Maverick Report
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday strongly condemned the suicide attack at Torkham in Khyber Agency the same day, which left at least 21 personnel of tribal police force dead.
In a message from the UK where he is on a three-day visit, President Zardari reiterated the government’s resolve to fight terrorism and extremism till the complete elimination of this menace. He expressed his grief and shock over the loss of lives and injuries caused by the heinous act of terrorism.
President Zardari conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families and prayed for the eternal peace of departed souls. He also directed the concerned authorities to ensure provision of the best medical facilities to those injured in the attack.

Maverick Report
PESHAWAR: At least 10 suspected militants died and five others sustained injuries in a fresh US drone attack on an alleged militant compound at Ragh village near Kaniguram town of Pakistan’s South Waziristan tribal district Thursday afternoon.
Some reports said three of the dead were foreign militants, whose bodies were immediately shifted to an unknown location by the militants. Their nationality could not be ascertained.
According to sources in the tribal region, two US drones had been flying over Kaniguram town since Thursday morning and fired three missiles at an alleged militant compound in the afternoon. They said eight people died on the spot and seven sustained injuries. Death toll later rose to 10 as two of the injured succumbed to their injuries.
The sources said dozens of armed militants immediately reached the scene and cordoned off the area.
Kaniguram -- a picturesque town located about 40 kilometres northeast of Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan -- is in the control of militants affiliated with Baitullah Mahsud, the slain chief of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
The sources said most of the people had fled their villages and houses in the town because of ongoing military action against the TTP militants. They said militants had occupied some of the houses and turned them into their base camps.
The militants affiliated with the TTP have suffered heavy losses in the past few months in the US drone attacks. The big loss for the TTP in drone attacks so far is the death of Baitullah Mahsud and his wife, who died when a drone struck a house of Baitullah Mahsud’s father-in-law at Zangara village on August 5.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the TTP, Azam Tariq, called some media officials in Peshawar and claimed that only five persons were killed in the drone attack on Kaniguram. He claimed most of them were women and children.

Maverick Report
LONDON: The British Pakistanis can play an effective role in bringing the Britain and Pakistan closer by joining the mainstream politics and having a greater say in its domestic and international policies, President Asif Ali Zardari said here on Thursday.
Talking to Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrat party that has promised to pitch seven candidates of Pakistani origin in the next general election, President Zardari said with greater representation, around one million Pakistanis in Britain would have a stronger voice in the British affairs and be able to influence its domestic and international policies that impact Pakistan.
The Pakistani leader said Islamabad and London are close friends and allies against extremism, militancy and terrorism and with greater collaboration could tackle the challenges that confront them.
Nothing that a large number of Pakistani-origin people have been elected as councillors, mayors and deputy mayors in the local government besides getting due representation at the House of Commons and House of Lords, President Zardari said the initiative by the Liberal Democrat party to allocate seats would further integrate the Pakistani diaspora into the mainstream British politics.
President Zardari, who is here on a three-day working visit, apprised the Liberal Democrat leader about the serious challenges Pakistan was facing and the government’s strategy to confront these. He said it was vital that Britain-based Pakistanis realise their key role and work for projecting a positive image of the country.
The Pakistan president said it was important that the British citizens of Pakistani origin understand the real issues confronting Pakistan and also join hands to help it confront poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and health related issues that were the breeding grounds for extremism.
President Zardari, who will be meeting Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Friday (today), appreciated the role of Britain at the Friends of Democratic Pakistan forum. He hoped the forthcoming meeting in New York on September 23 would come up with a marshal plan type strategy to help it cope with its challenges.
President Zardari also apprised Clegg about Pakistan’s ties with all its neighbours and its endeavours to have peaceful, friendly and productive relations. He hoped the Liberal Democrats party would play its part in facilitating Pakistan’s desire for a stronger partnership with the European Union and ensure greater trade and access to the EU market.
In the meeting, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik and National Reconstruction Bureau Chairman Dr Asim Hussain accompanied President Zardari while Shadow Foreign Secretary Edward Davis and a Pakistani origin candidate Qasim Afzal accompanied Clegg.

Maverick Report
ISLAMABAD: Of the 1.7 million people living in restive Swat district of Pakistan, 1.1 million left the area with only 600,000 staying behind and as of August 24, almost 90 per cent of the internally displaced persons (around 128,000 families or 957,000 individuals) returned to their homes.
This was disclosed in a fact sheet released a press conference here on Thursday following United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Mogwanja, together with representatives of FAO, Unicef and OCHA, went on a mission on August 24 to assess the situation in Swat district. During the visit, the UN mission met district authorities in Mingora and national and international non-governmental organisations, and agreed that early recovery had to start as soon as possible.
Public sector infrastructures and facilities such as telecommunication, electricity, water supply systems, schools and health facilities are functional. They are, however, in a pretty dilapidated condition.
There is the need for food assistance during the early recovery phase. There are currently four food distribution hubs in place. “We visited one of them and were pleased to see that it was working very well. Every registered returning household was given a monthly ration of 80 kg of flour, 3.7 kg of vegetable oil, eight kg of pulses, five kg of biscuits, four kg of sugar, two kg of dates, one kg of salt and 300 milligram of tea. Some of the items were especially added due to the months of Ramazan.”
Livestock also needs to be rehabilitated with the main focus, however, should be on agriculture. The population in Swat has lost over 85 per cent of the crops of the last harvest.
The UN mission found that health infrastructure and provision of essential health services is also a top priority. Out of the 75 health facilities, 21 have been partially damaged while four have been completely damaged.
“There is particular concern on behalf of women, who have not yet returned to work in significant numbers. Women’s healthcare, particularly in rural areas, is dependent on the presence of female staff, and there are still none in Mingora hospital,” the mission noted.
As far as education is concerned, the mission noted, around 80 per cent of the schools are now open and running, and most markets are back in business.
As Swat district has seen the most returnees, an increasing number of humanitarian actors -- UN agencies as well as NGOs and INGOs -- have gone back to assist the activities in the district. For this reason, UN OCHA is looking into opening a satellite office in the province, which will work closely with the district authorities and other humanitarian actors on the ground.
As far as the overall humanitarian situation is concerned, the government figures show that of the 2.3 million IDPs, around 1.6 million people have returned to their homes so far.
During the past week, the return rate has slowed down significantly with an average of 500 families returning to their homes daily. Last week this figure stood at about 1,430.
Schools are also starting to be vacated in the affected areas. “Our Education Cluster has reported that of the 4,370 schools that were initially occupied by IDPs, only 454 were still used to house IDPs. The Cluster expects these schools to be vacated by September 1.”
“We are now moving into the stage of early recovery and the humanitarian actors on the ground need to asses what is needed for the hundreds of thousands of returnees and for the people, who have stayed behind and never left,” the mission head stated. “We will also be working to address women’s -- and particularly widow’s -- reported difficulties in accessing assistance services, and as always striving to ensure aid is accessible to all segments of the population who need it.”
The funding for the agricultural sector saw a 32 per cent increase with a commitment of $692,215 from Spain. The sector’s funding now stands at 16 per cent of the required funds. With three per cent funding, the early recovery is still very much under-funded.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has appointed Jean-Maurice Ripert of France as special envoy for assistance to Pakistan. The position was created to support the Pakistan government and the international community in responding to the present humanitarian, recovery and reconstruction needs in Pakistan.
Ripert will be working closely with the resident coordinator and the humanitarian coordinator to implement a comprehensive UN approach to the areas in need. He is expected to take up his new job in September 2009.

Maverick Report
ISLAMABAD: In the perceptions of the average Pakistani, education tops the list of various fields in which the country seems to be progressing, says a latest survey released here on Thursday.
According to a Gilani Research Foundation survey, Pakistan’s progress in education was rated as good or very good by 36 per cent of a nationally representative sample of men and women asked to rate the performance of various national activities.
Education is followed by economic progress (29 per cent), progress in public morals (23 per cent) and law & order progress cited by 21 per cent of the respondents.
Interestingly, a proportionately higher percentage of rural people have a positive opinion about the progress of Pakistan in these spheres of life.
On the negative side, 33 per cent of the national sample rated progress in education as bad or very bad. The comparable rating for other fields is economic progress (40 per cent), public morals (41 per cent) and law & order (54 per cent).
A nationally representative sample of men and women from across the country were read out a list of four different fields of life and were asked: “In your opinion, on a five-point scale given, what is the progress of Pakistan in each of these spheres?”
The findings show that economically Pakistan is perceived to be doing very good or good by 29 per cent of the respondents, 25 per cent think economic progress is average whereas the majority (40 per cent) claimed it is very bad or bad. Six per cent were unsure or gave no response.
A proportionately higher percentage of rural people (31 per cent) than urbanites (25 per cent) said the country is progressing economically.
When the respondents were asked about law & order in the country, 21 per cent showed their satisfaction by stating that law & order situation in Pakistan is very good or good. Twenty per cent claimed it is average while 54 per cent consider law & order situation to be very bad or just bad. Five per cent were unsure or gave no response.
Interestingly, a comparatively higher percentage of rural people (24 per cent) than urbanites (16 per cent) believe Pakistan’s progress in maintaining law & order is very good or good.
Twenty-three per cent of all Pakistanis claimed public morals are very good or good whereas 41 per cent felt they are bad or very bad. Thirty per cent said progress in public morals is average. There was no stark difference found in various demographics.
The study was released by Gilani Foundation and carried out by Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International. The latest survey was carried out among a sample of 2,650 men and women in rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country this month (August 2009). Error margin is estimated to be approximately +2-3 per cent at 95 per cent confidence level.

Maverick Report
PESHAWAR: The British High Commission in Pakistan on Thursday presented the police in Pakistan’s troubled North West Frontier Province (NWFP) with vital equipment in fight against crime and insurgency.
Acting British High Commissioner Ray Kyles handed over 870 body armour jackets, 1,740 hard armour plates and 870 ballistic helmets to NWFP Police Chief Malik Naveed at the British High Commission.
The acting British high commissioner said: “The UK is pleased to be able to provide this equipment in support of the NWFP Police’s current drive against crime and insurgency in the province. This equipment was delivered as part of a larger programme of training the NWFP Police aimed at strengthening security in NWFP, which began in January 2009. The UK is committed to help bring greater peace and stability to the region.”
Malik Naveed acknowledged delivery of the equipment and stated that the gift would strengthen relations between Pakistan and the UK.
The equipment will help save the lives of police officers performing duties in the province. More than 300 officers were killed in attacks by militants during the last year.