DINA for the issue of 29, March 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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March 29, 2012 Thursday Jumadi-ul-Awwal 05, 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 - 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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Osama widow lived in Karachi for months
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By Azaz Syed
ISLAMABAD, March 28: Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden moved to Pakistan in 2002, a few months after US started large-scale air strikes on Afghanistan, particularly in the Tora Bora region, during its anti-Taliban war which it launched in 2001 in the wake of 9/11 attacks.

The information about Osama crossing over into Pakistan and staying in different cities and towns before moving to Abbottabad came in the testimony given by his widow Amal Ahmed Abdulfattah during interrogation by a joint investigation team (JIT) comprising civilian and military officials...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/osama-widow-lived-in-karachi-for-months-2.html

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Top American generals hold talks in Islamabad
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By Iftikhar A. Khan
ISLAMABAD, March 28: Top military commanders of the United States and Pakistan met for the first time on Wednesday since relations between the two countries touched a new low following the Nato air strikes on the Salala checkpost which left 24 troops dead in November last year.

Gen James N. Mattis, Commander of United States' Central Command (Centcom), and General John Allen, Commander of International Security Assistance Forces (Isaf) in Afghanistan, held separate meetings with Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) Gen Khalid Shamim Wynne, in what appears to be an attempt to mount pressure on Pakistan to reopen supply routes for Nato forces in Afghanistan, at a time when parliament is discussing a revised framework for relations with the US...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/top-american-generals-hold-talks-in-islamabad.html

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Gilani didn't ask for civil N-deal in Seoul talks
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By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, March 28: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani did not ask for a civil nuclear agreement with the United States when he met US President Barack Obama in Seoul, a senior White House official said.

"No, they actually did not get into that subject," said US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes when asked if Mr Gilani asked for such a deal in his March 27 meeting with the US leader in Seoul...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/gilani-didnt-ask-for-civil-n-deal-in-seoul-talks.html

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Parties take time out for negotiations
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By Khawar Ghumman
ISLAMABAD, March 28: When National Assembly's Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi adjourned on Wednesday the proceedings of the joint sitting of both houses of parliament till Friday morning, eyebrows were raised over the unscheduled, day-long break.

Parliamentarians from the treasury and opposition benches blamed each other's lack of seriousness in the session for the hiatus...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/parties-take-time-out-for-negotiations-2.html

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Karachi violence overwhelms parliament debate
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By Raja Asghar
ISLAMABAD, March 28: Lawmakers' outrage at fresh violence in Karachi overwhelmed parliament's debate on Wednesday on reviewing ties with the United States, with three mainly aggrieved parties demanding, and the government promising, a stern across-the-board action against culprits.

But the joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate heard questions being raised about the credibility of Interior Minister Rehman Malik's repeated assurances that the PPP-led governments at the centre and in Sindh were doing everything possible to check recurring violence and had no favourites to spare the arm of law...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/karachi-violence-overwhelms-parliament-debate.html

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Political questions creep into exam
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By Mansoor Malik
LAHORE, March 28: "Who is responsible for the protection of Pakistan? (a) Allah (b) Gilani Sahib (c) Zardari Sahib or (d) Pakistani people."

The students taking the examination of ninth standard in Multan were asked a multiple choice question on Wednesday, leading to an uproar in which serious aspersions were cast about those responsible for setting the paper. Most surprisingly, the question paper had passed the scrutiny of four subject specialists after it was set by a teacher...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/political-questions-creep-into-exam.html

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'Brigadier called for accepting failure over US raid'
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By Malik Asad
ISLAMABAD, March 28: A brigadier facing court martial on charges of sedition and having links with the banned Hizbut Tahrir said on Wednesday that Military Intelligence personnel handed him over to the special investigation branch after he had urged senior commanders to consider accepting their failure over last year's US raid on Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad compound.

In his affidavit submitted to the Lahore High Court's Rawalpindi bench through his counsel, Brig Ali Khan said he had spoken out at a conference presided over by the adjutant general a few days after the US raid in Abbottabad on May 2 and "my recommendation to the senior leadership was to consider admitting a failure"...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/brigadier-called-for-accepting-failure-over-us-raid.html

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Pakistan willing to use F-16s to destroy hideouts, US told
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By Our Correspondent
WASHINGTON, March 28: Pakistan is apparently insisting that the United States must stop drone strikes in Fata and has offered to use its own air force to destroy militant hideouts, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

"They say they are willing to use the F-16s to bomb the hideouts," a senior diplomatic source said. "They want the drone strikes to halt."...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/pakistan-willing-to-use-f-16s-to-destroy-hideouts-us-told-2.html

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Yemen urges Pakistan to free Osama widow
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SANAA, March 28: Yemen has urged Pakistan to free one of Osama bin Laden's injured widows, saying Yemen-born Amal Al-Sadeh and her four children are not guilty of any crime.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said earlier this month that Bin Laden's three widows, including Ms Amal, would be put on trial for entering and living in Pakistan illegally. ..

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/yemen-urges-pakistan-to-free-osama-widow-2.html

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Second extension for memo judicial commission likely
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By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, March 28: A 10-judge bench of the Supreme Court will consider on Thursday extending for the second time the time given to a judicial commission to investigate the memo scandal.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry will also take up a request by former ambassador Husain Haqqani seeking an order that the commission record his testimony through video-link — a facility earlier provided to Mansoor Ijaz, the central character in the scandal...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/second-extension-for-memo-judicial-commission-likely-2.html

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Hu arrives in Delhi amid tight security
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By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI, March 28: Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday to attend the 4th summit of BRICS countries on March 28- 29.

During the summit, the leaders of China, Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa will have in-depth discussions on global economic management, sustainable development and cooperation among the five BRICS countries on the theme "Partnership for Stability, Security and Prosperity"...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/hu-arrives-in-delhi-amid-tight-security.html

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Altaf warns nationalists against using 'threatening language'
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By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, March 28: Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain urged the president, prime minister and army chief on Wednesday to stop the so-called nationalist elements of Sindh from using "threatening language" against Mohajirs. Otherwise, he warned, "people may take matters into their own hands".

In a video message, he said a "planned conspiracy" was being hatched to fan hatred in Sindh, where the nationalist elements and certain political leaders were using provocative and foul language against Urdu-speaking people and talking about "turning the Indus into a river of blood"...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/altaf-warns-nationalists-against-using-threatening-language-2.html

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Hezb suspends talks with US
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KABUL, March 28: An Afghan militant group is following in the Taliban's footsteps by suspending talks with the United States and Afghan officials, another setback to efforts towards a peaceful resolution to the decade-long war.

Hezb-i-Islami was abandoning talks because they had produced nothing "practical", said the group's European representative, Qaribur Rahman Saeed. "Since both of you (US and Kabul authorities) don't have any practical and acceptable approach for the solution of the crisis, the negotiation is going to be suspended," he said.—AP..

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/hezb-suspends-talks-with-us-2.html

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Pirates agree to free ship crew
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DUBAI, March 28: A Pakistani negotiator for a Malaysian-owned ship held by Somali pirates says he has reached agreement to free the crew in exchange for a ransom of almost $3 million.

The pirates have been holding MV Albedo for more than a year. Negotiator Ahmed Chinoy says they would free its 23 crew members after agreeing to a ransom payment of $2.85 million. Mr Chinoy did not say who would provide the money. He said it will be delivered to the pirates by plane by April 20...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/pirates-agree-to-free-ship-crew-2.html

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Two policemen guarding judge's house shot dead
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By Our Staff Correspondent
MULTAN, March 28: Two police constables were killed in firing at the residence of a newly-appointed judge of the Shariat Court here on Wednesday.

Sources said that gunmen opened fire on the police personnel deployed at the residence of Justice Jahangir Arshad at around 5.15am, killing Constable Abdul Malik on the spot. Naveed, the other constable, was seriously injured. He was shifted to Nishtar Hospital where he was operated upon. However, he could not survive...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/two-policemen-guarding-judges-house-shot-dead.html

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Indian army in bad shape, Gen Singh tells PM
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By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI, March 28: The Indian army suffers from critical gaps in the security apparatus adversely affecting its fighting capability, its chief Gen V. K. Singh has told Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in a letter, but contents leaked on Wednesday to the media were more likely to make Pakistan feel smug than lead to any imminent catastrophe.

"Pakistan must be laughing all the way," rued former army chief Shankar Roychowdhry after TV channels began discussing the letter written by his former junior colleague. The controversy erupted as Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived in Delhi on Wednesday ahead of the BRICS summit...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/29/indian-army-in-bad-shape-gen-singh-tells-pm-2.html


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