DINA for the issue of December 17, 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 17, 2011 Saturday Muharram 21, 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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Step taken to silence rumour mills
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By Baqir Sajjad Syed
ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani met on Friday to dispel the impression of a confrontation between the military and civilian leaders over the memo case.

Mr Gilani and Gen Kayani, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office after the meeting that lasted for a couple of hours, agreed that the replies submitted with the Supreme Court should not be misconstrued as "a standoff between the army and the government"...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/step-taken-to-silence-rumour-mills.html

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Jones didn't believe Haqqani wrote memo
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By Wajih Ahmad Sheikh
LAHORE, Dec 16: Former US national security adviser James Logan Jones gave a new twist to the memo controversy on Friday when he said he did not consider the letter sent by Mansoor Ijaz as credible and he had no reason to believe that former ambassador Husain Haqqani had any role in preparing it.

Mr Jones, a retired US Marines Corps general, said he believed that the memo had been written by Mr Ijaz himself and also that former chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Michael Mullen, had the same opinion about the its credibility...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/jones-didnt-believe-haqqani-wrote-memo.html


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US asked to respect 'red lines'
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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani asked the United States on Friday to respect Pakistan's red lines, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Talking to US Ambassador Cameron Munter, who called on him at the Prime Minister's House, Mr Gilani said the United States must guarantee there would be no breach of Pakistan's frontiers in future. He said it was his primary responsibility to safeguard the country's dignity and honour, adding that respect for sovereignty and avoidance of unilateral action were the bare minimum that Pakistan expected...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/us-asked-to-respect-red-lines.html


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Law on removal not applicable: Zardari
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By Syed Irfan Raza
ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: Amid hopes that President Asif Ali Zardari will return to the country by Dec 27, he was reported to have ruled out on Friday that Article 47 of the Constitution, concerning removal and impeachment of the president, could be applied in the present scenario.

While President Zardari's doctors have advised him not to travel for a few days, leaders of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) are hopeful that he will be with them on Dec 27 to address a gathering in Naudero to mark the fourth death anniversary of Benazir Bhutto...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/law-on-removal-not-applicable-zardari.html


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Sindh refuses to stop collecting GST on services
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By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: Refusing to stop collection of general sales tax on services, Sindh agreed on Friday to be part of an inter-provincial ministerial committee, headed by federal Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, to address a demand by the three other provinces and the federal government to have a unified collection system under a single agency.

At the first meeting of the newly-constituted National Finance Commission (NFC), the participants expressed satisfaction over transfer of proceeds to the provinces under the seventh NFC award. However, the meeting was marred by a dispute over the collection of GST on seven controversial services and complaints about the slow transfer of provincial shares which resulted in overdrafts and additional financial costs...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/sindh-refuses-to-stop-collecting-gst-on-services.html


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22 militants, security man killed in Orakzai
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By Our Correspondent
KALAYA, Dec 16: Twenty-two militants and a security man were killed during a gunbattle in Khadezai area of Upper Orakzai on Friday. Over 20 personnel were injured, official sources said.

The clash took place in the Khanki mountainous area, some 25km north-west of Ghaljo, the headquarters of Upper Orakzai tehsil...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/22-militants-security-man-killed-in-orakzai.html


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Memo scandal: PPP resolves to take fight to opponents
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By Khawar Ghumman and Amir Wasim
ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: Senior PPP leaders put their heads together on Friday to ponder over the fast-developing memo controversy and decided to take a firm stand against their detractors.

In the absence of President Asif Ali Zardari, who had been running the party affairs single-handedly since the death of his wife, the meeting of the PPP's parliamentary committee was jointly chaired by the party's co-chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and vice-president Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/memo-scandal-ppp-resolves-to-take-fight-to-opponents.html


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Weekly CNG holidays to continue
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By Kalbe Ali
ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: The federal government has decided to continue with its load management plan under which natural gas is not supplied to CNG dispensing stations in Sindh for two nights and one day every week and the industrial units for one day (Sunday).

The government has also decided to keep the three-day load management plan for the CNG sector in Punjab unchanged for the time being...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/weekly-cng-holidays-to-continue.html


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Suspected WikiLeaks source appears in court
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FORT MEADE (Maryland), Dec 16: An American army intelligence analyst accused of giving hundreds of thousands of classified US documents to WikiLeaks for public disclosure made his first court appearance on Friday to face charges including aiding the enemy, which could send him to prison for life.

Private First Class Bradley Manning, charged with supplying WikiLeaks with massive dumps of classified US documents, sat quietly in the courtroom at Fort Meade, Maryland, wearing military fatigues, dark-rimmed glasses and a short haircut...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/suspected-wikileaks-source-appears-in-court.html


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PML-N urges SC to summon Wajid, two journalists
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By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Dec 16: An application piloted by leaders of the PML-N reached the Supreme Court on Friday with a request to summon Pakistan's High Commissioner in Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hassan.

Jointly filed by Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar and MNA Khawaja Asif, the application requested the apex court to consider making three more individuals — Mr Shamsul Hassan and two senior journalists of an English daily — a party in PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif's petition over the scandal...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/pml-n-urges-sc-to-summon-wajid-two-journalists.html


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US Senate endorses aid restrictions
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By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Dec 16: The US Senate has approved a bill that will require the Obama administration to freeze $700 million in aid to Pakistan, although the State Department continues to assure its estranged ally that the legislation merely includes a reporting requirement that could be waived.

The original amendment, moved on Nov 11 by Senator Robert Casey, underlines the need to "require a certification on efforts by the government of Pakistan to implement a strategy to counter improvised explosive devices"...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/us-senate-endorses-aid-restrictions.html


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UK court upholds rule on skills in spoken English for immigran
ts
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LONDON, Dec 16: A High Court judge has dismissed a legal challenge to a new immigration rule that requires people to be able to speak English before moving to Britain to live with their partner or spouse.

Judge Jack Beatson ruled on Friday that the language test, introduced in November last year as part of the coalition government's efforts to slash immigration, did not interfere with the human rights of three couples who brought the challenge...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/17/uk-court-upholds-rule-on-skills-in-spoken-english-for-immigrants.html


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Karachi Stocks Down 119.79 Points:
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KARACHI, Dec 16: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11019.73, down 119.79 points.
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Forex Update:
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KARACHI, Dec 16: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 90 to the US Dollar in the open market.
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