DINA for the issue of December 15, 2011

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D A W N I n t e r n e t N e w s A l e r t
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December 15, 2011 Thursday Muharram 19, 1433
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The DAWN Internet News Alert (DINA) is a free daily news-service
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(c) Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Ltd., Pakistan - 2011

The link at the end of each extract can be used to access the
complete story on DAWN - the Internet Edition.


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Zardari discharged from hospital
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By Syed Irfan Raza
ISLAMABAD, Dec 14: After receiving heart treatment in a hospital for nine days, President Asif Ali Zardari was shifted on Wednesday to his home in Dubai to take rest, but mystery still shrouds his return to the country and what had actually forced him to leave in haste.

Neither did his doctors give a statement about what really happened to Mr Zardari nor did the presidency's spokesman come up with a specific date of his return to the country. Mr Babar, however, confirmed that "the president has been shifted to his home in Dubai"...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/zardari-discharged-from-hospital.html


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Gilani urges MPs to protect democracy: 'Threat to life' forced Zardari to go abroad
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By Iftikhar A. Khan
ISLAMABAD, Dec 14: Warning that any deviation from the Constitution would entail dangerous consequences, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani sought the support of lawmakers on Wednesday to protect democracy, parliament and the Constitution.

"Parliament, and not the government and the prime minister, should complete the term. It does not make any difference if I sit on opposition benches," he said in the Senate...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/gilani-urges-mps-to-protect-democracy-threat-to-life-forced-zardari-to-go-abroad.html


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Talks with US on thorny issues soon
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By Zulfiqar Ali
PESHAWAR: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said negotiations between Pakistan and the United States would start soon to resolve thorny issues bedevilling the relationship.

"We are the aggrieved party. We need the future relations to be based on respect of our sovereignty," the prime minister said while talking to journalists after chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet at the Governor's House here on Wednesday...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/talks-with-us-on-thorny-issues-soon.html


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Congress moves closer to tying aid to IEDs
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By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Dec 14: A joint committee of the US House and Senate agreed on Wednesday to tying some military aid to Pakistan to certifications from the departments of State and Defence that Islamabad had taken effective steps to curb the flow of certain explosive materials into Afghanistan.

The US Department of Defence believes that some fertilisers made in Pakistan are used for making improvised explosive devices. The Taliban militants use these IEDs to target US, Nato and Afghan troops in Afghanistan...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/congress-moves-closer-to-tying-aid-to-ieds.html


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SC to take up implementation of NRO verdict
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By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Dec 14: There is little likelihood that anyone in the government will be looking forward to the New Year and this includes President Asif Ali Zardari.

In a significant move, the Supreme Court has sought reports on the implementation of the NRO judgment from top government functionaries, including the president and the prime minister, and is planning to hear the case early next month...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/sc-to-take-up-implementation-of-nro-verdict.html


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Gen Pasha visited Arab states to discuss coup: Ijaz
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ISLAMABAD, Dec 14: Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz, who kicked up the memo scandal, has come up with an intriguing claim that ISI chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha had visited Arab countries for discussions on a possible coup, which could add fresh fire to the controversy that has already roiled the national politics and claimed the scalp of country's ambassador to Washington.

A blog posting on Independent's website quoted Mansoor Ijaz as having said: "that their (US intelligence) information was that Pasha had travelled to a few of the Arab countries to talk about what would be necessary to do in the event they had to remove Zardari from power and so forth."..

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/gen-pasha-visited-arab-states-to-discuss-coup-ijaz.html


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Sindh asks 'Friends' not to reopen Kalabagh issue
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By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, Dec 14: The Sindh government has asked the water task force of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan to withdraw its advice calling upon the federal government to reconsider the Kalabagh dam as a priority water sector project, saying it will open a Pandora's box.

Informed sources said the Sindh government had conveyed its official position to the FoDP's task force on water. As a result, a meeting has been scheduled in Karachi later this week in which the provincial government would submit its stance on Kalabagh dam in writing...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/sindh-asks-friends-not-to-reopen-kalabagh-issue.html


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Pakistan must deal with terror havens, says Panetta
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SHARANA BASE (Afghanistan), Dec 14: US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta said here on Wednesday that relations with Pakistan were complicated but that it was important to maintain a relationship with Islamabad.

Speaking to troops here, he said: "The Haqqanis that you fight here in this area come across the border, attack here and go back into the safe havens over there. They (the Pakistanis) have a responsibility to deal with those safe havens," he said...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/pakistan-must-deal-with-terror-havens-says-panetta.html


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Court accepts Haqqani's plea in memo case
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By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Dec 14: Accepting the appeal of former ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani against the rejection of his plea by its registrar, the Supreme Court has decided to take it up on Monday along with Nawaz Sharif's petition on the memo case.

Through his counsel Asma Jahangir, Mr Haqqani had challenged the registrar's decision of rejecting his plea against the court's Dec 1 verdict under which it had appointed a commission to probe the scandal and stopped the former envoy from leaving the country...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/court-accepts-haqqanis-plea-in-memo-case.html


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Talk of 'life threat' doesn't impress US
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WASHINGTON, Dec 14: The US State Department said on Wednesday it believed President Asif Ali Zardari had gone to Dubai for treatment only and not for any other reason.

The department's spokesperson Victoria Nuland made these remarks when asked to comment on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's statement earlier in the day that threats to his life forced President Zardari to go to a Dubai hospital for treatment one week ago...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/talk-of-life-threat-doesnt-impress-us.html


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PML-N considers mounting challenge to Zardari's suitability as president
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By Amir Wasim
ISLAMABAD, Dec 14: The opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N may challenge 'suitability' of Asif Ali Zardari to remain in the Presidency on health ground and a process of consultation within the party has already started, sources told Dawn on Wednesday.

The option, according to the sources, had been discussed by some senior members of the party and any decision to that effect would be taken only after a complete homework and giving the government an ample time to take the nation into confidence about the nature of illness of the president, who is under treatment in Dubai...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/15/pml-n-considers-mounting-challenge-to-zardaris-suitability-as-president.html


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Karachi Stocks Up 29.82 Points:
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KARACHI, Dec 14: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11307.84, up 29.82 points.
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Forex Update:
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KARACHI, Dec 14: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 89.6 to the US Dollar in the open market.
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