DINA for the Issue of March 22, 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 22, 2012 Thursday Rabi-us-Sani 28, 1433
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The DAWN Internet News Alert (DINA) is a free daily news-service
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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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Recalcitrant law secretary removed: Gilani claims support of '160m people'
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By Khawar Ghumman
ISLAMABAD, March 21: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani continues to strike defiant notes. On Wednesday, he changed his law secretary who had refused to stand by the prime minister in the Supreme Court, where he is facing contempt charges.

And talking to reporters at a hotel, the prime minister shrugged aside speculation about his resignation and said since he was the representative of 160 million people, his resignation was no small matter...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/recalcitrant-law-secretary-removed-gilani-claims-support-of-160m-people.html


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Two policepersonnel shot dead in Quetta
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By Saleem Shahid
QUETTA, March 21: Two police constables were gunned down in the Jinnah town area of the city on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the killing...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/two-policepersonnel-shot-dead-in-quetta.html


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SC urged to decide contempt case before NRO action
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By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, March 21: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani threw the ball back to the Supreme Court on Wednesday by requesting it to first settle the contempt matter and then raise the issue of implementation of the NRO verdict.

At the fag end of Wednesday's proceedings on a contempt of court against the prime minister by a seven-judge bench, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq said he had received some instructions which he would be filing during the course of the day...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/sc-urged-to-decide-contempt-case-before-nro-action.html


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Welfare, uplift plans to be reviewed
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By Khaleeq Kiani
ISLAMABAD, March 21: Amid ongoing politico-legal controversies, the government has decided to immediately focus on welfare programmes and development schemes to earn public support ahead of next year's budget and subsequent general elections.

Sources told Dawn on Wednesday that two high-level meetings being held on Thursday would focus on speeding up work on development projects, mostly related to the water and energy sector, to minimise the impact of loadshedding and launching welfare schemes aimed at the poor...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/welfare-uplift-plans-to-be-reviewed.html


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Parliamentary debate quite significant, says US
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By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, March 21: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday welcomed a parliamentary debate on US-Pakistan relationship, calling it a "quite significant" development.

At the same briefing, Afghan Foreign Minister Zalmai Rassoul assured the Pakistanis that a destabilised Pakistan was not in the interest of Afghanistan...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/parliamentary-debate-quite-significant-says-us.html


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Aitzaz joins committee on judges' appointment
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By Ahmad Hassan
ISLAMABAD, March 21: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has made Senator Aitzaz Ahsan, his counsel in the contempt case, a member of the parliamentary committee on appointment of superior courts' judges.

The slot of PPP's representative in the committee fell vacant after Senator Nayyer Hussain Bokhari, who headed it, resigned following his elevation to the post of Senate Chairman...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/aitzaz-joins-committee-on-judges-appointment.html


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Anti-polio drive has suffered setback: Zardari
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By Our Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD, March 21: President Asif Ali Zardari admitted on Wednesday that the government's polio eradication campaign had suffered a setback in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

"There are some challenges in reaching out to the children in Fata where the initiative received a setback as a result of security situation in some of the areas," he said during a meeting at the Presidency with Dr Robert S. Scott, Chair of Rotary's International Polio Plus Committee...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/anti-polio-drive-has-suffered-setback-zardari.html


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Pakistanis in Afghan jails: LHC seeks reasons for detention
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By Our Staff Reporter
LAHORE, March 21: The Lahore High Court ordered the ministry of foreign affairs on Wednesday to write to the US government a letter seeking reasons for the arrest of Pakistani citizens and their detention in Afghanistan's Bagram airbase prison.

The court, which had taken up a petition challenging illegal detention of Pakistani citizens in Afghan jails, also told the ministry to ask about the charges framed against the detainees. If there were no charges, the court said, they should be released and brought back to Pakistan...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/pakistanis-in-afghan-jails-lhc-seeks-reasons-for-detention.html


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Fishing boats, crew rescued by navy
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By Our Reporter
KARACHI, March 21: Two fishing boats caught in rough sea conditions and a dust storm were rescued by the aviation and surface units of Pakistan Navy off Gwadar on Wednesday, said ISPR (Navy).

According to an ISPR media release, prevailing adverse weather conditions took the local fishing community by surprise, and two boats with eight people onboard went missing because of rough seas and poor visibility caused by the dust storm...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/fishing-boats-crew-rescued-by-navy.html


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WB approves $1bn for two projects
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WASHINGTON, March 21: The World Bank has said it will fund two projects totaling $1.09 billion, in energy and irrigation, aimed at supporting Pakistan's growth agenda for reducing poverty.

The World Bank's executive board approved the projects on Tuesday, the development lender said in a statement...

http://www.dawn.com/2012/03/22/wb-approves-1bn-for-two-projects.html


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Karachi Stocks Down 18.05 Points:
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KARACHI, Mar 21: At close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 13285.28, down 18.05 points.
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Forex Update:
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KARACHI, Mar 21: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 91.3 to the US Dollar in the open market.
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