
Pak army chief gets tough, asks Zardari, Gilani to act on corruption
Amid speculation of a military takeover in Pakistan, its powerful army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has bluntly told the civilian leadership to put its house in order through measures like a crackdown on corruption and improvement in its "faltering" response to the devastating floods.
Kayani "conveyed a plain message" to President Asif Ali Zardari and Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani in their recent meeting
that the civilian leadership "must put its house in order," a senior Pakistani security official was quoted as saying by
The Washington Post.
He forcefully demanded that the government crackdown on corruption, take control of the plummeting economy and improve its faltering response to the flood disaster.
Kayani bluntly stated military concerns during the meeting which took place on Monday, the report said.
However, the paper said, the US and Pakistani officials dismissed speculation that the military, which has ruled
Pakistan for much of its 63-year history, is contemplating a takeover.
"We don't have the appetite, the resources or the intent to meddle in politics," an unnamed Pakistani military official
was quoted as saying. "In our past experience, it hasn't worked. It only worsens the situation further."
In Washington, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters yesterday that he had not
heard anything like that from Kayani when he spoke to him last.
"In the conversation I had with him the other day, I didn't speak at all about that, the issue, and I've certainly
seen the reports," he said.
"I haven't had any recent communications with him about that at all, although I did speak to him a couple of days ago
specifically about the cross-border -- the stories that were out with cross border, which was a self-defence operation that took place very close to the border, and it's certainly not the first time that that's ever happened," Mullen said in response to a question on NATO air attacks in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, CIA Director Leon Panetta met ISI Chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha in Islamabad yesterday. The meeting assumes
significance in view of the unearthing of an al-Qaeda plot in which the terrorists were planning a Mumbai-type terrorist
attacks in several European countries.
In September, the CIA had dramatically escalated strikes into Pakistan from unmanned drone aircraft, targeting al-Qaeda sanctuaries, as well as the Afghan-Taliban and the allied Haqqani network that fight inside Afghanistan.
The increase in drone attacks is attributed to these fresh intelligence reports.

Biden forced to pull Tanden nomination for key budget post
- She will eventually have a role in the Biden administration, but it was not immediately clear how.

PM Khan to seek vote of confidence in parl, says report
- Gilani received 169 votes to Sheikh’s 164, election authorities and opposition parties said.

Pak needs to enact laws to fulfil FATF targets
- The FATF said Pakistan had “largely addressed” 24 of the 27 items in the action plan.

Scandal-hit Cuomo may see emergency powers taken away
- The governor hasn’t taken questions from reporters since a February 19 briefing, an unusually long gap for a Democrat whose daily, televised updates on the coronavirus pandemic were must-see TV last spring.

UK extends job support, tax breaks for pandemic-hit economy
- He also said Britain must be prepared to cut the deficit, announcing plans to increase the tax on corporate profits and boost revenue from personal income taxes in 2023.

Police warn of militant plot to ‘breach’ US Capitol
- The Capitol police statement noted that it already has made “significant security upgrades” at the Capitol, home to the US House of Representatives and Senate.

38 killed on ‘bloodiest day’, says UN envoy
- “It’s horrific, it’s a massacre. No words can describe the situation and our feelings,” youth activist Thinzar Shunlei Yi told Reuters via a messaging app.

8 injured in suspected 'terrorist' attack stabbing in Sweden
- The assailant was taken to hospital after being shot in the leg by police when he was taken into custody, following the attack in the southern Swedish city in mid-afternoon.

'Now is not the time': Top US health official warns against easing Covid curbs

Gurdeep Singh becomes first minority leader to win Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

South Africa Covid virus strain offers immunity against other variants: Experts

Water crisis continues in Mississippi after over two weeks since storms

Pentagon hesitated on sending National Guard to Capitol riot: US General
- Meanwhile, the Capitol Police disclosed the existence of intelligence of a “possible plot” by a militia group to breach the US Capitol on Thursday.

Prince Philip 'slightly improving': Duchess Camilla on father-in-law's health
