DINA for the Issue of March 21, 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 21, 2012 Wednesday Rabi-us-Sani 27, 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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Parliament sets out to reorder US ties
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By Raja Asghar
ISLAMABAD, March 20: On a dusty day, parliament set out on an unfamiliar road to guide foreign policy on Tuesday, with a key committee demanding that the United States "review its footprints" in Pakistan at the cost of some money, ego and military tactics.

The much-awaited report of the all-party Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS), presented in a joint sitting of the National Assembly and Senate, included calls for US and Nato forces in Afghanistan to pay charges for the transit of their supplies via Pakistan, an "unconditional" US apology for a deadly attack on Pakistani border posts in November and a halt to drone attacks in Pakistan's tribal areas...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/parliament-sets-out-to-reorder-us-ties.html


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Key recommendations
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• The US must review its footprints in Pakistan which means cessation of drone attacks

• No hot pursuit or boots on Pakistani territory..

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/key-recommendations.html


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Pakistan a key ally, says US
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By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, March 20: The White House said on Tuesday that it continued to view Pakistan as an important ally because of its role in Afghanistan and in the war against terrorism.

Earlier, the US State Department supported Pakistani parliament's call for mutual respect but avoided giving a formal response to its recommendations which includes a demand for a formal apology...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/pakistan-a-key-ally-says-us.html


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N-League questions report's effectiveness
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By Amir Wasim
ISLAMABAD, March 20: Logical or not, the objections of opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N on the recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) after signing them are certainly a repeat performance.

In March 2010, PML-N's representatives, in a similar all-party committee on constitutional reforms, had agreed to the final draft of the 18th Constitution Amendment bill, but their party chief Nawaz Sharif stunned them and the whole nation when moments before the scheduled signing of the historic report, he announced at a news conference that the judges' appointment mechanism proposed in the package was not acceptable to his party...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/n-league-questions-reports-effectiveness.html


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Bangladesh storm into final
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DHAKA, March 20: Bangladesh reached its first Asia Cup final when it cruised past Sri Lanka by five wickets with nearly three overs to spare in a rain-disrupted match on Tuesday.

Having failed at nine previous Asia Cups, Bangladesh will meet Pakistan in the final on Thursday at the same Mirpur Sher-i-Bangla National Stadium having upset both finalists from last year's World Cup...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/bangladesh-storm-into-final.html


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Internal discord, suspicion of US led Taliban to ditch talks
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By Syed Shoaib Hasan
KARACHI: For those watching from the sidelines, the Afghan Taliban's decision to suspend talks with the United States was not unexpected. In fact, within days of the formal setting up of a Taliban office in Qatar, voices of dissent were being heard among the ranks in Afghanistan.

The formal declaration of the office in January came after several months of unofficial meetings between the Americans and Taliban representatives. According to Waheed Ahmed, a former Taliban leader, the contacts started well before the Bonn conference on Afghanistan in December...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/internal-discord-suspicion-of-us-led-taliban-to-ditch-talks.html


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Electricity tariff goes up by 16 to 48pc
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By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, March 20: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority approved on Tuesday an increase in electricity tariff by between 16 and 48 per cent for four months under the monthly fuel adjustment formula.

Despite objections raised by one of its members, the three-man regulatory body, short of its full strength of five members, took the decision to approve a Rs2.24 per unit increase (47.5pc) from its reference fuel tariff of Rs4.71 per unit for October last year...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/electricity-tariff-goes-up-by-16-to-48pc.html


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Gilani calm and composed on eve of crucial hearing
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By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, March 20: A composed and smiling Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani welcomed guests at a lunch he hosted in honour of a royal guest from Thailand on Tuesday, showing no signs of strain due to the ongoing contempt case hearing in the apex court. Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirndhora of Thailand was the guest of honour.

Accompanied by his cabinet colleagues, heads of coalition parties and a group of journalists, Mr Gilani was looking his usual self. At no point and time did he give the impression that his job was on the line; or that an adverse court ruling on contempt charges could send him home...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/gilani-calm-and-composed-on-eve-of-crucial-hearing.html


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Has Babar Awan burnt his PPP boats?
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By Khawar Ghumman
ISLAMABAD, March 20: Have the PPP's legal eagles switched places?

Babar Awan, the voluble, omnipresent and much berated face of the PPP has disappeared from the radar. The new face of the PPP's legal strategy is Aitzaz Ahsan who was once completely sidelined in the party...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/has-babar-awan-burnt-his-ppp-boats.html


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Munter to reply 'openly and honestly'
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By Ismail Khan
PESHAWAR, March 20: Ambassador Cameron Munter said on Tuesday the United States would wait for the conclusion of parliamentary debate on Pak-US relationship and would respond "openly and honestly".

But he acknowledged that while "some of things are not gonna be easy", it was important for Washington and Islamabad to "re-set and recalibrate" some of the processes important to the two countries...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/munter-to-reply-openly-and-honestly.html


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Criminal case against Osama's widow, children challenged
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By Malik Asad
ISLAMABAD, March 20: A brother of a widow of Osama bin Laden filed in the Islamabad High Court on Tuesday a petition challenging the registration of a criminal case against his sister and children of the slain Al Qaeda chief.

Naming the state, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and interior and defence secretaries as respondents, Zakarya Ahmed Abdalfattah, younger brother of Amal Abdulfattah, also expressed reservations over the trial of his sister by Civil Judge Shahrukh Arjumand...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/criminal-case-against-osamas-widow-children-challenged.html


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SBP sees 3-4pc economic growth
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By Shahid Iqbal
KARACHI, March 20: The State Bank says that risks to macroeconomic stability remain high and the external sector has weakened faster than expected. But there are hopes the economy will grow in the range of 3 to 4 per cent in the current financial year.

In its second quarterly report issued on Tuesday, the bank said the economy was showing signs of modest improvement because of better than expected performance of the agriculture sector...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/sbp-sees-3-4pc-economic-growth.html


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Kidnapped NGO official killed
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QUETTA, March 20: One of the six kidnapped officials of the Balochistan Rural Support Programme (BRSP) has been killed by captors.

BRSP officials confirmed the killing on Tuesday and announced three days' mourning for their colleague...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/kidnapped-ngo-official-killed.html


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Bomb kills two Policemen
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By Ali Hazrat Bacha
PESHAWAR, March 20: Two policemen were killed and four others injured when a bomb planted in a rickshaw exploded on the Ring road bridge in the Garhi Qamardin area on Tuesday evening, police said.

The blast damaged a police van and several other vehicles.
An official of the Bana Mani police station told Dawn that police were on patrol in the area when the incident took place...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/21/bomb-kills-two-policemen.html


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Karachi Stocks Up 225.61 Points:
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KARACHI, Mar 20: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13303.33, up 225.61 points.
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Forex Update:
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KARACHI, Mar 20: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 91.3 to the US Dollar in the open market.
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