one, the punjab and center will be in the control of the same party and this is not happen in a very ng time. so it offers a great opportunity to work together because punjab can be an economic growth for pakistan. the other of choruses in pakistan's people surprisingly voted very badly in the punjab so it now largely confined to a parody. not the pakistan managed to surprise everyone by taking a large number of seats and forge a very good fight in the punjab in areas so there is some how the nicene of the youthful inventions into pakistani politics, which is likely to have an effect as we go forward. the shape of the new government is still being decided. relationships with neighbors are obviously on the agenda and we look forward to covering all of these. one interesting point of the islamization of pakistan if you look at the numbers, the islamic parties have not gone about the 5%. they are still hovering 4.5, 4.8% and that probably says some thing for the main parties for the urban class in pakistan. and the opportunities of having poverty in pakistan going forward. i'm not going

religious constituencies, especially in the punjab. be an advantage in dealing with the extremist groups and peeling them away, especially in the punjab. but in dealing with these elements, he must remain clear with regard to acceptance of the rate at the government and the presence, especially the charlotte area is. if the extremists in the punjab and those operating the tribal areas will find that china is an important source of support in the shape of what usually is known as punjab taliban. th next point i would make is these elections have taken place at a time which army has been an important part of pakistan has accumulated considerable sobering experience and perhaps a reevaluation of military rule under president sayre and president musharraf. there is a clear sense that pakistan's problems are quite in track to bowl, complex and not to be left perhaps to look at the devious and corrupt, but soft and accommodating ways that the politicians. they cannot be addressed from chile to military efficiency, which i think the sheriff ha

and father very good fight in the punjab. -- fought a very good fight in the punjab are. the new engines to pakistani politics is likely to have an an effect as we go forward. the shape of the new government is still being decided. relationships with neighbors are going to be on the agenda. we look forward to covering all of these. one interesting point that i will leave you with is, despite all the talk of the islamic hesitation of pakistan, the islamic parties have not gone above the five percent mark. they are still hovering, 4.5, 4.8% of the total vote. that probably says something , the urbann parties class in pakistan and the opportunities that they have of establishing a proper policy in pakistan going forward. i am not win to take the place of our experts. let me go immediately to maleeha, since you are on the ground, how are things there and how do you read these results and after you have spoken we will invite the others to join us. thank you. >> i think you can see me. thank you, it is a great pleasure to have joined you this morning. i can't see it, i presume y

against the province other than punjab and will continue to rule. he will focus in earnest is beset in the country and this probably is the expectation of the public that he's going to address the enormous problems in the economic field. if he fails to show results, the risk is that his party will also suffer the fate of ppp next time and perhaps this time -- next time i fails to be the pti especially if it's able to show what is expected to have the provision government. third, nawaz sharif's personality resonates with the conservative religious oriented constituencies in pakistan, but religious constituencies,. this can be an advantage in doing with the extremist groups and giving them away from violence, especially in the punjab. but in dealing with the solomon, he must remain clear with regard to acceptance of the writ and then the president in the tribal areas. if the extremists in the punjab are real, the suffrage in the tribal areas would find the china of an important source of support for them in the shape of what usually is known as punjab

many of the indigenous pakistani terrorist groups are from the punjab. this is still very active. hat will the new government's reaction be? i would like to hear what nuchhi has to say. i'm not very optimistic. the terrorist groups are getting more interwoven in society. governmente to see the would not be intimidated by terror. have to say. >> i think the government is going to be fully in control. up until now, everybody has given in to thesethese right wing forces have tried to curry support. to set the tone. we will wait to see what happens in the next few months. the chief of the party has had religious leanings himself. i do not know where this is going to go with him. supportedthe past these groups whether it was clearly are not, but we do not know what his government will be like now and which way he will go. he can set a very clear agenda. the hope is that he will be very clear on this one issue. importantof the most issues facing pakistan. >> the indications to look for then for bringing stability is to build up a police. that is a vehicle, the institution -- it is not th

the nation. election results all miss because. largely punjab the party has won in the punjab in sindh in the party in baluchistan there are seventy shady and murky and in a. very good sign for this one this is the step towards pakistan's become edition you see there is no national party no in the lead and all four provinces are led by horses who want to go in different directions the military is in deep trouble because of the military was instrumental in starting the misuse of religion. in foreign policy and strategy in the afghan war starting from ninety to ninety nine and now the whole game is turned against the blue to be taliban i think. are not going to talk because the. language is violence and i don't think a dialogue was possible is some part of taliban the afghan taliban ninety percent of the taliban fighting in afghanistan or pakistan sponsored maybe the peace is pakistani state but in the long run when the americans would do all the taliban frictions will combine and they want to play hell with the pakistani state. live from moscow t

ran the punjab province, which is pakistan's largest over the past five years. they have been relatively soft on militant groups that are based there. -- it will bet vastly different for his party to run pakistan as a whole, as opposed to simply one province. he doesn't have the luxury of achieving some sort of detente with militant groups at a national level because these groups largely avoided attacking his punjab province over the past two or three years, but they have been literally setting the rest of pakistan on fire. as prime minister of the country, he's going to have to develop an ability to tackle some of these groups had on. -- head-on. >> what about relations with the u.s.? he said he will review the relationship with the u.s. over its battle against extremists. do you think he will redefine the relationship? >> i think the relationship, the redefining of the relationship has already begun. what we have seen is that this year, there have only been two drone attacks, which are probably the most problematic aspect of the u.s.-pakistan relationship, at

and fought a very good fight in the punjab . he new entrance to pakistani politics is likely to have an an effect as we go forward. the shape of the new government is still being decided. relationships with neighbors are going to be on the agenda. we look forward to covering all of these. one interesting point that i will leave you with is, despite all the talk of the islamicization of pakistan, the islamic parties have not gone above the five percent mark. they are still hovering, 4.5, 4.8% of the total vote. that probably says something for the main parties, the urban class in pakistan and the opportunities that they have of establishing a proper policy in pakistan going forward. i am not going to take the place of our experts. let me go immediately to maleeha, since you are on the ground, how are things there and how do you read these results and after you have spoken we will invite the others to join us. thank you. >> i think you can see me. thank you, it is a great pleasure to have joined you this morning. i can't see you, i

in the largest province, the punjab, you have the old traditional standby of pakistani thetics -- big rallies, boisterous festival atmosphere, the carnival atmosphere. real enthusiasm among the voters. .specially the young people there are 40 million new young voters eligible to vote for the first time. they have been electrified by the montrose -- by the massive change that cricketer turned khanician imaran -- imran has been promising. an election of real contrast. >> in karachi, another candidate taken by violence. are their fears people think this might continue? >> the karachi candidate assassinated, each means that voting in that constituency has to be canceled. there was also the killing of two workers in the northwest frontier province, in the tribal areas. there were also bombs in falluja falujistan, now under military rule. the taliban are threatening to attack odors. it is truly an act of bravery in some parts of the country to cast their ballot. i think people can be excused if they decide it is not a risk worth taking. what will the turnout be? will it only be in certain p

to beid the election was decided in the area where you were. why is that? >> punjab province is the most populous province, in fact 100 million people call this province home and if you look at the electoral map, 342 seats for the national assembly, in this province alone, 183 seats are up for grabs, so whoever wins the job, when -- punjab, wins the election. i will have the camera panned over my shoulder. you can see a group of men, young and old, waiting to cast their ballot in this historic election. many of these voters that have been turning out for the election are first-time voters. in fact, there are 30 million first-time voters. let's show the camera your thumb. the purple thumb print of someone who has just cast a ballot. i can tell by your teacher that you are voting for change -- t- shirt you are voting for change. >> yes, this is really about change and we are supporting -- people are only looking for change. this is the first time there was a major turnout. people have really come out to vote, and i can see that last time it was only 25% turnout, and th

interesting is, each of the parties won majorities in a , so thet main provinces winning party wins in the punjab. ppp, the incumbent outgoing ruling party, they win the other province, and the new upcoming glamour party, the young party, they win the most difficult province, which is the frontier, which adjoins afghanistan, which is all your terrorism is happening, which is where -- which is basically the trouble spot in the country. and so i guess this is the price he wins. he has to govern that now. this is not going to be easy for him, but basically what this means is that every single part has aa vested -- rd vested interest in government, and that they are going to be responsible to make sure that their piece works in conjunction with the center, so there has to be a level of cooperation. you cannot just point fingers only. i'm sure a lot about what happened, too. it inevitably happens in government. yet another interesting thing that happened, the army. the army chief. he said, in these elections, the people of pakistan not only courageously withstood the threat of terrorism, they also def

more than 14,000 cases have been recorded in the province of punjab alone. one of the main causes is that many children have not been vaccinated against the disease. our correspondent reports now from the area hardest hit. >> it is the youngest to have fallen victim to the epidemic. this special isolation ward tracks with children who -- packed with children who are desperately sick. to fatales can lead illnesses such as meningitis. doctors are shocked at the scale of the outbreak. >> i have not seen one like this in my lifetime. a measles seen epidemic this big. >> in this hospital alone, at least 40 children have died so far this year. doctors say they are often brought here too late. this family are still grieving. they have lost their son who was 9 months old. now their daughter also has measles. she, like her brother, had not been fully vaccinated. i did not get vaccinated because i was on my own at home. we have to go out to get the vaccination. it is difficult because they were small. >> health officials responsible for punjab province admit the main c

the people's party was not in charge of punjab. but as we've seen it put job has been in that shape, it is at the feet -- it's not the people's point. the other ratio is will it perform well? there have been periods in time when the government has done very well in terms of performance. but there's this issue that has to be resolved in karachi. the question is who is actually ruin the province? i think they've taken aback now for separate karachi is the thinking of the mqm in this. so we just have to say, waste his chief minister to come from? who is going to be the chief minister? what kind of government is he going to put together and so on? will it be a coalition? will it be only -- we just have to wait and see. >> on that note, if you enjoyed me in banking ambassador -- [applause] i'm grateful that she shyness and i'm grateful that all of you stayed beyond the appointed hour of 11:30. it's been very profitable and we've made it. thank you. [inaudible conversations] >> so the question is why do we do with? why take the risk? sfr

for the winning party wins in the punjab. then ppp, the incumbent ruling party when the other problem, sindh. they won the most difficult, which is the frontier, which joins afghanistan, which is where all your terrorism is happening, which is basically the spot in the country. he has to govern not now. this is not going to be easy for him, but basically what this means is every single party has a vested interest in government and they are calling to be responsible to make sure that their piece works in conjunction with the center, so there has to be some level of cooperation. you can't sit there and point fingers only. it inevitably happens in government. now, yet another interesting thing that happened, the army. i'm going to quote the army chief. he said in the selection, the people of pakistan not only courageously withstood the threat of terrorism, they also decided the dictates of an insignificant misguided majority. so now he's talking about the so-called extremists, fundamentalist, religious nuts. now they never win an

that largely punjabi party has won in the in punjab in sindh in the party in baluchistan that are there seventy shady and murky and in a. bit that he can suffer as run this is this step towards pakistan has become edition you see there is no national party no in the lead and all four provinces are led by horses who want to go in different directions the military is in deep trouble because the military was instrumental in starting the misuse of religion. in foreign policy instead to the war starting from ninety thirty nine and how the whole game has turned against the political taleban i think. are not going to talk because the taliban language is violence and i don't think a ballot was forcible it is some part of taliban the afghan taliban ninety percent of the taliban fighting in afghanistan or pakistan sponsored maybe the peace of pakistani state but in the long run when the americans will draw all the taliban factions will combine and they're going to play hell with the pakistani state. or international foreign policy coming into focus with peter lavelle his guests on cross talk of t

he is with the ruling party and is running for the provincial assembly of punjab. thursday was the last day of campaigning for the election. they attack parties that cooperate with u.s. led anti-terror groups. now the violence has overshadowed the run up to saturday's vote, but it sn't drowned outhe issues, whic include everything from poverty to pakistan's place in the world. >> reporter: his party pack has positioned itself more than any other party as anti-american. he's technically opposed to the ongoing air strikes by u.s. drones flying over pakistan. >> translator: drone strikes are a complete violation of human rights. they're assassinating large numbers of innocent civilians. >> reporter: over the recent years, the united states has dramatically increased the use of unmanned drones to target muslim extremists in pakistan. it has fueled strong resent. in the population. this city is about 150 kilometers from the iran border. it's now home to many refugees who were driven away from areas because of the constant threat from the sky. among them is this man. he l

this has come out as the largest party. need in punjab. imran khan has done pretty well. i think nationalists are winning. nawaz sharif has earned some support. imran khan, been the leader of a new party, the kind of enthusiasm he has traded -- created it. ats.as won 45-50 se >> he was hoping to capitalize on the sense of disillusionment in pakistan with the two main parties including nawaz sharif. continuesring if he to emerge with a strong showing, imran khan. thel that nawaz sharif majority needs to rule? >> maybe in some elections. people have voted for the economy and experience. electricity shut downs. nawaz sharif, despite his failures in governance, he is known for giving some boost to the economy. the early assessment is that people have given him a chance again, especially in punch up -- punjab, . nawaz sharif was the one that opened up relationships with a peace process with india. people are linking these things. better relations with india means a better economy. very important fact is that nawaz sharif has taken a clear stand against the military's interferen

his backers in lahore, inside the populous punjab province, point to the city's newest metro bus systeman example of what they could bring to the entire country. opened earlier this year, the rapid transit project runs through various residential and commercial parts of lahore. it was pushed by sharif's brother, the former chief minister of punjab province and it has helped garner new support from voters. >> i myself have been a strong supporter of pakistan people's party all my life but now in this election campaign, i think i'm going to cast my vote in favor of pakistan muslim league. and it's all because of the works, developmental works they have done like this metro bus service. they speak for themselves where as pakistan people's party has not been able to deliver anything in the last five years. >> reporter: still, with no political party expected to win a majority, a coalition government is the likely result. the man that may become king maker in the forming of a new government is imran khan, an international star cricket player turned politician. the 60-year-old heads the tariq

the attack and abduction happened in multan, in the southern punjab province. of gilani's bodyguards were killed during the abduction. in neighboring bangladesh, another fatal accident hit the country's troubled garment industry overnight. a fire broke out at a factory in the capital city dhaka killing eight people, including the factory director. the fire engulfed the lower floors of the 11-story factory which had closed for the day. people still inside suffocated on poison gases as they ran down the stairs. the fire came two weeks after a garment building collapsed in dhaka. the death toll there grew to nearly 1,000 today. for the first time in more than five decades, americans are spending less on prescription drugs. that finding came today from a pharmaceutical market research firm the i.m.s. institute for healthcare informatics. the institute pointed to a surge of new, cheaper generic drugs. it also said consumers have been putting off doctor visits and drug refills to save money. first-time claims for unemployment benefits have hit a new, five-year low. th

> a country of 180 million people shaping their future at the ballot boxes and pakistan is voting in historic elections. capital ofincial punjabvince, where this election will likely be decided. >> you are watching al jazeera live from our headquarters. also in the next 30 minutes, the retrial of hosni mubarak is underway. we go live to cairo fhe

political reconciliation process with the backdown kind of ban that seem to be some kind of deal with in punjab which has been moved by you must respond to the boss or against. militant be tolerated if it is that if it's occurring elsewhere it's done so the senate got the substance of parents and they are most people the islamic. more secular positives that kind of unconscious that the imran khan and now was sure we have played to the anti us tondo wanted to win a vote is. i think there is a lot of resentment regarding dream strength in particular. and in your sentiments being. done for a long time i think. one of the. christians because. of the campaign you have been able to campaign and to hold the election that isn't worth the focus has been dominated by these two parties i think frankly the sort of anti us sentiment is pretty widespread across countries within pakistan maybe the outgoing government also did try to stop the us joint strike so will it change the government of government making way any difference to washington's policies. i think that depends on if things are made under the la