India in focus

Pakistan has also demanded a nuclear agreement with the US, saying that, like India, it faces an energy shortage.

Pakistan has also demanded a nuclear agreement with the US, saying that, like India, it faces an energy shortage. The Nation July 25 reports that while speaking at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, London, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated that the Indo-US nuclear agreement should not be discriminatory.

India was quick to dismiss Pakistani apprehensions of an increasing arms race in the region in response to a letter addressed by Pakistan to members of the IAEA Board and the Nuclear Suppliers Group NSG. The Nation, quoting Pranab Mukherjee, says, 8220;Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee also made it clear that the deal was purely a civilian issue with no military consequences8221;.

Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani congratulated his Indian counterpart for winning the vote of confidence on July 22. Dawn July 25 says 8220;Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said he is confident that all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, including the Kashmir dispute, will be resolved amicably. He was talking to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who had called him on Thursday to congratulate him on winning a vote of confidence8221;. The Nation July 25 also carries a report on Gilani8217;s congratulatory phone call to the Indian PM.

Talking about the PML-Q reaction to the PPP led coalition government8217;s trade policy for 2008-2009, The News July 25 says 8220;The Pakistan Muslim League-Q on Thursday outright rejected the Trade Policy 2008-09 and announced that the opposition would take the business community into confidence so as to launch a countrywide strike against the policy which, in its view, was a covert move to give India the 8220;most favoured nation8221; status.8221; The report also quotes PML-Q leaders who were of the view that with such a trade policy, Pakistan would become a dumping ground for Indian goods.

Coalition politics

The PML-N will not do anything to destabilise the PPP-led coalition government in Islamabad. Dawn July 25 in a report says 8220;There is no immediate possibility of the PML-N parting ways with the PPP on judges8217; issue as the former is ready to wait for its resolution till December8221;. A senior PML-N leader, speaking to Dawn, stated that while PML-N was ready to wait till December for resolution of the judges issue it hoped that it would be resolved by August. The Nation July 24 reports that all speculations about Nawaz Sharif having given an ultimatum to Asif Ali Zardari regarding the restoration of judges were baseless. In a letter to Zardari, Sharif 8220;raised the basic issues plaguing the coalition government. Among these were: question of reinstatement of the judiciary through a parliamentary resolution, impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf8230;8221; While Sharif did urge Zardari to take note of these issues considering the political and economic instability in the country, there was no mention of a specific time line. In a meeting held at Islamabad on Wednesday, the PPP and its coalition partners unanimously agreed that dialogue and not military action should be used to tackle militancy in tribal areas and other parts of the country. The Nation July 24 reports: 8220;Once again the coalition partners stressed the need of negotiated solution to the fast expanding militancy with military option to be used as the last resort. While it was further stressed that all the policies should be made keeping in view the national interest8230;8221;