IB's deli.cio.us

• US must fulfil its side of the bargain, say officials | Dawn
  “What we need is air mobility and NVDs for night operations, and not any training programmes. For two years, we have been putting our battalion through six months’ rigorous counter-insurgency training programme before we send them into Fata,” the official said.
• Troubled Pakistan Economy Compounds Leaders' Woes | WSJ
  Above all, the government needs to boost investor confidence so capital starts returning to the country, according to Mohsin S. Khan, director of the Middle East and Central Asia at the IMF, a portfolio that includes Pakistan. The capital is needed not just to repay overseas debts , but to spur fast enough growth to earn the government the political support it needs to wage a war within its borders, he says. "If the economy tanks," he says, "you can forget about the rest."
• HOUSE OF GRAFT: Tracing the Bhutto Millions - NYT (1998)
  Years later, many Pakistanis still speak of the mesmeric effect she had at that moment, as the daughter who had avenged her father and the politician who had restored democracy ... In the bazaars, traders soon dubbed Mr. Zardari ''Mr. 10 Percent.''
• Situation Room in a Minute: Yousuf Gilani
  Yousuf Gilani's clip starts 00:20; hilarious.
• U.S. Says Pakistan Intelligence Service Aided Attack on India's Embassy | WSJ
  "The Indians are absolutely convinced it's true, and they're right," said a U.S. official who's worked extensively on South Asia inside the Bush administration.
• In Pakistan Mountains, Jihadis Train for War | WSJ
  "Here in the remote mountains of Pakistan, a deep, mostly dry riverbed has been turned into a training camp where about two dozen young men, most in their teens, receive rigorous training for the war against NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan."
• Power Rising, Taliban Besiege Pakistani Shiites | NYT
  "Now the area, around the town of Parachinar, is near the center of the new kind of struggle. The Taliban have inflamed and exploited a long-running sectarian conflict that has left the town under siege."
• Coalition parties oppose use of force in Fata: Kayani, security chiefs brief leaders on strategy | DAWN
  "The unqualified assertion came after a meeting on Wednesday of heads of political parties at which the Chief of Army Staff and security chiefs took the politicians into confidence on the military operation in tribal areas."
• Pakistani Bear Market Has Investors Raging in the Streets | NYT
  "The benchmark index fell for the 15th consecutive trading day, the worst losing run in at least 18 years. Angry investors also protested in Lahore and Islamabad, Pakistani newspapers reported."
• Pakistan Marble Helps Taliban Stay in Business | NYT
  The takeover of the Ziarat marble quarry, a coveted national asset, is one of the boldest examples of how the Taliban have made Pakistan’s tribal areas far more than a base for training camps or a launching pad for sending fighters into Afghanistan.