President Zardari visits China; Pakistan and china sign 11 pacts; Economic crisis prevails; Around 100 militants killed across the country
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    • President Zardari was on an official visit to China during the week in which he held ‘formal talks’ with his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao in Beijing on October 161. Earlier Pakistan and China signed as many as 11 pacts which included MoUs and several initiatives for cooperation in the sectors of trade, energy, agriculture, telecommunication and space. These agreements were inked at the Great Hall in Beijing on October 15 in the presence of both the leaders2.

    Pakistan is facing economic crisis due to a sharp decline in the foreign exchange reserves as noted by the Financial Advisor to the Prime Minister, Shaukat Tareen in a press conference in Islamabad on October 18. He further stated that if the dollar requirements are not fulfilled by international financial institutions within 30 days, Pakistan would have to approach International Monetary Fund (IMF) to redress the problem3.

    Meanwhile, the joint session of the parliament which was summoned on October 15 to provide briefing to the members of parliament about the ongoing ‘war on terror’ had to be adjourned for a day due to death of PML-Q leader Nasrullah Khan4.

    In other developments, fighting against the militants continues and the security forces claimed having killed at least 60 militants in Swat on October 175. In Bajaur Agency, 14 Taliban militants were reported killed on October 146. On the other hand, 27 militants were also killed in air strikes conducted in Kohat on October 127. Amidst theses developments, President Zardari while addressing a high level meeting in Islamabad on October 18 was reported to have noted that that the government will only initiate talks with militant who give up arms completely8.

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