From a colleague in Pakistan: "Here is the summary of news stories in today's (19 March) DAWN and EXPRESS TRIBUNE newspapers from Islamabad:
1. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government in Pakistan received $ 1.5 billion from Saudi Arabia early this month as a "gift." The opposition leader in the National Assembly said in the Parliament on 18 March, "It is the biggest gift in the world's history and should be included in the Guinness Book of World Records." Most Pakistani analysts agree that this "gift" is a price for Pakistan's promise to train and equip Saudi-supported rebels fighting the Assad regime in Syria. There are also rumors in Islamabad that Pakistan has agreed to send another brigade of its troops to Riyadh.
2. "King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman al Khalifa [of Bahrain] will make an unprecedented visit on Wednesday [20 March] to the Joint Services Headquarters (JSHQ) where the king will meet the three services chief." The DAWN reports that no foreign head of the state has ever visited the JSHQ before.
3. Zahid Hussain, a respected columnist of DAWN writes 919 March): " Our retired servicemen had helped quell the Shia uprising in Bahrain" in 2011. Another DAWN reporter writes that Pakistan helped Bahrain set up its Navy and 18% of Bahrain's Air Force comprises Pakistan's active service personnel. Currently over 10,000 Pakistanis are serving in security services of Bahrain.
4. Another recent development to be noted is that Pakistan has abandoned its longstanding policy of neutrality in inter-Arab conflicts and Prime Minister signed a joint declaration with the visiting Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia asking for the removal of the Assad regime in Syria."
1. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government in Pakistan received $ 1.5 billion from Saudi Arabia early this month as a "gift." The opposition leader in the National Assembly said in the Parliament on 18 March, "It is the biggest gift in the world's history and should be included in the Guinness Book of World Records." Most Pakistani analysts agree that this "gift" is a price for Pakistan's promise to train and equip Saudi-supported rebels fighting the Assad regime in Syria. There are also rumors in Islamabad that Pakistan has agreed to send another brigade of its troops to Riyadh.
2. "King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman al Khalifa [of Bahrain] will make an unprecedented visit on Wednesday [20 March] to the Joint Services Headquarters (JSHQ) where the king will meet the three services chief." The DAWN reports that no foreign head of the state has ever visited the JSHQ before.
3. Zahid Hussain, a respected columnist of DAWN writes 919 March): " Our retired servicemen had helped quell the Shia uprising in Bahrain" in 2011. Another DAWN reporter writes that Pakistan helped Bahrain set up its Navy and 18% of Bahrain's Air Force comprises Pakistan's active service personnel. Currently over 10,000 Pakistanis are serving in security services of Bahrain.
4. Another recent development to be noted is that Pakistan has abandoned its longstanding policy of neutrality in inter-Arab conflicts and Prime Minister signed a joint declaration with the visiting Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia asking for the removal of the Assad regime in Syria."
