Opinion Printline Pakistan

The much-hyped meeting between Pakistan President Asif Zardari and chief opponent Nawaz Sharif at a reception for the visiting Turkish...

November 2, 2009 02:48 AM IST First published on: Nov 2, 2009 at 02:48 AM IST

Turkish delight

The much-hyped meeting between Pakistan President Asif Zardari and chief opponent Nawaz Sharif at a reception for the visiting Turkish PM was the talk of the Pakistani press. As expected,the dinner meeting began with a bang but ended with a whimper. On October 26,The News viewed: Mondays meeting between Nawaz Sharif and President Zardari is expected to end all political and constitutional differences between the two political giants for the time being by focusing on terrorism… Daily Times disagreed: However,they do not foresee any breakthrough… But at the same time,they feared increased tensions between the two major political parties will bring the country to the confrontational politics of the 1980s and 90s,which can be harmful for the country in the given security and law and order situation.

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan,on his fourth visit to Muzzafarabad,was reported by Dawn on October 27 as saying: Turkey will continue to support Kashmiri brethren… Prime Minister Gilani highlighted commonalities in approach on regional issues,urged Turkey to support Pakistans stand on Kashmir and said it was important to resolve the issue for regional peace. Reiterating Pakistans desire to maintain friendly ties with all its neighbours,he said: the sacrifices and just stand of Kashmiris will bear fruit.

Unclaimed terror

On October 29,Dawn reported on the bloodbath in Peshawar: An intelligence official blamed terrorists based in Darra Adamkhel for the attack. We intercepted a call last week in which militants were talking about a heart-rending attack in Peshawar… A shopkeeper said threats had been received with militants demanding that women be forbidden from going to the market. The blast took place in Meena Bazaar and Kochi Bazaar frequented by women… However,a counterstory in The News was startling: The Taliban and al-Qaeda have denied involvement in the Peshawar bomb blast and said they do not explode bombs in bazaars and mosques… According to al-Qaeda sources,the elements,who want to defame jihad and refugees,are behind the blast… The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan in an email sent to the media also condemned the blast and denied its involvement…

Hillary talk

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was assertive during her ongoing visit to Pakistan. On October 30, Daily Times reported Clinton as saying: The leadership of al-Qaeda is in Pakistan… I find it hard to believe nobody in your government knows where they are and couldnt get them if they really wanted to… Maybe thats the case; maybe theyre not gettable… As far as we know,they are in Pakistan… The percentage of taxes on GDP (in Pakistan) is among the lowest in the world… We tax everything that moves and doesnt move,and thats not what we see in Pakistan… Dawn added: She also showed impatience with criticism of The Kerry-Lugar Bill which the army and political opposition have slammed for violating the countrys sovereignty… You have 180 million people. Your population is projected to be about 300 million… I dont know what youre gonna do with that challenge,unless you start planning right now. Reporting on the Obamas administrations recently marketed theory of the good Taliban vs the bad, The News added: We view extremists and terrorists as a syndicate. But not everyone who picks up a gun is a terrorist. We are determined to root out their leadership. But we are also open to those who change their mind and agree to a view,which is peaceful and democratic in manner. Good Taliban? I dont know about good. But people have been caught up in these activities. Let us root out the hard core and look at the people who renounce violence. We should be open and see them case by case.