DINA for the Issue of June 22, 2013

	Saturday 22nd June 2013 | Sha"ban 12, 1434
The DAWN Internet News Alert (DINA) is a free daily news service from Pakistan’s largest English language newspaper, the Daily DAWN.
15 killed in suicide strike on Peshawar mosque By Ali Hazrat Bacha PESHAWAR, June 21: Fifteen people were killed and 27 injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up after a gun attack inside a mosque-cum-madressah here on Friday.	For suggestions and comments: Email: webmaster@dawn.com Website: http://dawn.com Fax: +92(21) 35693995 Karachi Stocks Down 325.18 Points: KARACHI, June 21: At the close of trading, the KSE-100 index was at 22216.46, down 325.18 points. Forex Update : KARACHI, June 21: The Pakistani Rupee was traded at 99.8 to the US Dollar in the open market.
SC voids GST hike without NA approval By Nasir Iqbal ISLAMABAD, June 21: Only a fortnight after assuming power, the PML-N government suffered a major setback on Friday. In an overarching verdict, the Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the government had no legal authority to levy and charge 17 per cent general sales tax (GST) from June 13 without approval by the National Assembly of related proposals made in the budget. In its short order authored by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, the court also declared that 9pc GST on CNG in addition to 16pc was unconstitutional and contrary to articles 3 (elimination of exploitation), 9 (security of person), 24 (protection of property rights) and 77 (tax to be levied only by the parliament) of the constitution as well as section 3 of the Sales Tax Act. A detailed verdict will be issued later.
Ruling stalls budget at least for a day By Raja Asghar ISLAMABAD, June 21: As the new government too had a taste of judicial activism, its first budget was stalled at least for a day in the National Assembly on Friday after the Supreme Court struck down application of a British-era law to charge an increased rate of the general sales tax (GST) before the finance bill was passed. While Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and a couple of other ministers of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s 15-day-old government assured both houses of parliament that a three-judge bench’s ruling earlier in the day would be honoured, Mr Dar said the higher GST rate could still be charged if the National Assembly passed a resolution to that effect along with the budget for fiscal 2013-14.
MQM legislator, son shot dead By Imtiaz Ali KARACHI, June 21: A Sindh Assembly legislator belonging to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and his son were gunned down here on Friday. The killings triggered violence in several parts of the city. According to TV channel reports, the Taliban claimed responsibility for killing the MPA.
Man killed in Karachi attack By Our Staff Reporter KARACHI, June 21: An armed attack on a park neighbouring an Imambargah in Korangi killed one man and wounded four on Friday night. A subsequent attack left four other men, including a police officer, injured. According to police, the armed men, who were riding two motorcycles, fired shots on people sitting inside the park in Bilal Colony, near Murtaza Chowk and an Imambargah.
How to deal with energy crisis? By Yousuf Nazar Nawaz Sharif is expected to announce his energy policy in a couple of weeks. Pakistan needs an integrated national energy strategy which must be developed by independent experts free from the influence of organisations such as the World Bank which supported highly flawed policies in the past or of the local vested interests such as the Independent Power Producers (IPPs). The energy crisis is not about the installed capacity because the structural reasons go far beyond just the circular debt, bad governance and corruption. A lesson learnt from the 2008 global financial crisis, when big banks were brought under the state control by the western governments, is that during extraordinary situations that threaten to destabilise an entire system, there is no alternative to state intervention no matter how undesirable it may be in ideal conditions.
Senate proposes fund for victims of drone strikes By Khawar Ghumman ISLAMABAD, June 21: With the government set to take a few more weeks to come up with a policy on drone attacks, the Senate on Friday recommended the setting up of a special fund for those who over the years have become victims of attacks by the unmanned planes. The Senate has made 113 recommendations for inclusion in the Finance Bill--2013, which the National Assembly is set to pass next week. Although passage of the budget is an exclusive domain of the National Assembly, rules do allow Senators to make recommendations, which the assembly may or may not accept.
US praises Pakistan’s role in Taliban talks By Khaleeq Kiani ISLAMABAD, June 21: The United States publicly acknowledged on Friday the constructive role played by Pakistan in bringing Taliban and the US administration closer to reconciliation and said it wanted to continue its partnership with Islamabad beyond withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan next year. “We are working closely with Pakistan. Pakistan played a constructive role in opening of Taliban office in Doha. This is a big step and we greatly appreciate Pakistan’s support,” said US Ambassador Richard Olson while briefing reporters ahead of the US-Pakistan Business Opportunities Conference to be held in Dubai from June 25 to 26. He said the US government had not yet decided whether to continue with Coalition Support Fund (CSF) disbursements to Pakistan after withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan next year. About CSF dues, he said the US administration had received requests for reimbursements for July-September period and was expeditiously processing (the requests).
Would-be suicide attacker killed By Our Staff Correspondent QUETTA, June 21: A would-be suicide bomber was killed in Qila Saifullah area on Friday evening when explosives he was carrying went off, according to sources in the Levies Force. Levies officials said the man was going from Qila Saifullah to Nisai, an area near the Afghan border, on his motorcycle. His body was found in pieces while his head was recovered some 200 yards from the blast site.
Twin sisters killed in shelling By Pazeer Gul IMIRAMSHAH, June 21: Two college-going sisters were killed after mortar shells hit their house in Darpakhel village in North Waziristan on Thursday night. Local people said that Amin checkpost near Miramshah bazaar was attacked by unidentified men. The security forces responded with mortar shelling and some of the shells landed in residential compounds in Darpakhel, damaging nine houses.
Interest rate reduced by 50bps KARACHI, June 21: Announcing the monetary policy on Friday, the State Bank slashed the policy interest rate by 50 basis points to 9 per cent. The rate was revised primarily in the wake of declining inflation and poor credit off-take by the private sector.
Swiss govt confirms refusal to reopen probe GENEVA, June 21: Swiss prosecutors announced on Friday that they had refused to reopen a probe into alleged corruption in the 1990s by President Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto. Prosecutors in Geneva said the decision was taken on February 4 this year, and that they had only opted to make it public as a result of street protests in Pakistan.
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