DINA for the issuse of 18 December, 2011

----------------------------------------------------------------
D A W N I n t e r n e t N e w s A l e r t
----------------------------------------------------------------
December 18, 2011 Sunday Muharram 22, 1433
----------------------------------------------------------------
The DAWN Internet News Alert (DINA) is a free daily news-service
from Pakistan's largest English language newspaper, the Daily
DAWN.

We encourage comments & suggestions. We can be reached at:

e-mail webmaster@dawn.com
WWW http://dawn.com
fax +92(21) 35693995
snail-mail DAWN Media Group,
Haroon House, Karachi 74200, Pakistan

(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.


-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gilani upbeat after talks with Kayani
-----------------------------------------------------------------
By Khawar Ghumman
ISLAMABAD, Dec 17: A confident-looking Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday he was in total control of the situation arising out of the memo scandal and once again warned unnamed conspirators that in case of any successful plot against his government, other stakeholders in the system would be equally affected.

Talking to reporters at the Prime Minister House, Mr Gilani summarised the political situation through an Urdu couplet, the gist of which was that in case of a confrontation, all parties would face the consequences...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/18/gilani-upbeat-after-talks-with-kayani.html

----------------------------------------------------------------
Zardari, COAS talk on phone
----------------------------------------------------------------
ISLAMABAD: The government confirmed on Saturday that a telephone conversation took place between President Asif Ali Zardari and Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Friday night, strengthening a perception that the civilian and the military leaderships are serious in de-escalating tensions.

While confirming the first direct contact between Mr Zardari and the army chief since the sudden departure of the former to Dubai on Dec 6 for medical treatment, and that too after some leaked media reports, the government tried to play down the significance of the conversation by saying that "they talked by chance"...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/18/zardari-coas-talk-on-phone.html

----------------------------------------------------------------
UK asked for information on US drone operation
----------------------------------------------------------------
LONDON, Dec 17: The British government, under growing pressure to speak out about the US covert drone attack programme, said on Saturday it would respond to a demand that it reveal whether British spies were helping the CIA hunt down suspected militants in Pakistan.

British law firm Leigh, Day and Co said it had written to Foreign Secretary William Hague asking "whether any information is being passed by agents of the UK government to US government forces to assist in these attacks". The firm represents Noor Khan, whose father was killed by a drone in northwest Pakistan in March while attending a gathering of community elders...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/18/uk-asked-for-information-on-us-drone-operation.html

----------------------------------------------------------------
SC takes up memo case tomorrow
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Dec 17: With just two days to go before the hearing of Nawaz Sharif's petition over the memo scandal, a host of applications and affidavits kept on flooding the Supreme Court on Saturday. The matter will be taken up by a nine-member bench on Monday next.

The day broke with the issuance of notices on a letter written by a Canadian national of Pakistan origion, Shafqatullah Sohail, to Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The affidavit of former US national security adviser James Jones and the reply of Tariq Asad, one of the petitioners, were also filed during the day...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/18/sc-takes-up-memo-case-tomorrow.html

----------------------------------------------------------------
440 killed, 200 missing after Philippines storm
----------------------------------------------------------------
ILIGAN (Philippines), Dec 17: Tropical storm Washi whipped the southern Philippines, unleashing mammoth floods across vast areas that left 440 people dead and nearly 200 missing, relief workers said on Saturday.

About 20,000 soldiers had been mobilised in a huge rescue and relief operation across the stricken north coast of the island of Mindanao, where the major ports of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan were worst hit...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/18/440-killed-200-missing-after-philippines-storm.html

----------------------------------------------------------------
Afaq walks free at last, vows to avoid confrontation
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Azfar-ul-Ashfaque and Imran Ayub
KARACHI, Dec 17: Mohajir Qaumi Movement-Haqiqi chairman Afaq Ahmed said on Saturday that he would not leave the country and pledged to carry out political activities in such a manner that confrontation was avoided.

He was talking to journalists outside his residence in Landhi following his release from the central prison after being behind bars for more than seven-and-a-half years...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/18/afaq-walks-free-at-last-vows-to-avoid-confrontation.html

----------------------------------------------------------------
Officer among three security men killed in Kurram blast
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Correspondent
PARACHINAR, Dec 17: Three security personnel, an officer among them, were killed when a bomb went off in the Aidet area of central Kurram on Saturday, official sources said.

The remote-controlled bomb planted by the road was detonated when security personnel were passing through the area, killing Lieutenant Syed Irtiza and two other security men...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/18/officer-among-three-security-men-killed-in-kurram-blast.html

--------------------------------------------------------------
Apathy towards Senate proceedings deplored
--------------------------------------------------------------
By Iftikhar A. Khan
ISLAMABAD, Dec 17: A member of the Senate on Saturday proposed a march on the Prime Minister's House in protest against what he called the "jumbo cabinet's" lack of interest in the proceedings of the house.

At the outset of the proceedings on Saturday, a JUI-F member from Balochistan, Ismael Buledi, asked acting Chairman of Senate Jan Mohammad Jamali to lead the march. He also proposed a six-month holiday for the upper house of parliament...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/18/apathy-towards-senate-proceedings-deplored.html

--------------------------------------------------------------
Congress slaps more restrictions on US aid
--------------------------------------------------------------
By Our Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Dec 17: The US Congress has passed a trillion-dollar spending bill, which includes restrictions on aid to Pakistan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.

The spending bill, approved by the Senate on Saturday and by the House of Representatives on Friday, averts an impending shutdown of federal government services...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/18/congress-slaps-more-restrictions-on-us-aid.html

--------------------------------------------------------------
Mansoor Ijaz questions Gen Jones claim
--------------------------------------------------------------
By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Dec 17: Mansoor Ijaz, the Pakistani-American businessman who initiated unprecedented civilian-military tensions in Pakistan with his allegations, has rejected claim by Gen James Jones that ambassador Husain Haqqani had no knowledge of the memo that caused the crisis.

Gen Jones, a former US national security adviser, was the go-between in the transmission of a secret memo from Mr Ijaz to then US Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen in the days following the killing of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad...

http://www.dawn.com/2011/12/18/mansoor-ijaz-questions-gen-jones-claim.html


--------------------------------------------------------------
*DINA*DINA*DINA*DINA*DINA*DINA*DINA*DINA*DINA*DINA*DINA*DINA*
--------------------------------------------------------------
To subscribe or unsubscribe to this mailing list, please fill the form located at: http://www.dawn.com/alerts
--------------------------------------------------------------