Ever since the Mumbai Blasts, the Indian government has literally taken to blasting Pakistan and repeatedly urging on the internationally community to declare Pakistan as a terrorist state. It is fairly clear that the Mumbai tragedy, which was grieved by countless caring Pakistanis too, has become just the right pretext for the Indian government to arouse international action against Pakistan by regarding it as a terrorist state; purporting later to aggression on Pakistani land. Do the people of India also feel the same? Do they want Pakistan’s destruction? It is time to ask these questions and to collect public opinion on war and if the people of either country do not want war, none of the governments has any right to plan war or aggression on each others territories.

India’s latest appeal to the international community, for declaring Pakistan a terrorist state, comes in reaction to Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan’s release despite the fact that Dr. Khan had confessed his involvement in selling nuclear secrets to Iran, North Korea, and Libya. Dr. Khan was released by the Islamabad High Court and, responding to external reaction, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has refuted the claim of government’s alleged pressure on the court for releasing Dr. Khan. On a political level, it is quiet unwarranted for the Indian government to attempt at provoking the international community against Pakistan.

While it looks like the Indian government is anxiously waiting to see Pakistan’s destruction, the Indian National Congress in particular is bent on politically alienating Pakistan and, for reasons best known to the party, pressing on the world to target Pakistan. What good will it do to India is something beyond immediate comprehension. Will victimizing Pakistan make the political/economic/social life in India any better? I think not.

Instead, a never-ending game of machination and conspiracies on all sides will make the life of the layman miserable. I believe that war will not prove any good to Pakistan, India, or the world. It’s good to talk about curbing terrorism in Pakistan but not fair to think of Pakistan’s destruction. Hopefully, the Indian government will somehow manage to harness its aggressive impulse and start speaking like a responsible and caring group of people.

The tribal areas of NWFP spread over an area of 27000 km2 most of which is mountainous and hilly terrain. The stratigraphic succession of the area is characterized by occurrences of different lithologies (rock types), which reflect varied depositional environments and tectonic setup. The belt has not been systematically studied and evaluated in particular context of the distribution of petroleum source rocks. Elementary data is yet to be generated as pre-requisite to establish a base for detailed exploration of hydrocarbon potential in the area. With the latest techniques of Geomicrobial survey, we can assess the hydrocarbon prospectively with optimum level of confidence.

Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have remained the most neglected areas with respect to the developmental projects. However, recently through the efforts of Dr. Fazli Rabbi Khan, Associate Professor at the National Centre of Excellence in Geology, University of Peshawar, the government began a project with aims for searching hydrocarbon reserves and other mineral resources in the region. International support for such projects might prove help full in developing the socio economic situation of the people of the area by creating new jobs and providing education opportunities.