Pak has no money, energy, government: US report

Lahore, Oct 17: Pakistan has no money, no energy and no government says a 'top secret' US report which is still in its draft stages. According to US official who participated in drafting of the report, it portrays the situation in Pakistan as 'very bad'. Another official called the draft 'very bleak', and said it describes Pakistan as being 'on the edge'.

The National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report on Pakistan says that the Pakistani military was reluctant to launch an all-out campaign against the Taliban in part because of "popular opposition to continuing the co-operation with the US".

The aim of the report is to determine whether the US' presence in the region could be effective and, if so, what should the US strategy be.

Paints a grim picture of the situation in Pakistan, it said that anti-US and anti-government sentiments had grown recently, stoked by stepped-up cross-border US missile strikes and at least one commando raid on suspected Taliban targets in FATA that reportedly have resulted in civilian deaths.

According to it, since the Pakistan military has lost hundreds of troops to battles and suicide bombings, Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani wants the new civilian coalition government to provide the military with political cover by blessing a major anti-insurgency crackdown.

"However, the ruling coalition has been preoccupied by other matters, including efforts to consolidate its power after winning a struggle that prompted its main rival, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, to leave the ruling coalition," the draft said.

ANI