22 April 2004 Thursday 01 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425 PPP fears Zardari will be taken by force to Switzerland ISLAMABAD, April 21: The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has expressed the fear that the government is preparing a plan to take Asif Ali Zardari forcibly to Switzerland. ... PPP demands unconditional release of Asif Zardari KARACHI, April 21: The PPP Sindh executive council on Wednesday praised Asif Ali Zardari for "sticking to his principled stand" and demanded the government set him free "forthwith and unconditionally". ... NAB chief defends plea bargaining: Armed forces, judiciary can be made accountable ISLAMABAD, April 21: National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Chairman Lt-Gen Munir Hafiez has strongly defended plea bargaining, saying the process of accountability could not be completed without arbitration. ... MMA to welcome Shahbaz in Peshawar LAHORE, April 21: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal would receive PML-N president Mian Shahbaz Sharif if his plane lands at Peshawar Airport. This was stated by Jammat-i-Islami deputy secretary general Farid Ahmed Piracha MNA while talking to newsmen here on Wednesday. ... MMA warns of movement SHIKARPUR, April 21: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leader, Maulana Ghafoor Hyderi, has warned that a protest movement would be launched against President Gen Pervez Musharraf if he did not leave the post of the Chief of Army Staff by December 2004. ... Dissociation from MMA: Sami faces opposition LAHORE, April 21: Senator Maulana Samiul Haq is unlikely to break away his Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam from the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal owing to opposition from within the party, especially its three MNAs and the party's NWFP chapter. ... Ten more days given to Wazir tribesmen: Govt seeks tangible results PESHAWAR, April 21: NWFP Governor Lt-Gen (retired) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah extended on Wednesday a deadline given to tribesmen in South Waziristan by another 10 days ... Tribesmen not target of operation: governor KHAAR, April 21: NWFP Governor Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah has said that the operation in the tribal areas was not against the tribal people, rather it had been launched to flush out terrorist elements from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. ... Operation in Wana termed ill-conceived ISLAMABAD, April 21: Speakers at a seminar have termed the ongoing military operation in tribal areas "ill-conceived and ill-planned and called for finding a political solution to the issue. ... President to address conf on corruption ISLAMABAD, April 21: President Gen Pervez Musharraf will address the concluding session of a three-day "International Conference on UN Convention against Corruption" on Thursday. ... Final list notified, symbols allotted: May 12 by-elections KARACHI, April 21: The Election Commission of Pakistan on Wednesday announced the final list of candidates and their election symbols for the May 12 byelections in four NA and two PS constituencies of Sindh. ... Scouting can make world peaceful: Zobaida ISLAMABAD, April 21: Federal Minister for Education Zobaida Jalal on Wednesday said scouting would help promote peace, love and unity in the world. She was speaking at the 13th National Scouts Jamboree at Jinnah Stadium here on Wednesday. ... Teachers' body slams HEC role in varsity affairs KARACHI, April 21: Pakistan needs a policy that ensures quality education for all, based on participation and control of academics working in all spheres of the education. ... Cyber wing in information ministry on cards ISLAMABAD, April 21: The government is contemplating to establish a cyber wing in the ministry of information and broadcasting at a cost of Rs39.4 million to counter propaganda from across the borders ... PIA needs more efforts for success, says Rao KARACHI, April 21: Defence Minister Rao Sikandar Iqbal has said that the PIA has made remarkable progress during the last couple of years. "This is really commendable that the PIA has become a profit- earning organization," ... Wage award - SHC continues restraint on ITNE KARACHI, April 21: The Sindh High Court extended on Wednesday a stay order against the Implementation Tribunal for Newspaper Employees (ITNE) in respect of the cases pertaining to the Pakistan Herald Publications Limited ... Sending of troops to Iraq slammed KARACHI, April 21: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, on Wednesday, warned that the government should refrain from sending Pakistani troops to Iraq under any condition and said instead of Iraq ... Team to investigate arms smuggling GILGIT, April 21: A joint team of Pakistan and China will arrive here from Islamabad to investigate into an alleged arms smuggling into Chinese territories last week, Northern Areas official spokesman Saeed Ahmed Khan said. ...

© The DAWN Group of Newspapers, 2004