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Terrorists attack Pakistan military base, at least 12 killed ISLAMABAD:  Pakistan  security forces regained control of its naval airbase, Pakistan Naval Station (PNS) Mehran, in the port city of Karachi  on Monday, after 16 hours of pitched battle with heavily armed militants that resulted in the killing of 10 security officials and four attackers, according to Pakistani officials. The attack, which was launched on late Sunday night and continued into Monday afternoon, was the most lethal against Pakistan's armed forces since the militants attacked Pakistan army's General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi in October 2009. In a coordinated assault, the insurgents succeeded in destroying two of the just three P-3 series Orion anti-submarine and maritime surveillance aircrafts that Pakistan had acquired from the  United States . The security officials denied any security lapse but according to reports the attackers went close to the hangars where the m...

Kerry Says US Relations With Pakistan at Critical Moment   Photo: AP US Senator John Kerry in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 15, 2011 Kerry made the remarks to reporters Sunday in Kabul, the Afghan capital, in advance of his trip to Pakistan.  The senator arrived in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, late Sunday, becoming the most senior U.S. official to visit the country since U.S. special forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad on May 2.  Abbottabad is located just 50 kilometers from Pakistan's capital and there have been suggestions that Pakistani intelligence must have known of bin Laden's years-long presence in the military garrison city.     Kerry, who heads the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in earlier remarks, said the United States wants Pakistan to be what he called a "real ally" in the fight against terrorism. The Democrat from Massachusetts said there are "things that can be done better" in the U.S.-Pakista...

HE loadshedding-driven sleepless nights and disrupted daily routines of last summer are still haunting the people as the weather turns hot. The situation has not improved since last year; indeed all the signs are that it is getting worse.Credit goes to brave Pakistanis for surviving through the winter despite 10-hour power and gas loadshedding. But in the upcoming summer when the mercury is going to consistently hover round 40°C, occasionally rising to 50°C in some places, a power crisis of a similar order is going to prove unbearable. Last summer the national media reported tragic deaths due to heatstroke and dehydration. The energy crisis in winter forced thousands of industries to shut down operations, affecting industrial production and the livelihoods of thousands of families. Considering the indispensability of energy — since 1947, per capita electricity dependence in Pakistan has grown 82-fold — the current state of affairs can be regarded as a ‘national crisis’. The quicke...

Pakistan is experiencing a major existential crisis. But crises are mixed blessings which can lead to regression or progression. They can cause a breakdown or become a fertile ground for a breakthrough. Some Pakistanis are worried that Pakistan, like Iraq, is heading towards a civil war where thousands of innocent men, women and children will be killed because of the violent confrontation between different ethnic and religious groups. It is so sad that, even in the 21st century, millions of innocent Pakistanis are caught between religious fundamentalism and Western imperialism while the Pakistani military and government are unable to provide safety and security to their citizens. Since September 11, 2001, Pakistanis have been pushed into international religious, economic and political wars. In the eyes of many foreign powers Pakistan, a nuclear power, has become a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any time. Pakistan has taken the centre stage in world politics not only becaus...

Never in the history of Pakistan has a democratically elected civilian government served out its full term and then been replaced by another one, also through democratic elections. It is that context that makes  the latest political crisis  in Pakistan so important. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani is scrambling to save his PPP-led government after it lost its parliamentary majority when its coalition partner, the  Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), announced it would go into opposition.  A smaller religious party, the Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F), already quit the coalition last month.  If the government falls and elections are held ahead of schedule in 2013, the opportunity for Pakistan to have a government which serves its full term will be lost.  The prevailing view among political analysts appears to be that the government is now less likely to last until 2013, even if it manages to...

An energy crisis is any great  bottleneck  (or price rise) in the supply of  energy  resources to an  economy . In popular literature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, particularly those that supply national  electricity  grids or serve as fuel for vehicles. There has been an enormous increase in the global demand for energy in recent years as a result of industrial development and population growth. Supply of energy is, therefore, far less than the actual demand. Market failure  is possible when  monopoly  manipulation of markets occurs. A crisis can develop due to industrial actions like union organized strikes  and government embargoes. The cause may be  over-consumption , aging  infrastructure ,  choke point  disruption or bottlenecks at  oil refineries  and port facilities that restrict fuel supply. An emergency may emerge during u...