Daily News Channel
The resort town of Abbottabad is a familiar one to day-tripping Pakistanis seeking escape from the urban tumult of the Punjab plain. Just 75 miles from the capital, Islamabad, colonial-era bungalows abut modern whitewashed villas on small streets largely devoid of traffic.
Caste rivalries and a fight over offerings at a cash-rich Sikh temple in Vienna echoed far and wide on Monday as sectarian violence once again erupted in India’s Sikh majority state of Punjab. At least two people have been killed and 14 injured since news reached Punjab yesterday via text messages and mobile phones that a Sikh preacher of a lower-caste sect, 57-year-old Sant Rama Nand, had been shot dead in a clash in a temple in Austria
The drums have fallen silent, the dancing in the streets has ended and Pakistan’s stock exchange has rebounded, but Monday’s political compromise — which ended a dangerous standoff — has not necessarily ensured stability.
Pakistan’s political turmoil has deepened as a result of a government crackdown on opposition groups across two provinces. In a desperate attempt to halt next week’s lawyer-led “long march” for the reinstatement of deposed judges, police and intelligence officials carried out early-morning raids across Punjab and Sindh, arresting more than 300 lawyers and political activists. All major entry points to the capital, Islamabad, have been blocked by either large containers or manned checkpoints
Pakistan has been plunged into a fresh phase of political instability after the country’s two main opposition leaders were barred from elected office. The controversial ruling from the Supreme Court has sparked violent and angry protests against the government of President Asif Ali Zardari in Punjab, the largest and wealthiest province of the country