The figure is equivalent to the loss suffered due to terrorism over nine years. Chairing a somber meeting of the federal cabinet on Wednesday, the prime minister said that the country would need at least three years to recover from the crisis, and that too only if international help matches the scale of the disaster. Gilani announced that the government would hold a conference of multilateral donors towards the end of October or early November.

International donations will be sought once the damage need assessment (DNA) is completed by the World Bank (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), he added. The cabinet, Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira told reporters later, had decided to lower estimations for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to 2.5 per cent compared to the initial target of 4.5 per cent for the current fiscal year.

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Zardari Vows To Convert Disaster To Opportunity: Pakistan would convert the disaster caused by the floods, with help of its people and the international community, into an opportunity, President Asif Ali Zardari said on Tuesday. Talking to editors of Sindhi newspapers and TV channels at the CM’s House, he said the efforts to restore normalcy would be long drawn, and would take at least two to three years.

“We have launched an international appeal and the response is very encouraging. We are determined to rebuild the entire damaged infrastructure,” he added.

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Pakistani film actress Meera  has run into another controversy with police including her name in the probe into a kidnapping case registered against her brother, Syed Ahsan Abbas, by his former wife.

Defence-A police station registered a case of kidnapping of a six-month-old child against Meera's mother and two brothers about three weeks ago on the complaint of Asma Zohra, the former wife of Ahsan Abbas.

Zohra filed a complaint with police that she had contracted marriage with Abbas around four years ago. The couple developed differences later on and Zohra moved out of the house along with their son. She alleged that Abbas, his brother Hassan and their mother Shafqat Bibi had forcibly taken away her son.

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Wearing army fatigues and a red cap, Zaid Hamid is perhaps Pakistan's best-known television personality. The strategic affairs expert, who coined the term 'Hindu Zionist' to describe the hypothetical Indian and Israeli nexus against Pakistan, has become a household name across the country for his conspiracy theories on economic terrorism and Indian-U.S.-Israeli plotting.

His Facebook page currently has a following of 66,000, among them students of expensive schools and even pop singers and fashion designers. Whether it is explaining Taliban militancy, Pakistan's ever-present electricity crisis, Blackwater's involvement in planning terrorist attacks, or plans for the U.S. to take over Pakistan's nuclear weapons, conspiracy theorists call the shots in Pakistan.

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 Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the report of Iran scientist’s refuge in Pakistan Embassy in Washington has not been confirmed yet. Iran’s state radio had reported on Tuesday that a missing Iranian nuclear scientist who Tehran says was kidnapped by the CIA, had taken refuge in Pakistan’s embassy in Washington.

Talking to a private TV channel, the Pakistani foreign minister said that it is too early to comment on the report, adding the government is trying to contact with officials of Pakistani Embassy in Washington. He said that the government would present its view after making contact with the official of Pakistan Embassy in Washington.

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 Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that the report of Iran scientist’s refuge in Pakistan Embassy in Washington has not been confirmed yet. Iran’s state radio had reported on Tuesday that a missing Iranian nuclear scientist who Tehran says was kidnapped by the CIA, had taken refuge in Pakistan’s embassy in Washington.

Talking to a private TV channel, the Pakistani foreign minister said that it is too early to comment on the report, adding the government is trying to contact with officials of Pakistani Embassy in Washington. He said that the government would present its view after making contact with the official of Pakistan Embassy in Washington.

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Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s ongoing visit to China will further consolidate the traditional bond between Beijing and Islamabad. Beijing regards Islamabad as an all-weather friend and a strategic partner. The two nations’ ties have withstood the vicissitudes of times. Mutual trust and support are the cornerstones of the Sino-Pakistani relationship, said an article published in mass circulated English language ‘China Daily’ newspaper.

Apart from a need to pursue economic and social progress, China and Pakistan also share many mutual concerns. The two nations face the common threat of the “three forces” - terrorism, separatism and extremism.
China has always commended the Pakistani government’s efforts to firmly combat the “three forces” and is willing to step up cooperation with its neighbor in this regard. The joint anti-terrorism drill between the two militaries, being held in the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, will upgrade their capabilities in jointly dealing with terrorism.

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Pakistan's prime minister convened urgent deliberations on the country's law and order situation following a major attack on the most popular Sufi Shrine last week. The double suicide bombing in the heart of Lahore at a place of worship central to the lives of millions of Pakistanis has jolted the nation and trained a spotlight on the failure of law enforcement agencies to safeguard the public.

In almost every Punjabi film, the lead actor is supposed to have a moustache which he touches as a symbol of pride. Director Syed Noor says, “The moustaches are considered an important part of a hero’s personality. Though in real life none of the young Lollywood heroes have moustaches but in movies it’s considered an integral part of a ‘solid man’.”

The ‘moustache mania’ is not limited only to Punjabi films, but is a fixation for many. One such man is Haji Razzaq, who is an employee of a cultural body in Lahore. Razzaq is a senior official and his duties include handling of the commercial theater activities other than taking care of his moustache, which he says has brought him fame.

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Faced with what he called "political posturing" by Republicans over immigration reform, President Obama fought back on Thursday with some grade-A political posturing of his own.

"The system is broken, and everybody knows it," Obama said in a speech at American University. "Unfortunately, reform has been held hostage to political posturing.

And special-interest wrangling and to the pervasive sentiment in Washington that tackling such a thorny and emotional issue is inherently bad politics."

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