Carnegie Endowment

On October 17th, 2006, the Carnegie Endowment hosted Lt. Gen. Asad Durrani, the former Director-General of Pakistan military’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Bureau. While Visiting Scholar Frederic Grare served as the Moderator, Lt. Gen. Durrani spoke on “Disengaging Military from Politics in Pakistan,” commenting on the phenomenon of military takeovers and suggesting how Pakistan’s military could be disengaged from the political sphere.
Lt. Gen. Durrani started by attempting to explain why and under what circumstances the military takes over. He suggested that the one common denominator among the 4 military takeovers in Pakistan has been that the leaders of the coups have always expected their move to be generally accepted by the masses.
The general pattern that follows such a takeover involves the military taking over usually in messy conditions and then restoring law and order in the short term. The military then strives towards gaining legitimacy through either 1) the legal angle- gaining legal legitimacy through the Supreme Court with the help of top legal brains;

The Military and Politics in Pakistan

1988 general elections marked the rehabilitation of civilian rule after a long spell of the military's direct and indirect rule in Pakistan. The top brass who assumed the command of the Army after the death of General Zia-ul-Haq have expressed their support for the Constitution and the elected civilian government. However, the military continues to be an important political force and Bhutto has to tread her path carefully. Given the delicate political situation, strong opposition to Bhutto in Punjab, and a well-established tradition of the military's direct role in politics, a return of the military to power in the future cannot be ruled out.

Trial Begins But Where Are the Children?

As the War on Terror enters a new decade with a new administration, ghosts from the Bush era are beginning to emerge from the dark corridors of hidden detention centers, secret renditions, and elusive intrigues.
One of those ghosts whose story has been haunting the imagination of the Pakistani public for several years and recently even in Europe, is now beginning to capture the attention of Americans bold enough to enter the war’s most ghastly graveyard.
It is the ghost of Dr. Aaffia Siddiqui, a Pakistani MIT graduate and mother of three, who disappeared from

Bahrain Air Show: "Drone Aircraft" - Center of Attention

Drone aircrafts were center of attention for the participants during the first international air show at Bahrain. The display was organized in the bunkers located near the edge of runway. Modern fighting aircrafts, C130, Radars and Unmanned aircrafts were on display. However people were most keen to know about the drone planes. Very light weight and small aircraft were also displayed that could be used for spying.

President Zardari to start 4-day foreign tour tomorrow

President Asif Ali Zardari will start four-day official tour of Turkey on Sunday to attend a trilateral summit with his Turkish and Afghan counterparts, aimed at steadily enhancing relations among the three countries and to continue efforts for bringing a lasting, durable peace to Afghanistan.

Besides participating in this fourth trilateral summit among the three Muslim countries, President Zardari will also represent Pakistan at a Regional Summit of the six countries bordering Afghanistan during his four day stay in this historic Turkish Metropolis, lying astride the two continents of Europe and Asia.

Joe Biden visits Iraq amid row over elections

US Vice President Joe Biden met the Speaker of Iraq's Parliament on Saturday, one of several meetings he is having in Baghdad amid a row over a decision to bar scores of candidates from March elections over suspected links to the Baath party. The move by an independent panel has outraged Sunnis who dominated Iraq for more than two decades under Saddam and who see it as an attempt to marginalise their community, and build a future of prosperity based on oil deals. casting doubt on the legitimacy of the March 7 vote - a pivotal test of whether Iraq can sustain growing peace

No presence of Blackwater in Pakistan: Rehman Malik

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that screening at US airports was an insult of Muslims so the matter should be taken seriously. He said that he is firm on his statement that there is no Blackwater in the country. Talking to media after the inaguaration of mobile vehicle scaner taken from China, he said that terrorists targeted people on the name of Islam. Islamabad was also in danger if the operation in Swat was not launched at that time, he maintained.

PM Gilani vows to repeal 17th Amendment, 58-2b

Prime Minster (PM) Yousaf Raza Gilani said that the government has been elected for 5 years. He would come for his trial to the people after 5 years. PM was inaugurating a bridge...

IPL row: CEC, Secy’s Indian tour canceled

The government on Saturday barred the chief election commissioner (CEC) and secretary election commission from visiting India to protest the snubbing of the country’s cricketers at the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. The CEC, Justice (retd) Hamid Ali Mirza, and secretary Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan were about to leave for New Delhi at 2.30am today when they were stopped by the government at the Allama Iqbal Airport, Lahore.

US Drone Strike kills 6 in Waziristan

MIRAMSHAH: At least six people were killed when a suspected US drone plane fired two missiles at a militant compound in North Waziristan tribal region near Afghan border, sources told Geo News Tuesday.

According to sources, unmanned US aircraft targeted a house situated in Boya area of District Datakhel in North Waziristan Agency.

Life back to normal in Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE: Small glimmers of normal life returned to the least badly affected areas of the Haitian capital with street vendors plying their wares and taxis honking their horns in traffic.

Six days after a 7.0 earthquake killed tens of thousands "it's the first real day of activity for people they are going out to refuel and stock up on supplies," said a resident in Petionville.

Black Water in Pakistan (Part-3)

زی یا بلیک واٹر کی سرگرمیاں پاکستان میں مشکوک ہیں۔ اخبارات و جرائد متواتر ایسے واقعات بیان کر رہے ہیں جس میں زی یا بلیک واٹر ملوث ہے مگر امریکی سفارت خانے اور پاکستان کی سرکاری سطح پر ان کی پاکستان میں موجودگی کو تسلیم نہیں کیا جاتا۔ اگرچہ امریکی سفارت خانے نے تسلیم کیا کہ انہوں نے 200 گھر اسلام آباد میں کرایے پر لے رکھے ہیں اور سفارت خانہ میں ایسی توسیع ہو رہی ہے جس کی ماضی میں نظیر نہیں ملتی . مگر سفارت خانہ وہ حکومت پاکستان اس بات کو بلیک واٹر یا زی سے علیحدہ سمجھتے ہیں۔ چین کے سفیر نے بھی اس پر تشویش کا اظہار کیا ہے مگر وزیراعظم پاکستان نے کہا ہے کہ ہم چین کی تشویش دور کریں گے۔ اس تنظیم کے مسلح امریکی افراد اسلام آباد میں کھلے عام گھومتے ہیں جن کا ٹریفک پولیس نے 6 ستمبر 2009ء کو تیز رفتاری کی بنیاد پر چالان بھی کیا۔ اس کانسٹیبل کا کہنا تھا کہ تھانے جاکر تو ان امریکیوں کو چھڑا لیا جاتا ہے اس لیے وہ یہیں ان کا چالان کرے گا۔ ان مسلح افراد نے اردگرد کھڑے عوام سے ڈر کر یہ چالان کروا لیا۔۔ ایک اور واقعہ میں چار امریکی افراد کو کالے شیشوں کی جیپ میں آٹومیٹک ہتھیاروں سمیت ایک ناکے پر روکا گیا تو انہوں نے اپنا تعارف بلیک واٹر کے تعلق سے کروایا۔ جب انہیں تھانے لے جایا گیا تو وہاں امریکی سفارت خانے کے افراد پہنچ گئے جن کے ساتھ فوج کے ایک کیپٹن اور پولیس کے ایک ایس پی آفتاب ناصر تھے جنہوں نے پولیس والوں کو ڈرا دھمکا کر ان چاروں کو رہا کروالیا۔ . ایسی اطلاعات بھی ہیں کہ زی پاکستان کے چھ شہروں میں ڈیرہ ڈالنے لگی ہے۔  امریکی اخبار نیویارک ٹائمز کے مطابق زی کے اہلکار امریکی سی آئی اے کے اہلکاروں کی جگہ پاکستان اور افغانستان میں موجودہ خفیہ اڈوں پر ڈرون طیاروں پر ’ہیل فائر‘ میزائل اور پانچ سو پونڈ وزنی لیز گائیڈڈ میزائل لگانے کا کام کرتے رہے ہیں۔ یہ کام ماضی میں سی آئی اے کے اپنے ماہر انجام دیتے تھے۔. امریکی سفارت خانے نے کہا ہے کہ اس قسم کی کہانیوں میں کوئی حقیقت نہیں اور نہ تو ہزار میرینز پاکستان آ رہے ہیں اور نہ ہی زی یا بلیک واٹر پاکستان میں کوئی کام کر رہی ہے۔ ..اسلام آباد کے جس علاقے میں بلیک واٹر کے کارندے رہائش پذیر ہیں وہاں مقامی لوگوں کو رات کے وقت سڑک پر نکلنے پر ان بدمعاشوں کی طرف سے مارپیٹ کا سامنا ہے۔

Black Water in Iraq (Part-2)

میں زی یا بلیک واٹر نے سترہ عراقی شہریوں کو بلا کسی طیش کے قتل کر دیا جس پر امریکہ میں ان پر مقدمہ درج ہوا جس سے بعد میں انہیں مستثنیٰ قرار دیا گیا مگر پانچ پر فردِ جرم عائد کی گئی تھی۔  د سمبر 2009ء میں امریکی عدالت نے ان کے خلاف مقدمہ کو خارج کر دیا. ورجینیا کی عدالت میں دو سابقہ بلیک واٹر کے ملازمین نے بیان دیا ہے کہ وہ جب عراق میں تعینات تھے تو ان کے سربراہ اور بلیک واٹر کے مالک ایرک پرنس خود کو ایک ایسا صلیبی کہتا تھا جس کا کام دنیا سے مسلمانوں کے وجود کو پاک کرنا اور اسلام کو ختم کرنا ہے اور وہ عراق میں عوام کو قتل کرنے کی ترغیب دیتا تھا۔ اس کے علاوہ اس نے اپنے ہی کچھ ملازمین کا قتل کروایا جن سے یہ خطرہ تھا کہ وہ امریکہ کی فیڈرل کورٹ میں کوئی بیان دے دیں گے. واضح رہے کہ یہ بیانات عدالت میں دیے گئے ہیں جن کے بارے میں ابھی فیصلہ نہیں ہوا۔

Black Water (Part-1)

زی (Xe ) یا ایکس ای یا زی سروسز ایل ایل سی (Xe Services LLC ) جس کے پرانے نام بلیک واٹر یا بلیک واٹر ورلڈ وائڈ یا بلیک واٹر یو ایس اے تھے، نجی شعبہ کی ایک فوج ہے جو ریاستہائے متحدہ امریکہ میں 1997ء میں وجود میں آئی۔ یہ بلیک واٹر کے نام سے مشہور ہے۔ اب اس کا نام بدل کر زی یا ایکس ای رکھا گیا ہے۔ 1997ء میں اس کا نام بلیک واٹر یو ایس اے تھا جو اکتوبر 2007ء میں بدل کر بلیک واٹر ورلڈ وائڈ رکھا گیا۔ یہ عراق جنگ کی ایک بدنام تنظیم ہے جس نے عراق میں فلوجہ، نجف اور بغداد میں غیر قانونی طور پر عام افراد کو قتل کیا جس کا مقدمہ آج کل ریاستہائے متحدہ امریکہ میں زیرِ سماعت ہے۔ بظاہر اس کا مقصد امریکی سفارت کاروں اور دیگر افراد کا تحفظ ہے مگر تیسری دنیا اور ترقی یافتہ دنیا کے مختلف دانشوروں کے مطابق یہ تنظیم ایسے کاموں میں استعمال ہوتی ہے جو ریاستہائے متحدہ امریکہ قانونی وجوہات سے خود نہیں کرنا چاہتا۔ 29 اکتوبر 2007ء کو امریکی شعبۂ ریاست (ڈیپارٹمنٹ آف سٹیٹ) نے اس تنظیم کو کسی بھی عدالت میں لانے سے استثناء کر دیا تاکہ اس پر کوئی مقدمہ کامیاب نہ ہو سکے۔ 19 اگست 2009ء کو نیویارک ٹائمز میں مارک مانزیتی نے لکھا کہ سی آئی اے نے زی کی خدمات حاصل کی ہیں تاکہ القاعدہ کے افراد کو دنیا کے مختلف حصوں میں قتل کیا جائے۔  البتہ ریاستہائے متحدہ امریکہ کی
حکومت کسی ایسے تعلق سے انکار کرتی ہے اور بلیک واٹر کو ایک نجی شعبہ کا ادارہ سمجھتی ہے.

Has India's poorest state turned the corner?

Has India's poorest and most lawless state turned the corner?
If you believe the government of the northern state of Bihar, the answer appears to be in the affirmative.


According to it, Bihar clocked up a giddy growth rate of 11.03% in 2008-2009.This would make it India's second fastest growing state economy, just behind the industrially-developed western state of Gujarat.

Timeline: China and net censorship

As Google considers withdrawing from China, the BBC looks at the highs and lows of internet access and freedom in the most populous country in the world.


1 May 2001: US and Chinese hackers engage in an internet war as the diplomatic row about the crashed US spy plane rumbles on.

Obituary: Jyoti Basu

Jyoti Basu came within a whisker of becoming India's first ever Communist Prime Minister.

But it was his own party that scuppered his chances, a decision he later denounced as a historic blunder. Jyotirindra Basu was born into a middle class Bengali family in Calcutta on 8 Jul 1914. His father was a doctor who had originally come from East Bengal, now Bangladesh.

Road builders find bodies from 2005 Kashmir quake

A Chinese road-building firm in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir has dug up a van containing 17 bodies which went missing during the 2005 earthquake. More than 70,000 people are believed to have died in the earthquake which hit north-west Pakistan and Indian-administered Kashmir on 8 October 2005. Officials said the bodies had decomposed, but some were identifiable from clothing and documents. Thousands went missing in the quake and many are still unaccounted for.

Poverty is the most serious problem facing the world,

LONDON — Poverty is the most serious problem facing the world, according to a major worldwide poll out Sunday which put the issue well ahead of climate change, terrorism and war.

Overall, 71 percent of people named extreme poverty as the biggest global issue, compared to 64 percent who cited the environment or pollution and 63 percent the rising cost of food and energy.

Terrorism, human rights and the spread of disease were singled out by 59 percent, climate change and the state of the world economy by 58 percent and war by 57 percent.

"Even if the global recession has kept economic problems top of people's minds this year, extreme poverty is clearly viewed as the world's most serious global problem," said Sam Mountford, research director for GlobeScan.

"But with many other global problems seen as very serious, this represents a daunting agenda for institutions like the UN and G20 to address."

Results varied between nations. People in India and Pakistan rated terrorism as their top concern and it was also in the top three in Britain, Indonesia and Spain, which have suffered major attacks in recent years.

Japan was the only country to view climate change as the most serious issue, while China ranked it second and the United States ninth.

More than 25,000 people in 23 countries were interviewed face-to-face, online or over the telephone for the poll, which was conducted between June and October last year.

Association rejects shutting down of CNG stations

LAHORE: The SNGPL administration, while revising its decision of closing CNG stations twice a week, announced that all CNG stations will remain close between 8:00am to 8:00pm in residential areas.




GM Sui Gas Lahore region Abdul Haseeb said domestic consumers were experiencing low pressure of gas due to the CNG stations.



He made it clear that domestic consumers are the first priority for Sui Gas and that is why it was decide that CNG stations inside residential areas will remain close for 12 hours on daily basis.



On the other hand, CNG Association’s chairman Ghayas Paracha rejected the decision, saying CNG owners will not shut their stations except the prescribed two-day closure.



He said Federal Minister Naved Qamar had assured that CNG association will be taken into confidence if any new decision is taken, but it did not happen.



He urged the Prime Minister to take notice of the matter.

FBI admits photofit of Laden had Spanish features

MADRID: A Spanish lawmaker was horrified to learn that the FBI used an online photograph of him to create an image showing what Osama bin Laden might look like today.




The image using Gaspar Llamazares' photo appeared on a wanted poster updating the U.S. government's 1998 photo of the al-Qaida leader.



FBI spokesman Ken Hoffman acknowledged to the Spanish newspaper that the agency used a picture of Llamazares taken from Google Images.



In a statement Saturday, the agency would say only that it was aware of similarities between their age-progressed image "and that of an existing photograph of a Spanish public official."



"The forensic artist was unable to find suitable features among the reference photographs and obtained those features, in part, from a photograph he found on the Internet," the FBI said in a statement to media.



The wanted poster appeared on the State Department Web site rewardsforjustice.net, listing a reward of up to $25 million. The FBI said the photo of bin Laden would be removed from the Web site.



Llamazares, former leader of the United Left party, was elected to Spain's parliament in 2000. The photograph of him used to make the wanted poster originally appeared on posters for his 2004 general-election campaign.

Malik sees dire fate for Hakeemullah, Wali

ISLAMABAD: Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said every extremist will meet the same humiliating fate whether Hakeemullah Mehsud or Waliur Rehman, Geo News reported Sunday.




According to a statement issued from the federal capital, the interior minister said there is no room for terrorists in Pakistan, warning terrorists to quit arms and ask for forgiveness on their sins.



The federal minister said the target action of the FC will continue on the basis of intelligence, adding it is due to the Frontier Corps action in Peshawar that terror activities were significantly curtailed in the city and its suburbs.



Malik said there are some reports that some terrorists fled Fata to be holed up in various parts of the country; police and intelligence agencies have been directed to be on their guard in this connection.



He also appealed to people to investigate about the strangers before giving them their houses on rent.

WANA: At least 15 alleged extremists were killed in a missile attack in North Waziristian Agency (SWA) area of Shaktoi, Geo News reported Sunday.




According to preliminary reports, the US surveillance plane targeted a house in the NWA area of Shaktoi, where at least 15 have thus far been recovered from under the rubble.



It should be mentioned that the US shelled a hideout in the same area on January 14, fuelling the contradictory reports regarding the death of Taliban chief Hakeemullah chief.



The recent attack took place in Shaktoi area, 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Miranshah, the main town in the rugged tribal region of North Waziristan, a senior military official said.



"The target was a militant compound," he said, adding that at least 15 militants were killed.



The toll may go up, another official said.

President Zardari starts new legal battle with CJ Chaudhry 'on merit'

President Asif Ali Zardari has decided to confront Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on legal grounds, which interestingly have already been rejected by some legal experts and retired judges.




According to a report, President Zardari is not ready to appoint Justice Saqib Nisar as the new judge of the Supreme Court on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and proposes the name of Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif to be appointed as an SC judge on merit. Justice Khawaja Sharif is the chief justice of the Lahore High Court (LHC). He is also the most senior judge of the LHC, but the Chief Justice of Pakistan recommended the name of Justice Saqib Nisar as the new judge of the Supreme Court, who is junior to Justice Khawaja Sharif.



The legal experts of President Asif Ali Zardari have advised him to send back the summary of chief justice to him instead of rejecting it. The Ministry of Law and Justice have also advised the president, through the prime minister, that Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif should be appointed a judge in the Supreme Court instead of Justice Saqib Nisar in the light of Al Jihad Trust case of 1996.



However, some legal experts, including former CJP Justice (retd.) Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui, Justice (retd.) Wajihuddin Ahmad, Akram Sheikh and even the petitioner of the Al Jihad Trust case Wahabul Khairi advocate, in their views have already said that it is the CJP’s 'discretion' to promote any judge of the high court. They say that it is not necessary to appoint the senior-most judge of a high court as a Supreme Court judge. They have agreed that the CJP’s recommendations are in line with the Constitution as well as Al Jihad Trust case.



President Zardari will now ask the Chief Justice of Pakistan to review his opinion in the light of the Al Jihad Trust case, as interpreted by the Law Ministry, and will recommend the name of Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif for the new appointment because he is the most senior judge of the LHC.



According to legal circles, Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif enjoys excellent working and personal relations with Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. According to the legal circles, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry respects Khawaja Sharif a lot for his courage and he is very much satisfied with his performance also. He thinks that Justice Khawaja Sharif is running the LHC affairs very well despite the shortage of 40 judges and that is why he wants Khawaja Sharif to continue in Lahore as the LHC chief justice.



According to the summary sent by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry to the President of Pakistan, Justice Saqib Nisar is a very competent and honest judge. Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry also wrote in his summary that he is recommending the name of Justice Saqib Nisar with the consent of Justice Khawaja Sharif.



A very close legal eagle of President Zardari told this scribe: “Yes, we have recommended the name of Justice Sharif instead of Justice Saqib Nisar, but it is based on merit, we have introduced merit policy in the appointment of judges and this is the gift of democracy.”

PML-N rubbishes Taseer’s criticism

Senator Pervaiz Rasheed on Monday said that Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer was acting like a robot — when switched on, he starts speaking against the Punjab government, and stops when switched off.




Talking to Geo TV, Pervaiz said that Taseer did not know that governments were not retail outlets where profit and loss were calculated on a daily basis. He regretted that Taseer “who had been quiet for a while had started issuing negative statements once again”. He alleged that the governor had hobbies other than state affairs. Pervaiz said that Mian Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman held the education portfolio and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif was himself looking after the Health Ministry affairs. He said that governments must not withhold funds and refrain from spending on public welfare as the people had a right over public finances. He said that Shahbaz had not spent public money on planes or bulletproof vehicles, but used it to supply subsidized flour to the people. “Shahbaz did not spend a penny on himself. He did not purchase even a chair for himself,” he said, adding that Shahbaz would try to supply flour to the people free of cost whenever he got a chance.



Earlier, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer on Monday said the largest stakeholder of the federation, was presenting a picture of bad governance and the CM did not even bother to visit the Punjab Assembly. He said that even after a passage of two years, the cabinet was incomplete and two important ministries, namely health and education, were yet to have ministers. He said the province was facing a deficit of Rs80 billion whereas all the projects, including the Sasti Roti scheme and the Food Stamp Scheme, proved failures as the government wasted Rs13 billion on both these schemes.



The Punjab governor said the statements of two of PML-N main leaders differed considerably as the party leader Nawaz Sharif’s statements were different from those of his brother Shahbaz Sharif. He said it was strange that Shahbaz Sharif had raised a point about the disqualification of others whereas in reality a British court had declared the Sharif brothers defaulters in the Al-Taufiq Trust case.



Addressing a seminar held in connection with the 82nd birth anniversary celebrations of PPP founder Z. A Bhutto, Taseer said President Asif Ali Zardari would remain in power for the same period, which he spent in prisons due to the politically motivated cases, adding that he would continue holding the office till 2018.



Salmaan Taseer said the PML-N must show patience and that’s why it was named “PML-N Sabireen”. He said all the cases against the PPP leaders were registered in the PML-N governments. The anti-democratic elements “started dancing” immediately after receiving hints of military involvement, he said and added that whenever any dictator subverted the Constitution they remained silent and when any democratic government assumed power they started raising hue and cry. He said even in the PML-N, some “candidates” had come to surface, who had started wearing imported suits.





He said when the process of government formation started, there were long queues of independent candidates outside the Zardari House and the PPP could have easily formed government in Punjab, but he invited the PML-N for the purpose. Taseer said when the president stays in the country, people, who were scared of him, criticized him and when he goes abroad, the same elements again start criticizing him out of frustration. He said political “jugglers” who remained busy predicting that the PPP government would end by December 2009 were proven wrong.

Stock ex change

NEW YORK: Investors sold shares globally and stepped up bids for safe-haven bonds and the U.S. dollar after JPMorgan & Co reported deep losses on loans and its revenue fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Skip related content




Results from the second-largest U.S. bank followed tepid U.S. data and a season of lacklustre earnings that has kept alive worries about economic recovery in the United States and abroad.



New-York based JPMorgan reported a quarterly profit of 74 cents a share, a huge rise on the year earlier quarter. But its $25.2 billion revenue number was below estimates. Its shares fell more than 2 percent to $43.68.



Equity gains were capped despite upbeat earnings from chipmaker Intel Corp late on Thursday. By the close of trade in New York on Friday world stocks had lost 0.9 percent, retreating further from 15-month highs hit earlier in the week.



European stock markets , which opened firmer on Intel results, reversed to end down 1.1 percent. Banks bore the brunt of selling. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei index rose about 0.7 percent.



Buoyant profit numbers for JPMorgan were overshadowed by loan losses and high bad-debt provisions.



"JPMorgan top-line (revenue) results were disappointing... There were pressures on credit-card lending and retail banking and it just shows the U.S. economy is far from out of the woods yet," said David Buik, partner at BGC Partners in London.



The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 100.90 points, or 0.94 percent, to 10,609.65. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slid 12.43 points, or 1.08 percent, to 1,136.03 and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 28.75 points, or 1.24 percent, to 2,287.99.



Intel Corp , another Dow component, gave a bullish margin outlook on higher prices and firm demand for server chips.



Geoff Lewis, head of investment services at JP Morgan Asset Management in Hong Kong, said corporate earnings alone will not lift markets for long.



"You still have to see continued good news on the economic front," he said. "Markets will want to see evidence of strength in private sector demand ... It's important the economy stand on its feet after the public fiscal stimulus starts to fade."



The U.S. dollar rose broadly on Friday, helped by data showing a rise in manufacturing and stable consumer price inflation. Concerns about the struggling Greek economy weighed on the euro.



Analysts noted the string of reports released on Friday were mostly in line with expectations, showing some improvement in a regional manufacturing indicator and tame consumer prices. Meanwhile, a measure of U.S. consumer sentiment was little changed in early January.



The euro, under pressure from worries over the struggling Greek economy and the growing public debt burden in some euro zone economies, slid 0.78 percent to $1.4389, compared with a previous session close of $1.4502.



Against a basket of major currencies, the dollar rose 0.59 percent to 77.186 . Against the yen the dollar fell 0.41 percent to 90.77 yen.



The U.S. Labour Department report showing consumer prices rose at a slower-than-expected pace in December helped fuel gains in U.S. Treasury securities.



Dormant inflation favours long-dated bonds because inflation erodes the value of fixed-income investments. Long maturities led the rally as dealers covered short positions after the Treasury's $13 billion 30-year bond sale on Thursday.



The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note declined 0.06 percentage point to 3.68 percent, the lowest level since mid-December.

fight against taliban

KABUL: The fight against the Taliban will not be won by military means alone, one of the most senior British commanders in Afghanistan has said.




The Afghan people must be persuaded to reject the insurgency and take responsibility for their own security, said Lieutenant Colonel Nick Kitson, Commanding Officer 3rd Battalion The Rifles Battlegroup.



Greater troop numbers would help the fight but the Afghan security forces should be pushed to the fore to provide "Afghan solutions to Afghan problems".



Lt Col Kitson, who is responsible for the security operation in the areas around Sangin and Kajaki, said now was the time for the Afghan government to improve the quality of its leaders and commanders.



Speaking at FOB (Forward Operating Base) Jackson, in Sangin, he estimated that there were only about 200 insurgents - "maybe less" - in the area of Sangin, where British troops were involved in some of the fiercest fighting. But he said "safe havens" in the surrounding areas allowed insurgents to commute in and out.



He said: "In terms of whether we can defeat them, no. We can prevail in our mission. Anyone who studies counter insurgency will know that you are not going to win by military means alone and therefore our focus is on the population, the security of the population, and generating the pre-eminence of the Afghan government."



He said: "In the next three months what we need to do is to continue to push the Afghan army and police to the fore. That does need a bit of support from higher up the Afghan chain, to improve their numbers and particularly to improve the quality of their leaders and commanders."



Lt Col Kitson said security in Sangin had improved to the point where it was "time for Afghan solutions for Afghan problems".



The commander said: "We know that the insurgency relies to varying degrees on individuals, foot soldiers, who are not necessarily committed to the cause. They may just be disaffected youth, unemployed, looking for some money. I think most of what I see here is about power and wealth. I don't believe it's an ideological movement quite as much as people might imagine."



He said an end to the conflict would inevitably involve dialogue, adding: "I think the insurgents or the Taliban will be brought over to the government side on the basis of what quality of life they are likely to receive and the general support or otherwise of the population."

Minister for local govt.

KARACHI: Minister for Local Government (LG) system Agha Siraj Durrani has claimed holding the Local Bodies (LB) elections on political party basis within 90 coming days, Geo news reported.

President's Speech in Lahore

LAHORE: President Asif Ali Zardari said he is not discharging his responsibilities as President with his eyes closed, “ I am watching with an eagle eye every move of the thief and conspirator.”

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