DINA for the issue of November 30th, 2012

	Friday 30th November 2012 | Muharram 15, 1434
The DAWN Internet News Alert (DINA) is a free daily news service from Pakistan’s largest English language newspaper, the Daily DAWN.
Ban on mobile number portability lifted, restriction on Sim sale eased By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf advised the people on Thursday to make necessary changes in lifestyle in the face of terror threats which the country was facing at the moment...	For suggestions and comments: Email: webmaster@dawn.com Website: http://dawn.com Fax: +92(21) 35693995 Karachi Stocks Up 101.53 Points: KARACHI, Nov 29: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 16525.56, up 101.53 points. Forex Update : KARACHI, Nov 29: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 97.6 to the US Dollar in the open market.
Mysterious object scares villagers By Qurban Ali Khushik DADU, Nov 29: Fear and bewilderment overtook some parts of Dadu district after some mysterious objects fell on a number of villages late on Wednesday night. The biggest fragment weighing 187 kilograms fell on a ground in Allah Jurio Lund village, 30 kilometres from Dadu. Other pieces fell on Pir Mashaikh, Shehak Rodnani and Khandhani villages...
Build Kalabagh Dam, LHC orders govt By Wajih Ahmad Sheikh LAHORE, Nov 29: The Lahore High Court came up with a surprise on Thursday and ordered the federal government to implement decisions of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and build the much-politicised Kalabagh Dam. “The Constitution of Pakistan confers a pre-eminent position to the CCI to formulate and regulate policies for the federation in relation to a number of subjects, including water and power. A decision of the CCI has obligatory effect unless the same is modified by parliament at the instance of the federal government under Article 154(7) of the Constitution,” said a short order issued by LHC Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial after deciding a set of petitions seeking an order for the government to build the dam in the light of CCI’s recommendations...
Mullah Nazir injured, 8 militants killed in blast By Sailab Mehsud LADHA, Nov 29: Pro-government Taliban ‘commander’ Mullah Mohammad Nazir survived a suicide attack in which at least eight people were killed and 18 injured in Wana, the headquarters of South Waziristan tribal region, on Thursday. According to witnesses, the explosion took place when Mullah Nazir was going towards his car after attending a meeting of a ‘peace committee’ in his office in Rustam Bazaar...
Pakistan to remain aligned with Afghan Pashtuns By Baqir Sajjad Syed ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: As the endgame in Afghanistan draws near, strategists in Islamabad have decided in principle to remain closely aligned with the Afghan Pashtuns instead of seeking new allies. “Retaining ties with the Pashtuns is a crucial security imperative for us,” a senior Pakistani official claimed in a background interview with Dawn a day before Afghan Foreign Minister Dr Zalmai Rassoul is to travel to Islamabad for discussing various possibilities with his Pakistani interlocutors on furthering the political process in war-ravaged Afghanistan...
Structural problems sap Pak economy of vigour: IMF By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON, Nov 29: Deep seated structural problems and weak macroeconomic policies have continued to sap Pakistan’s economy of its vigour, says a report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday. The report notes that Pakistan’s real GDP growth over the past four years has averaged only about 3 per cent annually, and is projected to be about 3¼ per cent in 2012-13. This is insufficient to achieve significant improvement in living standards and to absorb the rising labour force, the report warns...
Crisis deepens as CNG stations reject 17pc hike By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: While Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf asked the petroleum ministry to resolve a dispute with owners of CNG stations to avert possible agitation, the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra) proposed an increase of over 17 per cent in the price of CNG on Thursday. An official told Dawn that Ogra had forwarded the new pricing formula determined after a series of public hearings and talks with CNG station owners for a policy advice before issuing a notification...
Malik claims PM did not scrap plan on Sims By Syed Irfan Raza ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: Interior Minister Rehman Malik, who had given the deadline of Dec 31 to cellphone service providers to block unregistered Sims, said on Thursday the prime minister had given an extension of three months to the cellular companies but had not scrapped the plan. He said the prime minister extended the deadline on the request made by representatives of the cellular companies...
Tariff increase withheld: Nepra questions legality of power purchase agreements By Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority questioned on Thursday the legality of various power purchase agreements which determined the final cost of electricity, and withheld a notification for a 4 paisa per unit increase in the tariff of Wapda’s distribution companies. At a public hearing for fuel-based monthly adjustment in tariff for Wapda consumers, Nepra members also questioned high transmission losses and said it would notify the tariff increase only when it was provided with power purchase agreements...
Cellphone firms withdraw petition against ban on late-night packages By Malik Asad ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: The Islamabad High Court dismissed on Thursday a petition against banning mobile chat services and late-night packages after petitioners withdrew their petition. The petitioners – Mobilink, Ufone, Telenor, Warid and Zong – through their counsel Ali Raza requested the court to allow them to withdraw their petition after the respondent Pakistan Telecommunication Authority submitted its reply along with some transcripts of communication it had intercepted during late-night conversation of consumers...
18th amendment poses challenges to good governance: WB By Our Reporter ISLAMABAD, Nov 29: A new World Bank policy paper says the 18th Amendment of the Constitution has failed to institutionalise constraints on barriers to mobility of goods and factors of production across the nation and instead opened up potential for such barriers by recognising the provincial authority to discriminate against non-residents. By delegating most regulatory functions to the provincial domain, the amendment has created potential for a ‘jungle of confusion’, exacting high transaction costs from citizens and businesses, says the paper titled “Making Federalism Work — the Eighteenth Constitutional Amendment”...
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