Headlines:

• 13 Points Proposed by Countries on Qatar
• Oil Spill in Pakistan
• Government Strategy Counterproductive

13 Points Proposed by Countries on Qatar

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain have come together to proposed a 13 point action plan for Qatar in exchange for ending its isolation of the Gulf state. A deadline of 10 days was set by the states with Qatar immediately condemning such a deal. The main talking point of the deal is the closure of AlJazeera news station which has been a real thorn in Saudi Arabia for many years. Its critical stance of Saudi Arabia and other US-aligned states have made it a focal talking point amongst Arab leaders. Other conditions including ending relationships with Iran and closing down a Turkish Airbase but these are clearly less important in comparison to Al Jazeera. It will be interesting to see if Qatar complies with such a request with the most likely result being a softening in the intensity of reporting by the media channel instead.

Oil Spill in Pakistan

A lorry carrying fuel has burst into flames near the Pakistani city of Ahmedpur East, killing at least 150 people, local officials say. Villagers had gathered, reportedly to collect fuel leaking from the crashed tanker, when it caught fire. Dozens are being treated in hospital. Some of the victims may only be identified by DNA sampling, as the bodies were so badly burned in the incident, reports say. Police sources said that people in nearby villages had rushed to the scene to collect fuel in pots, and also made phone calls to their relatives in other villages to come to collect the fuel. Traffic police had tried in vain to keep the crowds away from the tanker as local people, including women and children, continued desperately collecting fuel, the sources said. This incident demonstrates the great demand for energy that many simply do not have access to due to the bars of capitalism, such that they must rush to their death to obtain it.

Government Strategy Counterproductive

The number of people killed in twin bombings in the northwestern Pakistani city of Parachinar has risen to at least 67, bringing the overall death toll from three separate attacks across the country on Friday to 85, officials said. It began earlier on Friday with a suicide bombing at a police checkpoint in Quetta, in Balochistan province, which killed at least 14 people, 10 of whom were police officers. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack. In yet another incident on Friday, armed men in the port city of Karachi, in Sindh province, attacked police officers at a roadside restaurant and killed four of them before fleeing, Asif Ahmed, a senior police officer, told the Associated Press news agency. Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister, ordered security to be tightened across the country after the attacks. As such this response will only further create schisms in society as the security forces will gain yet more sweeping powers which will ultimately infringe on the people rights. Zoha Waseem a researcher from Kings College London recently commented on this approach stating that the measures “are not preventive. They breed and exacerbate existing grievances in Pakistan”, adding that such measures meant armed groups “will always find a pool of recruits, because they [public] are targeted by the state”. Pakistan is facing major issues which have stemmed from its involvement in the so called War on Terror, Musharraf wasn’t able to resolve these issues nor was Zardari and Sharif is looking more incompetent by the day. The system and what it churns out of leaders has failed the country and its trajectory of constant killing and bombings look set to continue.