Pakistan has also demanded a nuclear agreement with the US, saying that, like India, it faces an energy shortage. The Nation (July 25) reports that while speaking at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, London, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi stated that the Indo-US nuclear agreement should not be discriminatory.

India was quick to dismiss Pakistani apprehensions of an increasing arms race in the region in response to a letter addressed by Pakistan to members of the IAEA Board and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). The Nation, quoting Pranab Mukherjee, says, “Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee also made it clear that the deal was purely a civilian issue with no military consequences”.

Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani congratulated his Indian counterpart for winning the vote of confidence on July 22. Dawn (July 25) says “Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has said he is confident that all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan, including the Kashmir dispute, will be resolved amicably. He was talking to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani who had called him on Thursday to congratulate him on winning a vote of confidence”. The Nation (July 25) also carries a report on Gilani’s congratulatory phone call to the Indian PM.

Talking about the PML-Q reaction to the PPP led coalition government’s trade policy for 2008-2009, The News (July 25) says “The Pakistan Muslim League-Q on Thursday outright rejected the Trade Policy 2008-09 and announced that the opposition would take the business community into confidence so as to launch a countrywide strike against the policy which, in its view, was a covert move to give India the “most favoured nation” status.” The report also quotes PML-Q leaders who were of the view that with such a trade policy, Pakistan would become a dumping ground for Indian goods.

... contd.