DINA for the issue of April 27, 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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April 27, 2012 Friday Jumadi-us-Sani 5, 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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37-second contempt punishment causes confusion: •Govt, allies decide to challenge verdict: Down but not out
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By Nasir Iqbal
ISLAMABAD, April 26: In a ruling that added more chaos than clarity to an already messy and murky scenario, the Supreme Court handed down a symbolic punishment lasting less than a minute to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday, making him the first ever chief executive to be convicted for committing contempt.

Wearing a black 'sherwani' instead of the suits he has usually preferred for his previous court appearances, the prime minister walked to the Supreme Court along with his son Musa Gilani, members of his cabinet and a crowd of supporters....

http://dawn.com/2012/04/27/%e2%80%a237-second-contempt-punishment-causes-confusion-govt-allies-decide-to-challenge-verdict-down-but-not-out/

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Nawaz, Imran ask Gilani to step down
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By Amjad Mahmood and Ahmad Hassan
LAHORE / ISLAMABAD, April 26: PML-N president Nawaz Sharif and PTI chairman Imran Khan have demanded that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani should step down in the wake of his conviction by the Supreme Court and fresh polls should be held immediately to steer the country out of the 'crisis' it is in.

According to analysts, the conviction of the prime minister in the contempt case on Thursday has been taken with a heavy heart by many, including Mr Sharif and rights activists, while the PPP appears to have benefited from it, at least in the short run, and it won on Thursday a seat in Multan by-polls which everyone was sure would be bagged by the PML-N....

http://dawn.com/2012/04/27/nawaz-imran-ask-gilani-to-step-down/


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CIA alerts Pakistan to Al Qaeda plan
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By Baqir Sajjad Syed
ISLAMABAD, April 26: As Pakistani and US officials sat down to explore the way forward in bilateral ties fraught with deep mistrust but struggled to find common ground, the CIA shared intelligence suggesting Al Qaeda planned to carry out major attacks inside Pakistan.

The information was based on documents seized by US Navy SEALs during the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad last year....

http://dawn.com/2012/04/27/cia-alerts-pakistan-to-al-qaeda-plan/


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Gilani calls contempt judgment 'inappropriate': People's Party spoiling for a fight
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By Khawar Ghumman and Syed Irfan Raza
ISLAMABAD, April 26: The gloves are off and the PPP is spoiling for a fight.

A defiant party and prime minister on Thursday made it clear that they would continue with their challenging stand as far as the standoff with the judiciary was concerned. Shortly after the symbolic 'punishment' by the court, the prime minister expressed his disapproval of the judgment by calling it 'inappropriate'....

http://dawn.com/2012/04/26/peshawar-high-court-orders-suspension-of-caa-chief/


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US not listening to our drone protests: Khar
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ISLAMABAD, April 26: Pakistan has spelt out in no uncertain terms that US drone aircraft strikes against militants inside its territory must stop, but Washington is not listening, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar has said.

"On drones, the language is clear: a clear cessation of drone strikes," Ms Khar said....

http://dawn.com/2012/04/27/us-not-listening-to-our-drone-protests-khar/


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Musa records statement in ephedrine case
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By Malik Asad
RAWALPINDI, April 26: Ali Musa Gilani, the youngest son of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, recorded his statement on the ephedrine case at the Anti-Narcotics Force office on Thursday, the day his father was convicted of contempt by the Supreme Court.

Ali Musa appeared before an investigation team in Rawalpindi and according to his counsel Fawad Chaudhry he stayed at the ANF office for about two and a half hours....

http://dawn.com/2012/04/27/musa-records-statement-in-ephedrine-case/


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Opposition wants him to quit: Gilani remains premier, govt tells National Assembly
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By Raja Asghar
ISLAMABAD, April 26: Shrugging off any damage to him from his conviction by the Supreme Court for contempt, the government told a turbulent National Assembly on Thursday that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani would remain in office, though the opposition demanded that he better resign to prove his innocence.

Asserting that the conviction and a symbolic sentence of "imprisonment till the rising of the court" handed by a seven-judge bench earlier in the day did not disqualify Mr Gilani from holding his office, Law and Justice Minister Farooq H. Naek said: "Today, Prime Minister Gilani is the prime minister of Pakistan and Insha Allah (God-willing) he will remain the prime minister of Pakistan."...

http://dawn.com/2012/04/27/opposition-wants-him-to-quit-gilani-remains-premier-govt-tells-national-assembly/


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Osama family leaves for S. Arabia
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ISLAMABAD, April 26: Pakistani authorities deported Osama bin Laden's three widows and children to Saudi Arabia early on Friday, less than a week before the first anniversary of the unilateral American raid that killed the Al Qaeda leader in his hideout in Abbottabad.

Two of the widows are from Saudi Arabia, and the third is from Yemen....

http://dawn.com/2012/04/27/osama-family-leaves-for-s-arabia/


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'Suicide attacker' killed in blast
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By Saleem Shahid
QUETTA, April 26: A suspected suicide attacker died when his explosive-laden vest went off during an attempt to escape arrest near Hazara town on Thursday.

Malik Arshad, a senior police officer, told Dawn that police on a tip-off cordoned off the Killi Karani area. When the suspect saw the policemen chasing him he tried to escape and during the confusion his suicide vest exploded blowing up his body....

http://dawn.com/2012/04/27/suicide-attacker-killed-in-blast/


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Verdict internal matter, says US; Grossman to meet prime minister
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By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, April 26: US Special Representative Marc Grossman would meet Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Friday, said the US State Department while making it clear that the United States considered the Supreme Court's verdict against the Pakistani leader an internal matter.

Ambassador Grossman held a series of meetings with Pakistani officials in Islamabad on Thursday and will attend a conference of the Afghan core group, which includes Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United States, on Friday....

http://dawn.com/2012/04/27/verdict-internal-matter-says-us-grossman-to-meet-prime-minister/


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