NEW YORK: Pakistan must be central to U.S. policy on Afghanistan and needs up to $50 billion over the next five years to avoid an economic meltdown that risks turning the country over to Islamic extremists, said a report released. The report by a think tank with close ties to the Obama administration said Washington must also act to strengthen civilian government in Pakistan and persuade Islamabad to stop using militant groups as an instrument of foreign policy.The Asia Society, whose chairman was Richard Holbrooke until he was appointed U.S. special envoy on Afghanistan and Pakistan in January, convened a task force to compile the report: "Back from the Brink? A Strategy for Stabilizing Afghanistan-Pakistan." The report, made public on Thursday, was provided to President Barack Obama's administration before he unveiled his strategy on Afghanistan last week. It closely mirrors Obama's policy, while focusing more on politics than military issues. The report said the global economic crisis risked further weakening Pakistan's civilian government, which has little control over tribal areas that have become safe havens for al Qaeda, and which struggles to match the sway of the military."Perhaps the most urgent priority is to prevent economic collapse, which could undermine state authority even in major urban areas in the next few months," the report said.
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
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