal to cut $3 trillion in federal deficits over the next 10 years that would be accompanied by a debt ceiling increase.

According to the congressional aides who spoke on condition of not being identified, the possible deal remains in limbo over a disagreement on whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts for families earning more than $250,000 a year. Nothing has been agreed to yet, they noted.

The possible deal would include spending cuts expected to total $1 trillion or more agreed to in earlier negotiations led by Biden, the sources said. It also would reform entitlement programs by changing the eligibility age for Medicare over time, and using a more restrictive inflation index for Social Security benefits, according to the sources.

On taxes, it would permanently extend the Bush tax cuts for families earning less than $250,000 while allowing the cuts to expire at the end of 2012 for those with income above that, the aides said. At the same time, the deal would include a commitment to reform the tax code next year, which is expected to lower all tax rates and eliminate loopholes and subsidies, the sources said.

However, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, wants the deal to make all of the Bush tax cuts permanent while keeping the commitment to tax reform, the sources said. Republicans oppose any tax hikes, and their resistance has been a major obstacle to any deal in the negotiations so far.

Some sources said the deal would work in two stages, with spending cuts and a debt ceiling increase occurring right away while entitlement reforms and tax reforms would occur later.

Earlier, Carney denied a report by the New York Times that Obama and Boehner were close to reaching a deal.

"There is no deal. We are not close to a deal," Carney told reporters. "There is no progress to report."

A spokesman for Boehner's office echoed Carney, denying any reportable progress. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, told reporters he was "unaware of any deal that has been struck."

Other signs pointed to possible movement in the talks. Carney signaled to reporters earlier in the week that Obama may now be willing to sign a short-term debt limit extension if Democratic and Republican leaders are close to agreement on a broader deficit reduction deal that includes both tax hikes and spending reforms.

Obama previously indicated he would veto any short-term extension.

Boehner huddled with some Republican freshmen after meeting with Obama on Wednesday night, and is set to hold meeting with the entire House GOP caucus Friday. He told reporters Thursday that while some House Republicans wouldn't compromise, he didn't believe they "would be anywhere close to the majority."

The highly contentious negotiations -- reflecting the core ideological beliefs of both parties -- have now become a race against the clock. If Congress fails to raise the $14.3 trillion limit by August 2, Americans could face rising interest rates, a declining dollar and increasingly jittery financial markets, among other problems.

The seriousness of the overall situation was reinforced last week when a major credit-rating agency, Standard and Poor's, said it was placing the U.S. sovereign rating on "CreditWatch with negative implications." Another major agency -- Moody's Investors Services -- said it would put America's bond rating on review for a possible downgrade.

"Even if Washington did raise the debt ceiling after just a few harrowing days following a default ... we envisage that the economy could fall quickly back into recession," Standard and Poor's said in a report Thursday

Lawmakers are also continuing discussions focused on the $3.7 trillion debt reduction blueprint put forward by the "Gang of Six," a group of three Democratic and three Republican senators.

Under the group's proposal, $500 billion in budget savings would be immediately imposed, with marginal income tax rates reduced and the controversial alternative minimum tax ultimately abolished.

The plan would create three tax brackets with rates from 8% to 12%, 14% to 22%, and 23% to 29% -- part of a new structure designed to generate an additional $1 trillion in revenue. It would require cost changes to Medicare's growth rate formula as well as $80 billion in Pentagon cuts.

Obama has praised the plan, calling it "broadly consistent" with his approach to debt reduction because it mixes tax changes, entitlement reforms and spending reductions.

Congressional leaders, however, have warned that there is most likely not enough time to translate the Gang of Six plan into legislation, tie it to a debt ceiling hike and pass it by August 2. In addition, the proposal has been hit with a barrage of criticism from both the right and the left.

Conservatives have complained about some of the plan's tax changes, while liberals have warned it would cut entitlement benefits too deeply.

Extreme heat settles over portions of East Coast

A heat wave blamed for as many as two dozen deaths settled over portions of the East Coast as the National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning for much of the Mid-Atlantic, saying Friday would be the hottest day in the region.

The highest heat index values -- how hot it feels -- could reach 115 degrees in some locations, the weather service said.

"These triple-digit temperatures are forecast to remain in place across the eastern U.S. through Saturday," it said.

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The weather was expected to cool off slightly to the mid-90s by Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

The warnings came as the heat wave broke 55 record highs and tied 60 more records in portions of the Midwest and the Ohio Valley, forecasters said.Millions were also being warned to avoid strenuous activity and exercise outdoors after the National Weather Service issued a number of code red air quality alerts -- meaning air pollution levels are considered unhealthy for the general population -- in a handful of cities, including Baltimore and Washington D.C.

Beat-the-heat advice from a pro

The heat has affected many outdoor activities, prompting one Minneapolis movie theater marquee to read, "We have AC. Who cares what's playing," and one Canadian couple to forgo their original plans while visiting the Twin Cities.

Scott Hoffort and his wife, Colleen, of Saskatchewan, Canada, arrived in Minneapolis Sunday with their camping gear, planning for a vacation spent mostly outdoors at a campground. Instead they're now doing "more touristy" things.

"We went from camping in a tent to staying in hotels, so that we could get air conditioning," said Hoffort said. "We spent a fair amount of time in the Mall of America yesterday because of the heat."

Heat hurts your insides too

About 100 people, primarily teenagers, were overcome Thursday by the heat at the Vans Warped Tour in Camden, New Jersey, where more than 12,000 people gathered at the outdoor concert, authorities said.

"I just, I guess got overheated and I got really dizzy," 17-year-old Maureen Meckly, who attended the concert, told CNN affiliate KYW. "I had to grab onto her (friends') shoulder to tell her I was passing out."

In Wildwood, New Jersey, tourists and residents beat the heat by heading to the ocean.

What a heatstroke feels like

But for some working hot food concession stands at Morey's Piers in Wildwood there was little relief.

"Sometimes it's so hot, I can't even breathe," Erik Perez, who works at Curley's Fries, told KYW.

In Newark, New Jersey, Mayor Cory Booker announced that facilities were available in every ward to help keep citizens cool.

"It is imperative that our residents drink plenty of fluids, stay indoors in a cool climate, and avoid strenuous activity," Booker said in a statement. "I urge our senior citizens and Newark residents who lack air conditioning to come to one of our cooling centers."

In New York, Con Edison called on customers to stay cool and not waste energy.

"Store owners who leave doors open with the A/C running could be subject to fines from the city," ConEd said.

The first confirmed heat-related death in Kansas City was declared Thursday, but it stemmed from a death last month. A 57-year-old man was found dead in his home on June 5, according to Dan Ferguson, who works for Jackson County.

In addition to the man's death, there are 13 other possible heat-related deaths in Missouri -- the youngest was a woman in her mid-30s, and the oldest were two women in their mid-70s, said Jeff Hershberger, spokesman for the Kansas City Health Department.

It may take six weeks to several months for officials to process toxicology tests to determine whether all 13 died of heat-related causes, Hershberger said.

In Wisconsin, a 65-year-old man from Fountain Prairie was confirmed by health officials to have died from heat-related causes Thursday, according to CNN affiliate WKOW. Columbia County Medical Examiner Angela Hinze said the man had underlying medical conditions that were made worse when he was helping a family member outside with housework.

In Oklahoma, four heat-related deaths have been confirmed since May, said Cherokee Ballard, a spokeswoman for the state medical examiner. Three of those occurred in the past 30 days, including a 3-year-old boy in a car in Norman and a 69-year-old man from Blackwell, she said.

An additional eight Oklahoma deaths may be related to the heat, she said, with most occurring in July.

CNN affiliate WPXI reported Thursday that a child accidentally locked in a hot car was rescued in Spring Hill, Pennsylvania. The girl's mother locked her keys in the car and immediately called for help, the report said. The girl was not hurt.

The high heat is also taking its toll on animals.

In South Dakota, 1,500 head of livestock have been lost to the heat, Larry Olsen of the Farm Service Agency told CNN affiliate KSFY.

Dozens of cattle died south of Harmony, Minnesota, CNN affiliate KTTC reported. And on a cattle farm just across the border in northern Iowa, an estimated 100 cattle died, the report said.

At the Brookfield Zoo just outside Chicago, staff kept water misters in exhibits and gave some animals huge blocks of ice filled with meat and fruit.

Afghan reconciliation process

EDITORIAL:Daily Times

Having tried to keep Pakistan out of the reconciliation process in Afghanistan, the US is now looking at Islamabad to press the Afghan Taliban to cooperate. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Washington has noted Pakistan’s “legitimate interests” in Afghanistan, which is why it expects Pakistan to ask the Afghan Taliban to join the reconciliation process. This means that now noises of Pakistan’s central role in Afghanistan are being heard in the US. This is a realistic approach given how it is impossible to keep Pakistan out of the loop when the Afghan Taliban as well as the Haqqani network are in its fold. As the end game in Afghanistan comes closer, regional relationships and politics are all in a flux. This can be judged by President Asif Ali Zardari’s whirlwind trips. From Iran to Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia, the president has been rather busy. Ostensibly, President Zardari went to Iran to sort out the gas pipeline issue. He went to Afghanistan to condole with President Hamid Karzai at the loss of his half-brother. The president’s trip to Saudi Arabia could be looked at from two angles. One, ask for economic cooperation (read more oil and money). Two, to allay Saudi fears about greater cooperation with its archrival, Iran.

The solution to the Afghan quagmire does not rest in Pakistan’s hand solely. There are other major players who have stakes in this region. India has its own concerns. Ms Clinton tried to reassure India that “drawing down is not the same as disengaging” but at the same time she was also clear that everyone needs “to be on the same page for this to work...whether we live in Kabul or Islamabad, New Delhi or Washington”. It shows that the US is well aware of all stakeholders. Iran and Saudi Arabia are also important when it comes to Afghanistan. Iran hosted a counterterrorism summit in Tehran last month in which the leaders of Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan “stressed their commitment to efforts aimed at eliminating extremism, militancy, terrorism, as well as rejecting foreign interference, which is in blatant opposition to the spirit of Islam, the peaceful cultural traditions of the region and its peoples’ interests”. As for Saudi Arabia, it wields considerable hold over the extremist forces in the region owing to Saudi-funded madrassas and covert and overt support to sectarian outfits. Pakistan’s military establishment created the Afghan Taliban and continues to support them. Thus it was a bit surprising to hear Prime Minister Gilani say that Pakistan believes in non-interference policy in Afghanistan. The prime minister obviously made this statement for public consumption but everybody is aware of ground realities.

The US, Afghanistan and other countries have been asking Pakistan for a long time now to stop providing safe havens to terrorist outfits. Pakistan has so far not acceded to this demand. Now, with formally being asked to play a central role in the Afghan reconciliation process, our military might think it has achieved the desired outcome. Unfortunately, this is a miscalculation. If and when the Afghan Taliban come to power in Afghanistan either through a power-sharing deal or directly once the foreign troops withdraw, Pakistan will be in further trouble. The local Taliban will be the actual beneficiaries of this deal. There will be more terrorist attacks in Pakistan. The only way to deal with it is to break our ties from all terrorist factions and launch a genuine crackdown against them. Peace in Pakistan will return once we realise how faulty our policies have been.

Power outage wreaks havoc in Khayber Pukhtunkhaw,Punjab

The people in the provinces of Punjab and Khayber Pukhtunkhaw losing patience over protracted power outage burst out on the roads and streets, while the situations in Sindh and Balochistan appear no different.

The people went on strike and blocked the roads in Shab-e-Qadar areas adjacent to the Mohmand Agecy, the strike at Khazakhela in Swat protesting prolonged power outage persisting, the rural and urban people of Chichawatni irked by the power breakdown came out on the roads and angrily protested, in Multan at Masumshah Road and other areas the citizens kept protesting against the non-supply of electricity since yesterday, however, on the assurance of the Wapda officials for soon restoring the electricity supply the demonstrators peacefully dispersed.

The situations in Sindh and Balochistan are no better. The people passing nights sleepless, while there being no electricity end in daytime the business and the industry suffering huge losses, while the daily wage earners rendered jobless.

Pakistan embassy in Washington biggest spender

The Pakistan embassy in Washington leads in terms of annual expenditures among all 121 foreign missions which the country maintains throughout the world, the National Assembly was informed on Thursday.

In reply to a question by Mr Muhammad Ali Khan, the lower house of the parliament came to know that during 2009-2010, the Pakistan embassy in Washington spent Rs775.172 million.

A written answer submitted by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar further said the embassy had consumed Rs 474 million till March this year. Complete data on expenditures for 2010-2011 have yet to be collected.

Besides the embassy in Washington, the foreign ministry has a healthy presence in a number of other American cities as well.

In Chicago, the government spent Rs38 million in 2009-2010 and Rs39 million up to March this year. The expenditure at Houston was Rs39 million in 2009-2010 and Rs26 million up to March 2011, for Los Angeles the amounts were Rs74 million and Rs59 million, for New York (consul general`s office) Rs122 million and Rs 90 million New York, Rs270 million in 2009-2010 and Rs229 million till March 2011.

These figures show that despite Pakistan`s stop-start relationship with the United States, the Foreign Office has a substantial presence in that country. And their annual expenditures prove that the country`s diplomats in the US have busy lives.

An official of the Foreign Office defended the heavy presence in the US, saying the large Pakistani community benefited from it.

On the other hand, the Pakistan embassy in China has spent Rs107 million only during 2009-2010 and Rs80 million up to March this year Assembly.

Other foreign missions of the country which every year consume a significant amount of their annual expenditures include: Abu Dhabi Rs100 million in 2009-2010; Berlin Rs175 million; Dhaka Rs114 million, Dubai, Rs123 million, Geneva Rs244 million, Jeddah Rs138 million, Kabul Rs156 million, London Rs281 million, Moscow, Rs148 million, New Delhi, Rs237 million, Paris, Rs109 million, Singapore, Rs104 million, Tehran, Rs98 million, and Tokyo Rs99 million.

CRITERIA: In reply to a question about the criteria for establishing a mission abroad, the foreign minister said Islamabad “interacted with all countries that it recognised.” The minister further said resident missions were maintained in states depending on their political and economic significance as well as requirements of the expatriate community.

The prime minister is the competent authority to appoint ambassadors from among officers of the Foreign office of BS-20 and above depending upon their seniority and suitability for posting under consideration.

Instability in Balochistan

Southern Command Commander Lt Gen Jawaid Zia expressed his grave concern over the killings of Baloch missing persons and the dumping of their bodies in the streets and said that it might result in Balochistan breaking away from the country.

Lt Gen Jawaid Zia made these observations while talking to local editors and senior journalists at Quetta Press Club on Thursday. Inspector General of Frontier Corps Balochistan Major General Obaidullah Khattak was also present on the occasion.

In his first ever face-to-face chat with the local press, the lieutenant general said that the military had no hand in the disappearance of Baloch citizens, their killing, or their disposal in the streets of Balochistan. He said that the army realised that it was a very serious and highly sensitive issue and caused hatred.

“Certain ‘elements’ who do not believe in the courts are involved in the killing and throwing the dead bodies of missing persons, however despite that, if some are at fault and involved in some crime, this is not the way and there is no such policy of Army Chief General Kayani,” he said. He said that he was aware of the feelings aroused against the country and government when families lost their kith and kin. He said that the army was making efforts to restore the people’s confidence in their country.

He categorically dispelled the impression that the army wanted to capture the resources of Balochistan by setting up mines and initiating mineral projects, and said that the army would get nothing from these profit-making projects. He said that these projects were for the benefit of the people of the province. He said that no country could win wars without the support of its people. He said that the army wanted to set role models by taking active part in bringing about prosperity in Balochistan.

To a question about the relationship of the General Headquarters with the provincial government, he said that he and his corps were enjoying excellent support in various projects. He stated that the army was not a separate entity from the government and that they desired to help each other in various fields in Balochistan, particularly education. He said that the presence of the army chief, Balochistan governor and chief minister under one roof, in a meeting aimed at development of Balochistan, and was reflective of their unity.

He said that the army had decided to celebrate Independence Day by arranging different events for a whole week prior to the month of Ramazan. He said that a number of sports events had already begun, while the prize distribution ceremonies would be held on 14th August.

Mega music festival kick offs in Ayubia today

The Tourism Corporation Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (TCKP) has made all arrangements for a mega musical gala wherein singers and artistes from across the country would participate to entertain the audience in the three-day event at the scenic tourist resort of Ayubia, in the Galiyat region.The event entitled ‘National Folk Music Festival’ is opening today (Friday) where for the first time some of the famous artistes from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Balochistan, Sindh and Punjab would perform at one venue – Ayubia Chairlift Midpoint, a press release of the TCKP Media Cell said.The musical extravaganza would help bring closer people of diverse ethnicities. The organisers hope to establish an atmosphere of social and cultural exchange and dialogue in order to inculcate respect and appreciation diversity.According to them, such initiatives make the society more tolerant, peaceful and it promotes coexistence. Concerts by leading pop stars every evening and various colourful cultural shows, fun and food are also part of the three days festival. It will be a rare occasion for families to enjoy both pop and folk music of different parts of the country at one venue.Art performers from all the four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan will perform traditional dances including Khattak Dance, Wazir Attan, Gatka of Hazara in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Cholistan and Multani dances of Punjab, Leva dance of Balochistan, Jhoomer and Tharri dances ofSindh and famous Azad Jammu Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan dances.Mudassar Zaman, Afshan Zebi, Sami,Rizwana Khan, Aamir Zeb, Janas Khan, Khumaryan, Ismail Junaid, Karan Khan, Khalid Malik, Hamad Beg and others would perform in the ‘Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Evening’ on the first day of the gala on Friday.’Folk Music of Pakistan’ is another attractive item on the second day’s itinerary wherein Gulzar Alam, Ahmad Gul, Akhtar Channaal, Nadeem Abbas Lonewala, Shazia Khushk, Rukhsana Kashmiri, Safdar Hussain, Mumtaz Ali, Rehmat Bano, Pervez and others would enthral the audience. Rabi Pirzada, Amanat Ali, Humera Arshad, Roxen Band, Faakhir and others would perform in the ‘Pop Night’ on the final night on Sunday. Revival of such cultural events, traditional melas and festivals are meant to provide opportunities to the famous artistes to bring their talents to fore in a conducive atmosphere.These activities would also help promote social and cultural exchange among the diverse communities and ensure sustainability and open up possibilities of growth, continuity, replications and networking with other similar groups, arts councils and various organisations working for the promotion and preservation of culture.TCKP has in the past held various festivals in Hazara district at venues like Khanpur, Naran and Ayubia. Easily accessible from cities like Islamabad and Abbottabad, and at an hour’s driving distance, the Galiyat region comprising many hillstations is a tourism and culturally rich area frequented by thousands of tourists

It's the Leadership, Stupid

By:
Wajid Ali Syed
Journalist and documentary producer

There is never a dull moment in Pakistan. You'll always find big news of one sort or another. If it's not extremists killing hundreds of people in broad daylight in a crowded marketplace, then it's a suicide bomber blowing himself up in a mosque or a shrine. If it's not supporters of extremists rallying in the streets of Lahore or Islamabad, then it's some kind of anti-America protest.

But this kind of political upheaval and violence happen in almost every country, more so if it's an epicenter of al Qaeda and Taliban activities. What distinguishes a failed state from the rest is their response to such upheaval and the ability to restore law and order according to the wishes of the people. This ability is ensured by the leadership of the country. It was the leadership of Abraham Lincoln that united different states. It was the leadership of Lyndon Johnson that implemented civil rights. It was the leadership of Mohammad Ali Jinnah who lead a movement for the rights of Muslims in India. It was the leadership of Gandhi that got India freedom. Surely the standards of leadership have diminished in the last two decades. America was ruled by George W. Bush, and Pakistan is now ruled by a weak political establishment.

If you want to see an example of the sorry state of the current political leadership in Pakistan, consider the statements issued by government officials after the recent mayhem in Karachi. In just four days, as many as 100 people were brutally killed by rampaging gunmen in the streets. One would expect that the government would step in to put a stop to the carnage and vow to bring the killers to justice; instead, Interior Minister Rehman Malik claimed that the reported figures of deaths due to targeted killings was not accurate. According to the Minister, 70 percent of the victims died at the hands of their wives or girlfriends. It's not a joke that most Pakistanis wished Malik had a wife or girlfriend like that. Even if one were to accept Malik's creative explanation, wouldn't it makes sense to ask why law and order was not maintained? Are rogue-minded wives and girlfriends above the law?

Two days after the paramilitary was called in to restore calm in the city and the two political parties -- PPP and MQM representatives -- cooled down their ferocious war of words, the Interior Minister claimed that foreign forces were behind the unrest, saying that Israeli-made weapons were being used by "miscreants" in the killings. If one were to follow the Minister's explanations to their logical end, one would conclude that the aforementioned wives and girlfriends got ahold of Israeli-made weapons, or that Israel declared war with Pakistan and hired proxies to do its dirty work in the streets of Karachi. Such theories truly boggle the mind.

Baluchistan is a province that has been plagued by waves of kidnappings, killings, a separatist insurgency and sectarian violence. The situation there is also blamed on a foreign conspiracy, and the army is periodically sent in to quell the violence. Surely most politicians believe that army is not the answer and a political deal is required to resolve the issues within Baluchistan. Apparently a political resolution is not possible, because the Chief Minister of the province is busy dealing with his own "health issues".

The same chief minister, Raisani, has courted controversy before. A few months ago, the local media and members of a few political parties started identifying public officials who had fake degrees. Several were dismissed from their positions. Some of them even managed to get back into the political scene after their voters re-elected them. The issue turned into a national saga. Responding to the scandal, Baluchistan's chief minister remarked that "a degree is a degree, no matter whether it's authentic or fake."

These incidents reveal that Pakistan is not only facing serious terrorism threats on daily basis from insurgents and militants, but also a grave crisis of political leadership. The insurgent threat cannot be defeated with military force alone. Pakistan's political leaders have to demonstrate strong will and vision. The unfortunate reality is that Pakistan is suffering from a leadership vacuum and the politicians are neither serious about their jobs nor willing to act responsibly.

Saudi terror law 'would strangle protest'

BBC.COM
A secret new anti-terror law being drawn up by the Saudi authorities would "strangle peaceful protest", Amnesty International has said.

The BBC has been shown a classified copy of the draft law showing a number of measures Amnesty said would severely restrict human rights.

These include lengthy detention without trial, restricted legal access and increased use of the death penalty.

But a Saudi official said it was directed at terrorists, not dissidents.

The Saudi government has so far declined to comment, but the senior official, who did not want to be named, confirmed the existence of the draft law and did not dispute the clauses contained in it.

Amnesty International's Middle East press officer James Lynch told the BBC the draft law - a copy of which was leaked to the human rights group - "seeks to entrench some of the most repressive practices that Amnesty has been documenting for years".

Among the measures proposed is a broadening of the definition of a terrorist crime to include any action deemed to be "harming the reputation of the state" or "endangering national unity".
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Frank Gardner Frank Gardner BBC security correspondent

Saudi Arabia has fought and largely won a protracted campaign against al-Qaeda-inspired terrorism.

But the gist of Amnesty International's criticism of this new draft law is that parts of it are really more aimed at crushing political dissent than locking up dangerous terrorists.

In a country where political parties are banned and half the adult population (women) are not allowed to drive, Saudi Arabia's conservative rulers have been deeply rattled by the "Arab Spring" street protest movement.

Amnesty now fears that if this secret draft law comes into practice, it could offer the authorities dramatically enhanced powers to arrest anyone suspected of political dissent.

But a Saudi government advisor, who closely monitors terrorism cases, told me it is all down to interpretation.

He strongly disagrees with Amnesty's view. He insists this draft law is needed to fight al-Qaeda militants trying to get into the country from Yemen.

"We face", he said, "a serious ongoing threat".
'Crushing dissent'

Suspects could be held incommunicado for up to 120 days - longer if authorised by a court - and there would be restrictions on access to legal advice.

Violations of the law would carry harsh punishments, with the death penalty applied in cases of taking up arms against the state or for any "terrorist crimes" that resulted in death, said Amnesty.

Questioning the integrity of Saudi Arabia's rulers would become an offence punishable by a minimum of 10 years in prison.

Amnesty said a number of provisions in the document contradicted the kingdom's legal obligations, including the UN Convention against Torture.

Philip Luther from the charity said the law would be a serious threat to freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia in the name of preventing terrorism.

"If passed it would pave the way for even the smallest acts of peaceful dissent to be branded terrorism and risk massive human rights violations," he said.

The BBC's Frank Gardner says Saudi Arabia has fought and largely won a protracted battle against al-Qaeda-inspired terrorism in recent years.

But the gist of Amnesty's criticism is that parts of the new draft law are more aimed at crushing political dissent than locking up dangerous terrorists.

Saudi woman driver vows to continue campaign

BBC.COM
A Saudi woman whose imprisonment for driving drew global attention to the issue says she is more determined than ever to continue her campaign.

Manal al-Sharif

, 32, was held for nine days in May after driving in the eastern city of Khobar.

"We won't stop until the first Saudi license is issued to a woman," she told the BBC in her first interview since.

Earlier this week, prosecutors in the city of Jeddah announced they were going to prosecute a woman for driving.

The campaign to allow women to drive in Saudi Arabia has gained momentum in recent weeks.

On 17 June, dozens of women took to their cars across the country in open defiance of the ban on driving.

The campaign gained the support of prominent women around the world, including US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton.
'Positive change'

Manal al-Sharif's imprisonment led to Amnesty International calling for her release.
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

Women tell me they are different since 21 May - the day I was arrested - it's a positive change, they believe now”

End Quote Manal al-Sharif Women's rights activist

She said she was surprised by the level of coverage and support she received. "I didn't know the whole world was moved."

More importantly, she said, had been the reaction from women in Saudi Arabia itself.

"Women tell me they are different since 21 May - the day I was arrested. It's a positive change, they believe now. [Driving] is one of our smallest rights. If we fight, we can build women who trust themselves, have belief to get the bigger rights we are fighting for."

Some Saudi women say the authorities have slightly relaxed their attitudes to female drivers, merely cautioning women rather than making them sign a pledge not to do it again.
Jeddah case

Earlier this week, however, prosecutors in Jeddah - on the Red Sea coast - announced they intended to pursue a case against a 35-year-old woman driver.

The woman, who has not been named, claims she had no alternative to driving as she needed to get to hospital and there was no man to take her there.

Zaki Safar from the Women2Drive campaign has spoken to her and said she had told the judge who set her trial date for September that he did not understand the background to her case.

Such setbacks appear not to be deterring many Saudi women from pursuing their campaign.

Manal al-Sharif, one of the organisers of Women2Drive, says they have been contacted by 1,023 women who want to drive - and by 192 women from across the country who are willing to teach them.

They are now looking to recruit volunteers.

"Women want to drive and they are taking actual steps towards that," said Ms Sharif.

Israeli PM turns to Arab TV in call for peace

With a September deadline looming, Israel's prime minister

turned to the Arabic media Thursday for the first time since taking office two years ago in an attempt to lure the Palestinians back to peace talks, saying "everything is on the table."

Benjamin Netanyahu's interview with the Al-Arabiya satellite channel reflects Israeli concerns over Palestinian plans to seek U.N. recognition of their independence this fall. But it also highlights Netanyahu's new strategy of engaging directly with the Arab public.

Netanyahu has fielded questions from Arabs before on YouTube and even made a recorded plea to Arab viewers to submit questions. But the face-to-face Al-Arabiya interview is his first of its kind. Netanyahu's office called the move "the beginning of a new era" and promised more such interviews in the near future.

The interview, which aired Thursday evening, comes as Israel is scrambling to counter the Palestinian U.N. initiative this fall. Israel fiercely opposes the move, saying a Palestinian state should be formed through negotiations and not by unilateral steps.

Peace negotiations have been stalled since 2008, and the Palestinians have refused to negotiate while Israel continues to build homes in Jewish settlements.

Although the vote will be largely symbolic, the Palestinians hope to isolate Israel and put pressure on it to make concessions.

In the interview, Netanyahu says he is willing to negotiate anywhere and with anyone who accepts Israel's right to exist.

"Everything is on the table. But we need to get to the table," Netanyahu said.

"I'm prepared to negotiate with President Abbas directly for peace between our two peoples right now. We can do it here in my home in Jerusalem, we can do it in Ramallah, we can do it anywhere," he said.

Netanyahu said he realized he would have to make "difficult compromises for peace," but he offered few new details about his plans.

The Palestinians seek all of the West Bank and east Jerusalem — areas captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war — as parts of a future independent state. Netanyahu has said he wants to keep parts of the West Bank, and he opposes any division of Jerusalem.

Netanyahu also addressed the regional unrest in Syria and Egypt.

"You know anything that I say will be used — not against me — but against the process of genuine reform that Syrian people would like to see. We don't intervene in Syria but it does not mean we are not concerned. We'd like the peace and quiet on the Israeli-Syrian border to be maintained and I would like to ultimately, have that turned into a formal peace between Israel and Syria," Netanyahu said. "I think the people, the young people of Syria deserve a better future."

Netanyahu said he hopes the Arab Spring will result in democracies in the Arab world.

"If there's genuine democracy in the Arab world, in the Arab countries, then there will be genuine peace. Because a genuine democracy reflects the desires of the people, and most people Arabs, Jews, anyone they don't want their sons and daughters dying on battlefields."

He said, "If it goes toward an Iranian-style dictatorship, as it did, unfortunately in Iran and in Lebanon, then it's bad. It's bad for the peoples there, but it's also bad for peace."

Ofir Gendelman, Netanyahu's spokesman for the Arab media, said Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya was chosen as a conduit for Netanyahu's outreach because it is a professional station that reaches 40 million Arabs. He refused to discuss why Al-Jazeera, the top-rated Arab media outlet, was not selected. Al-Jazeera's coverage has been accused of stirring up anti-Israel sentiment on the Arab street.

Gendelman said Netanyahu's office also communicates with the Arab world via Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

"There are a lot of issues the prime minister wants to address," he said. "The goal of the interview is twofold: to convey the message that he wants to resume negotiations and express via the interview how important Arab public opinion is to him."

Israel's most pressing concern at the moment is what happens in September. No one knows exactly how the vote will unfold.

The United States opposes the plan and, as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, could veto a Palestinian membership request and derail the process.

If that happens, the Palestinians could go to the General Assembly and seek recognition there as a nonmember observer state, a largely symbolic nod. Still, widespread support in the General Assembly would signal that a majority of countries support Palestinian statehood in the pre-1967 lines.

The Palestinians insist that their U.N. bid does not rule out a return to negotiations.

Palestinian leaders have called on their people to take to the streets in nonviolent protests in September and Israeli officials are concerned that these could spiral out of control and set off a new round of fighting.

Israeli Cabinet Minister Moshe Yaalon dismissed these concerns Thursday, telling foreign reporters that he "can't see any change on the ground after September."

He called the unilateral option one of the "balloons inflated in the last two years by those who thought we might be threatened."

Yaalon, a former military chief, also rejected the argument that the current status quo is untenable.

"The situation is not sustainable? It's sustainable. It's not going to be solved in the near future. We can live with it. We can survive with it," he said.

Afghanistan War ‘Fragile’ but Doable, General Says

Gen. David H. Petraeus, the incoming chief of the Central Intelligence Agency who until this week was the top American commander in Afghanistan, on Wednesday gave a cautiously optimistic assessment of the United States’ longest-running military campaign but called recent gains in the decade-old Afghan war “fragile and reversible.”

Stressing the importance of rebuilding fraying ties with Pakistan, he also suggested that there was now an opportunity to rekindle trust. He said he had just been to Rawalpindi to meet the Pakistani chief of staff, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, while Lt. Gen. Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the head of Pakistan’s main intelligence agency, had just been to Washington.

After the deep rift that formed between Pakistan and the United States over the secret raid to kill Osama bin Laden, an operation that infuriated both General Kayani and the Pakistani Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, known as the I.S.I., Mr. Petraeus said he hoped the two visits represented a moment when the countries could begin to repair their vital relationship.

He said he had gone “to see if this is the moment where we can start, in a sense, reviving, once again strengthening the relationship” rather than “seeing it spiral further down.”

“I’d like to think that we are at that point and that we can indeed do that,” he said. “Certainly this relationship is in a difficult stage. But however difficult the relationship may be, it is one that we need to continue to work. It is one where we need to recognize what our Pakistani partners have done,” sacrificing several thousands soldiers and police officers in their own counterinsurgency efforts.

Speaking at the Forum for New Diplomacy in Paris at an event cohosted by the International Herald Tribune, Mr. Petraeus called the Afghan Army and police forces “increasingly credible.” He also described how they were steadily taking more responsibility from NATO allies as a gradual withdrawal of tens of thousands of U.S. troops looms.

Afghan forces participate in all counterterrorism night raids and take the lead in 20 percent of them, he said, and there are now 43 validated Afghan police districts across the country, counting some 6,938 members among their ranks. The number of insurgent attacks has spiked less than expected during the current fighting season, declining in eight of the last 12 weeks compared to the same period in past years, while allies have made some important territorial gains, he said.

But the general stressed that “those gains remain fragile and they remain reversible.”

“We are there to ensure that that country does not once again become a sanctuary to Al Qaeda or other terrorists,” he said. “The only way to achieve that is to ensure that the Afghans secure themselves and govern themselves.”

It has been a long and slow process, he admitted, and one that is far from accomplished. Out of 160 Afghan battalions, only one is considered truly independent in terms of its capability; the majority still depend on U.S. advice or active assistance. Some 2,303 former insurgents have been reintegrated into local communities — a “great success,” Mr. Petraeus said, though he acknowledged that in a country with as many as 35,000 insurgents the national impact of that program had not yet been felt.

Gen. Petraeus said little about his plans at the helm of the C.I.A., stressing only that the battle against terrorism must not distract the United States and its allies from other monumental challenges facing Western countries, like the emergence of China as a political and economic heavyweight.

“We must continue the effort against extremists, but we cannot get so riveted on that that we lose sight of what we loosely term the global coverage mission,” he said, shorthand for “gathering information and intelligence on other activities around the world, being sure that we’re not surprised by the next developments in the Arab Spring, that we understand what is going internally in China where the dynamics are vastly complex.”

The appointment of a war general who was a chief architect of the fight against terrorism in the Bush administration to the helm of the C.I.A., a nominally civilian agency, has raised some eyebrows at a time when war fatigue is rapidly spreading in United States and caused some worry that his focus will be too much on terrorism.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, the country has spent $1.3 trillion on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, a sum that has taken on a different meaning in the current economic crisis.

Polls show that since the raid that killed Bin Laden, support for deployments in the Middle East has plunged even lower. If liberal Democrats were once the main protagonists of the anti-war lobby, now several Republicans are joining the calls to bring American soldiers home “as soon as we possibly can,” according to Mitt Romney, one of early the front-runners in the Republican race for the presidential nomination.

Saudi women can’t even drive to the hospital in an emergency

Medical emergency or not, if you’re a woman and you try to drive in Saudi Arabia, you will get arrested and charged with… driving.

A 35-year-old woman who was arrested in Jeddah earlier this month, reportedly told police she was suffering from a hemorrhage and chose to get behind the wheel because she didn’t have a personal driver to take her to the hospital. Public transportation, she added, was scarce.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women from driving. And it’s not written into the law, but religious edicts enforced by police keep women from driving.

In June, a campaign by the Women2Drive movement – called on women to take a stand and get behind the wheel.

Five women were reportedly arrested.

Earlier this month, representatives from ‘Saudi Women for Driving,’ an activist group, said they received a letter of support from top European Union diplomat Catherin Ashton calling on the kingdom to implement the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

Ashton first issued a public statement of support via a representative in June, after more than 7,000 people signed a petition on online activism platform Change.org.

Follow the #Women2Drive hashtag on Twitter and posting YouTube videos to document their experiences.

'Bahrain royal family tortures detainees'

Bahraini poetess Ayat al-Qurmezi

says some members of the ruling Al Khalifa family have personally tortured anti-regime protesters in jails.


"There is no doubt about the government's official supervision over the torture, even some members of the ruling family personally take part in torturing detainees," she said in an interview with Al-Alam news channel on Wednesday.

Al-Qurmezi noted that some detainees have been killed under torture.

She was arrested on March 30 after being caught on film reading poems critical of Bahrain's ruling regime to a group of protesters at Pearl Square in the capital Manama.

The 20-year-old poetess was released on July 13, but her sentence has not been revoked. She is currently under house arrest.

She said that beating and electronic shocks are the most common ways of torturing in Bahrain's prisoners.

In the latest development on Wednesday, Bahraini forces once again attacked peaceful protesters in several villages and towns surrounding the capital including Nuwaidrat, Sanabis, Eker, and Sitra.

Anti-regime protesters have been holding demonstrations across the country since mid-February, calling on the Al Khalifa ruling family to relinquish power.

PAKISTAN: Collapsing medical facilities in conflict-ridden northwest

For the last three years or so, doctors and nurses at the sprawling Lady Reading Hospital in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar have been especially busy.

The hospital, one of the largest in the country, treats people across Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa Province (KP), but lately demands on it have grown.

“Since the conflict began in the tribal areas and elsewhere, around three years ago, we have a 20-25 percent increase in patient load. We now see 5,500-6,000 patients daily in the outpatient and emergency departments. I cannot give a precise figure but there were significantly fewer patients previously,” hospital chief executive Hamid Afridi told IRIN.

He agreed one reason for this was the collapse of medical facilities as a result of fighting in many areas.

“There are simply no doctors, and especially no female doctors, left in South Waziristan [one of the tribal agencies in northwestern Pakistan] - not even in the principal city, Wana. Most have got jobs in other places and moved away since the conflict began there,” Haroon Wazir, 25, told IRIN in a waiting area at Lady Reading.

He described a harrowing journey, over rough roads, he had made with his six-month pregnant, and sick, wife. “We travelled nearly 400km [from the tribal agency on the Pakistan-Afghan border] over two days in my brother’s van. We found a female doctor along the way but she said my wife, who is only 18 and pregnant for the first time, must be brought here, to a big hospital. The doctors are trying to save her and our baby.”

The situation is especially difficult for women in conflict areas, who are often reluctant to see male doctors. Many refuse to do so altogether.

Women doctors threatened

The Taliban’s discouragement of women in employment has meant women doctors and nurses have often fled areas under militant control, or stopped working. Those who refused to do so have sometimes suffered terrible punishment, as happened to Shahida Bibi, a “lady health visitor” working under a government scheme in the small town of Shabqadar in the Charsadda District of KP, close to the Mohmand tribal agency, after it was taken over by the Taliban between 2008 and 2009. Despite threats she refused to quit her work.

“Shahida lived in the bazaar area. She was kidnapped by the Taliban. And after a couple of days her mutilated body was found under the Subhan Khwar bridge, near the Shabqadar bazaar. Her crime was that she worked,” Sher Ali, president of the Shabqadar Press Club, told the media.

Given such reports, it is understandable why women who can offer medical help are reluctant to return to work even in areas that have been freed of militants, such as Swat Valley in KP, where a military offensive drove out militants in the middle of 2009, allowing displaced people to return.

“Things are much better now. Many of us no longer wear burkas but just our traditional shawls. However, even though I am a qualified doctor I remain fearful of resuming work - though I feel very guilty because I see all around me women and children who need help. Not all can afford to travel elsewhere for assistance,” said Asma Khan, in Mingora, the main city in Swat. She had received threats for working during the Taliban insurgency.

Among those who need help are women like Hamida, who has heart problems. “We cannot afford to go elsewhere for medical help. Good women doctors are hard to find in Mingora, and my husband refuses to let me see a male doctor,” she told IRIN.”I often fear for the future of my children,” she said.

Kurram

Things are tougher still in areas like the Kurram Agency where conflict has continued since 2007 and has recently intensified.

Humanitarian agencies, since the conflict began in earnest in 2008, have also expressed growing concern over the situation and the lack of access to health care.

Médicins Sans Frontières stated in a recent report: “Sectarian violence in Kurram Agency, one of seven agencies in FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas], has meant that providing assistance in the towns of Alizai and Sadda is increasingly difficult. Sectarian tensions are reaching new levels against the backdrop of fighting.”

“We get men, women and children from all over the tribal belt and even from Afghanistan coming to us to seek the medical help they cannot get at home,” Lady Reading Hospital’s Afridi said.

Pakistan appoints its first female foreign minister ahead of India talks

Pakistan has appointed its first female foreign minister, filling a key Cabinet position days ahead of peace talks with archrival India.

A statement from the Foreign Office says Hina Rabbani Khar is also the youngest foreign minister in Pakistan’s history, but it does not state her age.Khar, who previously served as deputy foreign minister, was sworn in Tuesday. She is expected to meet with her Indian counterpart later this month as part of a peace process that has struggled since the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The top post at the ministry had been vacant since February when the previous foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, had a falling out with the ruling party.

President Zardari returns home from Kabul

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday returned to Karachi after a brief visit to Kabul during which he condoled with President Karzai over the death of his brother.

Later, the two also held talks and covered bilateral relations focusing on transit trade, regional situation and fight against militancy. President Karzai thanked President Zardari for his gesture.

President and his delegation which includes Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Defence Minister Ch. Ahmed Mukhtar and spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar were received by the Afghan President Hamid Karzai and members of his Cabinet at the Presidential Palace.

On the issue of transit trade the Afghan side raised the issue of containers held up in Pakistan the number of which contains food and perishable items.

President Zardari assured Karzai that the government would look into it and transit of perishable items and food would be allowed immediately.

Defence experts term Zardari visit to Kabul as significant

The defence and strategic experts termed President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to Kabul as significant strategically in the perspective of recent emerging scenario of the region, especially Afghanistan.

Talking to a private news channel on Wednesday, Gen (R) Jamshed Ayaz Khan has appreciated the visits of President Asif Ali Zardari to Iran and Afghanistan.

He asked the US not to play great game in Afghanistan. He said that Pakistan's stability and peace is linked with peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Islamabad should help Kabul bring peace in that country to prove that we are the best friend of Afghans, he added.

He suggested that Turkish peace keeping troops should replace American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, otherwise, there might be new civil war.

Sumbol Khan, Senior Research Fellow Pakistan Strategic Institute Islamabad has said that President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to Kabul has great importance in the perspective of President's recent visit to Iran and US withdrawal from Afghanistan.

She said that President Asif Ali Zardari will proceed to Saudi Arabia after Afghanistan, which is also very important.

Dr. Zahid Anwar Khan, professor of PeshawarUniversity, said bilateral visits of Pak-Afghan leadership in recent months will prove fruitful for both nations and countries, besides bring peace and stability in both sides of Durand Line.