DINA for the issue of Saturday 5th January 2013

	Saturday 5th January 2013 | Safar 22, 1434
The DAWN Internet News Alert (DINA) is a free daily news service from Pakistan’s largest English language newspaper, the Daily DAWN.
PM links national security to political stability Baqir Sajjad Syed and Kalbe Ali ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said here on Friday that political stability was critically linked to national security and made a strong appeal for preventing democracy from being derailed.	For suggestions and comments: Email: webmaster@dawn.com Website: http://dawn.com Fax: +92(21) 35693995 Karachi Stocks Down 304.88 Points: KARACHI, Jan 02: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 16489.99, down 304.88 points. Forex Update : KARACHI, Jan 02: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 97.8 to the US Dollar in the open market.
20 killed in air strikes on Tirah hideouts Ibrahim Shinwari LANDI KOTAL, Jan 4: Twenty militants were killed and 10 others injured in Tirah valley on Friday when fighter jets pounded their hideouts, official sources said. The jets conducted sorties in Dwa Thoe Khola, Baragatt and Sur Kas areas, targeting bases of the Taliban affiliated with the Tariq Afridi group.
SC gives Sindh police 24 hours to arrest Shahzeb’s killers Nasir Iqbal and Munawer Azeem ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The Supreme Court has given the Sindh police 24 hours to arrest the killers of Karachi youth Shahzeb Khan or be ready for serious consequences. The tragic murder of 20-year-old Shahzeb invited the attention of the apex court which directed the advocate general of Sindh and the provincial police chief to appear before it on Friday. However, they did not turn up.
Controversial tax amnesty bill finds way to NA Iftikhar A. Khan ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The controversial bill meant to provide opportunity to millions to whiten their black money finally found its way to the National Assembly on Friday, but the fate of the bill still hangs in the balance with two key partners of the ruling coalition including MQM and PML-Q joining hands with the main opposition PML-N in rejecting the proposed amnesty scheme. The opposition by the coalition partners has at least blocked prospects for a smooth sailing of the bill in the National Assembly.
ECP slaps ban on govt ads at public cost Our Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan imposed on Friday a ban on using public money for advertisements given by the federal and provincial governments to promote their parties. A press release issued by a spokesman for the commission said the ban would apply to advertisements appearing in the print or electronic media bearing party logo, party name, images of party leaders and directly or indirectly promoting any party or candidate.
Three brothers of man at centre of Kohistan feud killed Nisar Ahmad Khan MANSEHRA, Jan 4: In what may be described as a sequel to last year’s controversy over a video clip showing men and women clapping and dancing at a wedding in Kohistan district, three brothers of a man who had broken the news about the alleged murder of the women have been killed by members of the women’s tribe in Palas area. The enmity between Salakhel and Suramkhel tribes started on May 29 last year when Mohammad Afzal of Salakhel alleged that the four women shown clapping in the video were killed after they had been declared perverted by a jirga of local clerics headed by one Maulvi Javed.
US praises Pakistan’s support for peace in Afghanistan Anwar Iqba WASHINGTON: As Afghan President Hamid Karzai arrives here on Monday for talks on political transition in Afghanistan, the US State Department says it supports Pakistan’s efforts to help the reconciliation process. Pakistan has recently released some key Taliban leaders, enabling them to join reconciliation talks with the government in Kabul.
New batch of militants freed by Kabul From the Newspaper KABUL, Jan 4: Some 250 prisoners formerly held by the US have been released by Afghan authorities in hopes that this will lead to reconciliation in the 11-year conflict, a Defence Ministry spokesman said on Friday. Police Major Jalal Uddin said that 80 were freed from prisons across the country that day, the latest batch of a total of 400 to be released this week.
Saudi jets bolster US drone strikes on Yemen From the Newspaper LONDON, Jan 4: Saudi Arabia has provided fighter jets to assist the United States with its drone strikes against Al Qaeda targets in Yemen, the London Times reported on Friday. US drones are backing Yemeni forces combating militants of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The group’s Yemen branch is considered by Washington to be the most active and deadliest franchise of the global militant network.
No-one helped Indian rape victim, says injured friend From the Newspaper NEW DELHI, Jan 4: In a damning evidence against Delhi’s less advertised but notoriously self-absorbed callousness, the male friend of the unnamed 23-year-old paramedical student who was gang-raped here on Dec 16, said on Friday that no-one came forward to help them for nearly an hour — not the people, not the police — though vehicles stopped to watch the two bleeding in their unspeakable state under a busy flyover. The male friend of the woman who was beaten mercilessly when he tried to defend her against the six allegedly drunk men and who, like her, has not been named, told Zeenews TV channel that three police cars that converged at the spot where they lay bleeding haggled with each other for 30 potentially crucial minutes over which of the police districts the case belonged to.
13,000 boat people flee Myanmar, Bangladesh From the Newspaper YANGON, Jan 4: About 13,000 boat people, including many stateless Rohingya Muslims, fled Myanmar and neighbouring Bangladesh in 2012 with hundreds dying during the perilous sea voyage, the UN said on Friday. A wave of deadly sectarian violence in Myanmar’s western state of Rakhine has triggered an exodus of refugees, mostly heading for Malaysia.
US, Pakistan officials discuss Bhasha dam, investment From the Newspaper WASHINGTON, Jan 4: The United States and Pakistan have discussed the possibility of America’s collaboration for the Bhasha dam project, says the State Department. The department’s spokesperson Victoria Nuland told a news briefing that the talks between Ambassador Sherry Rehman and US Deputy Secretary of State Thomas Nides also focused on a private initiative for encouraging foreign investments in Pakistan.
Senators seek CIA input on Osama film From the Newspaper WASHINGTON, Jan 4: Three US senators are demanding that the CIA provide details on the spy agency’s cooperation with the director of Zero Dark Thirty, Hollywood’s take on the hunt for Osama bin Laden. In letters sent to acting CIA director Michael Morell and released on Thursday, the lawmakers express concern that the film wrongly implies that torture yielded information that played a key role in tracking down the Al Qaeda leader.
Balochistan plans to expel illegal foreigners from border districts Saleem Shahid QUETTA, Jan 4: The Balochistan Home Department has told deputy commissioners of the districts along the borders with Afghanistan and Iran to take action against foreigners, including the Afghans, living on Pakistani side of the crossing illegally. The decision was taken on Friday at a high-level meeting which discussed illegal stay of foreigners in border areas of the province and repatriation of the registered Afghan refugees.
Massive Fatah rally held in Hamas-ruled Gaza From the Newspaper GAZA CITY, Jan 4: Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party on Friday held a mass rally in Gaza, their first since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. “Victory is near and we will meet you in Gaza in the near future,” Mr Abbas said in a short speech from his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah, beamed to the Gaza crowd at the Saraya complex on giant screens.
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