DINA for the issue of January 18, 2012

----------------------------------------------------------------
D A W N I n t e r n e t N e w s A l e r t
----------------------------------------------------------------
January 18, 2012 Wednesday Safar 23, 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 - 2012

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


-----------------------------------------------------------------
'Pakistan refused to receive Grossman'
-----------------------------------------------------------------
By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Jan 17: The US State Department confirmed on Tuesday that Islamabad had asked Washington not to send its special envoy Marc Grossman to Pakistan for consultation on exploratory talks with the Taliban.

The confirmation of a Washington Post report came hours before Pakistan's new ambassador, Sherry Rehman, was to meet US President Barack Obama to present her credentials...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/18/pakistan-refused-to-receive-grossman.html


----------------------------------------------------------------
Contempt of court case: PPP turns to Aitzaz for PM's defence
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Khawar Ghumman
ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: Tuesday was yet another eventful day in the capital. By the evening, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani had chosen none other than Aitzaz Ahsan as his counsel to represent him in the Supreme Court to contest the contempt notice.

And in the morning, the apex court suspended the licence of Babar Awan for failing to respond to its contempt notice...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/18/contempt-of-court-case-ppp-turns-to-aitzaz-for-pms-defence.html


----------------------------------------------------------------
Babar's licence suspended
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: The government suffered another setback on Tuesday when the Supreme Court suspended the licence of Babar Awan to practise in the court.

The court also asked for replacement of Dr Awan with another counsel to represent President Asif Zardari in his reference relating to revisiting the murder trial of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/18/babars-licence-suspended.html


----------------------------------------------------------------
Issue of new provinces moved to legislative agenda
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Raja Asghar
ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: The controversy over creating new provinces in Pakistan moved to the present parliament's legislative agenda for the first time on Tuesday as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement introduced a private constitution amendment bill in the National Assembly seeking to carve out a "southern Punjab" province from Punjab and a "Hazara" province from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, stealing a march on the government's own plans to bring a bill for a province of Seraiki-speaking south Punjab.

The government did not oppose the introduction of the six-clause bill by one of its coalition partners, which will now go to a house standing committee on law and justice for vetting before coming back to the house where, being an amendment to the Constitution, it must be passed by at least two-thirds majority of the 342-seat house — as also by a two-thirds majority of the 100-seat Senate later...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/18/issue-of-new-provinces-moved-to-legislative-agenda.html


----------------------------------------------------------------
Mohmand journalist shot dead
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Faiz Muhammad
CHARSADDA, Jan 17: Mukaram Khan Atif, a journalist from Mohmand Agency, was gunned down in a mosque in Shabqadar on Tuesday.

According to police, he was offering Maghrib prayer when two men entered the mosque in Pahlawan Gilla and opened fire on him. He suffered head injuries and was taken to a local hospital where he died. The prayer leader, Nasrominallah, was also injured and the attackers escaped...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/18/mohmand-journalist-shot-dead.html



--------------------------------------------------------------
Pepco fails to recover Rs60bn arrears
--------------------------------------------------------------
By Ahmad Fraz Khan
LAHORE, Jan 17: The Pakistan Electric Power Company (Pepco) has failed to recover a staggering Rs60 billion arrears from the private sector and government departments during the first five months of the current fiscal year, raising further the power sector's receivables and circular debt.

Interestingly, Pepco received Rs45.25 billion as subsidy from the federal government during the July-Nov period and another Rs12 billion in December. The total subsidy of Rs57.25 billion is almost equal to the arrears accumulated during the period...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/18/pepco-fails-to-recover-rs60bn-arrears.html


----------------------------------------------------------------
Pakistan, US look to redefine relations
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Karen DeYoung and Karin Brulliard
WASHINGTON: In a call to her Pakistani counterpart this month, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton reiterated the Obama administration's counter-terrorism "red line": The United States reserved the right to attack anyone who it determined posed a direct threat to US national security, anywhere in the world.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar responded in kind, telling Mrs Clinton that Pakistan's red line was the violation of its sovereignty. Any unauthorised flight into its airspace, Ms Khar bluntly told Mrs Clinton, risked being shot down. The conversation, recounted by US officials, was one of the few high-level exchanges between the two governments in recent months, and it illustrated the depths to which US-Pakistan relations have fallen after a November air assault by Nato forces killed 24 Pakistani soldiers...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/18/pakistan-us-look-to-redefine-relations.html


--------------------------------------------------------------
India, China agree on closer border vigil
--------------------------------------------------------------
By Jawed Naqvi
NEW DELHI, Jan 17: It will be 20 years in September since India and China signed their landmark pact to keep peace and tranquillity along their borders. On Tuesday, they agreed to set up a mechanism to check any transgressions.

The working mechanism, proposed by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, was finalised at the conclusion of the 15th meeting of the Special Representatives on the boundary question -- India's National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon and Chinese State Councillor Dai Bingguo here...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/01/18/india-china-agree-on-closer-border-vigil.html


----------------------------------------------------------------
Karachi Stocks Up 210.08 Points:
----------------------------------------------------------------
KARACHI, Jan 17: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 11322.73, up 210.08 points.
----------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------
Forex Update:
----------------------------------------------------------------
KARACHI, Jan 17: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 91 to the US Dollar in the open market.
----------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------
*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
--------------------------------------------------------------