DINA for the Issue of February 15, 2012

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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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February 15, 2012 Wednesday Rabi-ul-Awwal 22, 1433
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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:

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(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.


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Govt, opposition unite to adopt 20th Amendment
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By Raja Asghar
ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: After two weeks of haggling and amid other battles being fought outside parliament, the government and opposition joined hands on Tuesday to unanimously push through the National Assembly a revised constitution amendment that provides for a strong Election Commission, a pre-election interim set-up and restoration of 28 suspended federal and provincial lawmakers.

Both Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and opposition leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan called the vote, which finished late in the night, as one that will strengthen democracy and a message to repudiate unspecified forces that they said sought to defame parliament or scuttle the amendment, which gives the Election Commission the final say in appointing an interim set-up at the federal and provincial levels before general elections if politicians and a bipartisan parliamentary committee fail to reach a consensus and prescribes five-year tenures for four members of the commission like the chief election commissioner...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/interim-govt-to-hold-polls-ec-to-name-caretaker-pm-in-event-of-deadlock-%e2%80%a228-suspended-legislators-restored-govt-opposition-unite-to-adopt-20th-amendment.html


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Legal battle overshadows 'existential war'
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By Ismail Khan
PESHAWAR, Feb 14: While the beleaguered Gilani government looks for ways to wriggle out of the judicial morass, military and paramilitary personnel are fighting some of the toughest and costliest pitched battles in snow-capped mountains to regain control of the strategic Orakzai tribal region, background interviews have revealed.

With much of the attention centred on the legal battle in the country's apex court, there is little or no talk of how the country's own 'existential war' has progressed in what is proving to be the deadliest operation so far...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/legal-battle-overshadows-existential-war.html


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Govt allows Nato supplies by air
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By Baqir Sajjad Syed
ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: While the parliament is still to determine terms for resumption of Nato supplies, the government has already given consent to the alliance to fly some goods to Afghanistan through Pakistan's airspace.

In a rare public admission, Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar on Tuesday accepted that Nato had been allowed to take foodstuff for troops fighting in Afghanistan on board aircraft flying through Pakistan's airspace. But, he said, the permission was temporary...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/govt-allows-nato-supplies-by-air.html


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Gunmen kill 7 labourers
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By Saleem Shahid
QUETTA, Feb 14: Seven labourers were killed in an attack on a camp of a construction company in Buleda area of Kech district on Tuesday.

The banned Baloch Liberation Front (BLF) claimed responsibility for the attack...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/gunmen-kill-7-labourers.html


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Woman dies a day after seeing 'missing' sons
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By Malik Asad
ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: Rohaifa, the mother of three 'missing' men, died of a heart attack on Tuesday night, a day after meeting at the Supreme Court, after a long struggle, her two detained sons who are facing court martial on charges of attacking important defence installations. The third brother died last month.

The woman's son, Abdul Shakoor, told Dawn that her condition had become unstable soon after meeting Abdul Basit and Abdul Majid, who narrated the circumstances in which their third detained brother Abdul Saboor had died on Jan 20. She was a diabetes patient and also had blood pressure problems...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/woman-dies-a-day-after-seeing-missing-sons.html


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Munter calls for move from aid to trade
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By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Feb 14: The United States needs to move from a relationship of aid to Pakistan to a partnership of trade, says US Ambassador to Islamabad Cameron Munter.

In a speech at the Harvard Kennedy School on Monday, which focused on the future of US-Pakistan relations, Mr Munter said that relations between the CIA and the ISI were 'okay' but ties between the two militaries were "not okay"...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/munter-calls-for-move-from-aid-to-trade.html


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Karachi cheapest city
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CANBERRA, Feb 14: Zurich has topped Tokyo to become the world's most expensive city, as surging currencies push up the cost of living in countries like Switzerland and Australia, a survey showed on Tuesday.

The Swiss Franc's allure as a safe haven for investors moving their funds out of Euro zone nations propelled Zurich to the top spot from fifth last year, while Geneva came in third...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/karachi-cheapest-city.html


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Jilani named foreign secretary
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By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: The government has named Ambassador to the EU, Belgium and Luxembourg Jalil Abbas Jilani as the country's next foreign secretary ending the guessing game about who would lead the Foreign Service.

Mr Jilani, 57, will replace Mr Salman Bashir, who retires on March 3 and has been posted as high commissioner to India...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/jilani-named-foreign-secretary.html


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Electricity projects on top of Ahmadinejad's agenda
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By Kalbe Ali
ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: Talks between Pakistan and Iran during the forthcoming visit of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will mainly focus on cooperation in energy sector.

"Pakistan and Iran have agreed to complete at fast pace projects for importing electricity to enhance bilateral relations in the field of trade, energy and economy," Iranian Ambassador Alireza Highighlian told Minister for Water and Power Syed Naveed Qamar here on Tuesday...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/electricity-projects-on-top-of-ahmadinejads-agenda.html


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Hindu extremists bombed Samjhauta Express
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By Jawed Naqvi
NEW DELHI, Feb 14: Hindu extremists carried out the 2007 false flag attack on the Samjhauta Express, which was previously blamed on Muslim groups, local reports said citing police interrogation of an arrested suspect.

They said Kamal Chauhan, a disgruntled worker of the Hindu revivalist Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS, National Volunteer Corp), was arrested on Sunday by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) from Noida near Delhi...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/hindu-extremists-bombed-samjhauta-express.html


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Plan to divert road funds to energy sector
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By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: Conceding that a vast majority of public sector projects are approved under political pressures, the planning commission has sought diversion of funds allocated for road projects to the energy sector for maximising economic output.

In a report on the public sector development programme officially launched on Tuesday, the commission said successive cuts in development programme to contain fiscal deficits under financial constraints had far-reaching consequences not only for GDP growth rate but also for achieving objectives of public investment, including poverty reduction, job creation and optimum utilisation of public facilities...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/plan-to-divert-road-funds-to-energy-sector.html


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Slow pace of Railways land recovery displeases apex court
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By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: The cash-starved Pakistan Railways informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it had salvaged 67.635 acres of the 5,055 acres of land illegally occupied by government institutions and individuals. But the court termed it an unsatisfactory performance.

Gaining strength from the court's previous order, Railways had launched an anti-encroachment drive on Feb 1 to retrieve its land. On Dec 27 last year, the apex court had asked chief secretaries of the four provinces as well as federal interior and defence secretaries to suggest ways of getting vacated Railways land encroached upon by different government departments, including the armed forces...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/02/15/slow-pace-of-railways-land-recovery-displeases-apex-court.html


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Karachi Stocks Up 18.37 Points:
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KARACHI, Feb 14: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 12268.37, up 18.37 points.
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Forex Update:
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KARACHI, Feb 14: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 91 to the US Dollar in the open market.
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