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Letter from Pakistan

Letter from Pakistan Letter from... by Rizwan Atta , March 2012 Rizwan Atta looks at the growing tensions between the US and Pakistan and the outbreak of struggles from below US secretary of state Hillary Clinton met Pakistan's foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar in London on the sidelines of the Somalia conference in late February to discuss the damaged relations between the two countries. Clinton said Pakistan was too important for her country to turn its back on. This eagerness is not without cause and has a history. For almost half the period since independence Pakistan has been ruled by military dictatorships, with US support playing a pivotal role. Pervez Musharraf, who came to power in a coup, became a US favourite after he joined the "war on terror". Another former dictator, Zia ul-Haq, enjoyed US support for joining the proxy war fought through Islamists against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. But even after the return of a civilian government, thi...
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PAKISTAN: Government fails in earthquake response

  From Green Left Weekly, October 26, 2005. Rizwan Atta, Lahore Although no-one knows the exact figure, the 7.6 magnitude earthquake on October 8 killed an estimated 53,000 people. On October 13, the World Health Organisation's regional director Hussein Gezairy said the earthquake was a bigger catastrophe than last year's tsunami in terms of the number of the people made homeless and the extent of destruction to infrastructure. In the most affected areas, 80-90% of buildings collapsed. An estimated 8000 school buildings were destroyed or damaged in five districts of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Pakistani authorities estimate that 4 million people were directly affected by the earthquake, including 1 million who lost all shelter and livelihood. While officials say that nothing happened to nuclear facilities near Kahota, media are unable to enter to confirm, as the area is under military control. There were no resources available for rescue operations in ...
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