DINA for the issue of December 16, 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 16, 2011 Friday Muharram 20, 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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Civilian, military leaderships face off in Supreme Court
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By Baqir Sajjad Syed & Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: If the first act of the memo controversy ended with the resignation of then ambassador Husain Haqqani, then the curtains came down on the second act on Thursday evening when the Supreme Court received the replies it had asked the president, Haqqani, the chief of army staff, the ISI head and Mansoor Ijaz to submit.

Although Dec 15 was the last day by which the replies were to be submitted, Haqqani was the only one who submitted his reply earlier. The rest arrived on the last day; and those of the two military officials as well as the federation's were submitted to the court by Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq well after the court timings were over...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/civilian-military-leaderships-face-off-in-supreme-court.html


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Memo exists, say COAS, ISI chief
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By Our Staff Reporter
Both Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and ISI Director General Lt Gen Shuja Pasha, in their first official and public statements on the memo scandal on Thursday, dropped a bombshell by acknowledging the document and expressing satisfaction with the evidence provided by American businessman Mansoor Ijaz.

In separate replies filed with the Supreme Court, which is hearing petitions related to the matter, they called for a thorough investigation about the memorandum, which they blamed on former ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, saying the issue had an impact on national security...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/memo-exists-say-kayani-pasha.html


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Onus for failure will be on US, says Khar
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By Ahmad Hassan
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Thursday that a move in the US Congress to freeze $700 million assistance to Pakistan would affect the war on terror and the entire responsibility in case of failure would be on the United States.

Talking to reporters after briefing the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS), she said steps taken by the government after the recent Nato attack would lay the foundation of a strong foreign policy framework to be formulated by parliament...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/onus-for-failure-will-be-on-us-says-khar.html


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Federation seeks dismissal of case
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By Our Staff Reporter
The federal government requested the Supreme Court on Thursday to dismiss PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif's petition over the memo scandal because appropriate steps on the matter had already been taken by the competent authorities -- executive and parliamentary committee. In a brief reply submitted by Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq, the government said it was essential that the Parliamentary Committee on National Security should proceed with the probe to determine the issue and give its recommendations.

"So that the parliament, which has supremacy under the Constitution as a representative body of the people of Pakistan, may consider and take appropriate actions and steps if need be," it said...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/federation-seeks-dismissal-of-case.html


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Army, ISI want govt to continue, Ijaz was told
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By Our Staff Reporter
American businessman and aspiring statesman, Mansoor Ijaz, has not run out of revelations and neither has he stopped condemning and praising the same people in turn.

This much is clear from his 81-page reply that he sent to the Supreme Court. In the document he has disclosed that during his meeting with the Inter Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha in London, the general had made it clear that it was his (Pasha) and Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani's deep desire to see the government complete its term. However, the general added, the rumours surrounding the memo and what it contained could not be ignored...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/army-isi-want-govt-to-continue-ijaz-was-told.html


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29,000 containers went missing on way to Afghanistan
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By Iftikhar A. Khan
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: An internal inquiry by the Federal Board of Revenue has revealed that around 29,000 containers destined for Afghanistan have gone missing inside the country.

Speaking on behalf of the finance minister, Minister of State for Production Khwaja Sheeraz informed the Senate on Thursday that a committee formed by the FBR chairman had found that as many as 28,822 containers carrying Nato and Afghan Transit Trade goods had left Port Qasim, but never crossed Chaman and Torkham border posts...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/29000-containers-went-missing-on-way-to-afghanistan.html


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Former air chief Nur Khan dies
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By Kalbe Ali
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: Former Air Force chief Air Marshal (retd) Malik Nur Khan died on Thursday after a long illness at the Combined Military Hospital in Rawalpindi. He was 88.

According to a PAF spokesman, he will be laid to rest in his ancestral village of Dandi (Tamman), Chakwal district, on Friday...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/former-air-chief-nur-khan-dies.html


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More presidency staff sent to Dubai
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By Syed Irfan Raza
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: A second batch of secretarial staff of the presidency flew to Dubai on Thursday amid speculations that a presidential camp office was being set up at the residence of ailing President Asif Ali Zardari in the posh area of Jumeirah where he had shifted from hospital on Wednesday.

According to sources, some employees of the presidency had accompanied the president when he left for Dubai earlier this month for medical treatment and "another batch of staffers went on Thursday"...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/more-presidency-staff-sent-to-dubai.html


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ECC's ban on import of CNG kits
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By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: The Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet on Thursday placed a ban on the import of CNG conversion kits and cylinders in view of the gas shortage in the country.

The installation of new CNG kits in vehicles was also banned, although owners of existing kits would be allowed to install them. Similarly, the CNG-fitted public transport vehicles — buses and vans — would be exempt from this ban...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/eccs-ban-on-import-of-cng-kits.html


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US House approves freezing of 70pc counter-insurgency fund
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By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Dec 15: The US House of Representatives has passed legislation to freeze almost 70 per cent of the $1.1 billion aid Pakistan gets from a counter-insurgency fund.

The White House has said it would sign the bill into law despite its reservations. But Pakistan has criticised the move, saying that it would have a negative impact on already tense bilateral relations between the two countries...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/us-house-approves-freezing-of-70pc-counter-insurgency-fund.html


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Gilani seeks allies' help to protect democracy
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By Khawar Ghumman
ISLAMABAD, Dec 15: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has again urged coalition partners to close their ranks to protect the democratic set-up which, according to him, is under threat following the memo case.

Addressing parliamentarians belonging to the parties in the coalition before the start of the National Assembly session on Thursday, the prime minister said the memo case was a conspiracy against the parliament as it comprised the president, Senate and the National Assembly. Targeting the president meant targeting the parliament, he asserted...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/16/gilani-seeks-allies-help-to-protect-democracy.html


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Karachi Stocks Down 180.14 Points:
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KARACHI, Dec 15: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11120.85, down 180.14 points.
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Forex Update:
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KARACHI, Dec 15: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 90 to the US Dollar in the open market.
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