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Good for President Zardari

Wednesday, June 17, 2009
From Pakistani daily, Dawn:

"President Asif Ali Zardari said Wednesday he hoped to secure better access to European markets rather than more aid, ahead of a landmark EU-Pakistan summit focused in part on trade.

‘What I need is trade, not aid. I'm looking for MOUs (memoranda of understanding) and not IOUs and I intend to get them,’ he told journalists after meeting with Nato ambassadors in Brussels".

Hear, hear.


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posted by Croydonian

'Pakistanis in greater understanding of democracy than Indians' shocker.

Monday, July 21, 2008
From Worldopinion.org:

"Suppose the majority of Kashmiris...want Kashmir to be an independent state. In that case, would you regard an independent Kashmir as desirable, acceptable, tolerable or unacceptable?"

India - 13%/24%/14% (51% positive), 35% unacceptable. And 14% could not express an opinion..

Pakistan - 21/32/13 (66% positive), 11% unacceptable. And 23% found the question just way too difficult.

Can't say I have especially strong views on Kashmir, but were I living in Kashmir, I would rather be ruled from New Delhi than entrust myself to the tender mercies of Islamabad.

Elsewhere, a rather foolish 35% of Pakistanis think that kicking off a war to annexe Kashmir is a great idea.

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posted by Croydonian

It takes two to tango...

Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Compare the following:

The Indian Defence minister's thoughts: "Our (India) defence budget is just 1.99 per cent of the GDP, which is one of the lowest in the world. The ideal situation would be 3 per cent of GDP, which is the global average"

And from the other side of the Indus: "Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani told the National Assembly on Monday his government would freeze — and practically reduce — defence spendings in the next budget as a show of its desire for peace with neighbours, and voiced a belated hope of reciprocity from nuclear rival India, which hiked is defence budget three months ago".

Can't say I fancy Pakistan's chances, frankly.

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posted by Croydonian

A terrible warning for Straw, Blunkett etc and Jacqui Smith

Wednesday, April 09, 2008
From Dawn:

"LAHORE, April 8: Lawyers beat up the former minister for law and parliamentary affairs, Dr Sher Afgan Niazi, at the Fane Road here on Tuesday, ignoring bar leaders’ warnings that their action would jeopardise the drive for the revival of the pre-emergency judiciary....When Dr Niazi was finally brought out, visibly charged lawyers swooped down on him from all directions, thrashing him with fists and kicks....A lawyer took off one of his shoes and lashed at Dr Niazi while others threw eggs and tomatoes at him. When Dr Niazi tried to board the Edhi ambulance, a lawyer seized him by the collar and dragged him into the vehicle, punching him repeatedly".

Perhaps sundry ex Home Secretaries and La Smith should steer clear of the Inner Temple for a bit, lest the robust approach of lawyers from the sub continent is spreading.

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posted by Croydonian

The country where you can believe what the attorney general says

Friday, February 15, 2008
Is Pakistan: "In a tape released by a US-based rights group Pakistan Attorney General Malik Qayyum says polls in Pakistan will be heavily rigged, TV reports.

The Human Rights watch says their source is impeccable and reliable and that delay in releasing the tape was due to stringent cross-checking". Source

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posted by Croydonian

Back to the pavilion, Imran?

Saturday, October 20, 2007
Worldpublicopinion.org has polled urban Pakistanis on prospective presidents and the like, and I do wonder whether they have got to grips with this democracy malarkey:

Benazir Bhutto returning to Pakistan to stand for elections? (This was before she actually did)

Favour - 50%
Oppose - 34%

Nawaz Sharif returning to Pakistan to stand for elections?

Favour - 51%
Oppose - 35%

Benazir Bhutto becoming Prime Minister?

Favour - 40%
Oppose - 40%

However one feels about prospective presidents of Pakistan, it does seem rather sad that only 10% of those polled choose to differentiate between supporting Bhutto's right to stand and actually supporting her.

Meanwhile, support for would be contenders stands thus:

Pervez Musharraf - 21%
Benazir Bhutto - 27%
Nawaz Sharif - 21%
Iftikar Chaudhry - 3%
Shaukat Aziz - 2%
Imran Khan - 2% (Not exactly a captain's performance, eh?)
Other- 7%

None of the Pakistani parties are affiliated to what I am going to call the Conservative International, or more correctly the International Democrat Union, so there is no short cut to discovering who are the good guys and gals in Islamabad. Going through the list of Pakistani political parties, they seem to represent varying shades of ghastliness, although Musharraf's / Sharif's lot are described as centrist and Bhutto's lot as leftist.

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posted by Croydonian

What *is* a general to wear?

Thursday, August 30, 2007
I ask, because this headline at the National Post makes it sound as though Musharraf is having a wardrobe crisis, and quite possibly a bad hair day too:

"Pakistan's Musharraf 'yet to decide on uniform'".

The story is rather less camp than the headline suggests.

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posted by Croydonian

Pakistan - our 'ally' in the war on terror.

Friday, August 10, 2007
This from Syed Tanveer Hussein, a parliamentary secretary for defence in The Times of India:

"that Quranic concepts should be allowed to guide foreign policy since in the case of Kashmir, there was clearly an US-India conspiracy to make the region autonomous. He said talks were never going to settle the issue. Taking the populist anti-US position, Hussain said that "our love affair with US should come to an end and we should have better relations with Iran, Russia and China. We should wage jihad against US and resolve the Kashmir issue through jihad, not talks".

However, "the government distanced itself from Hussain's remarks, claiming that these were individual views, Hussain remains a member of the ruling party, who also holds a post", so that's all right then.

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posted by Croydonian