02 May 2004 Sunday 11 Rabi-ul-Awwal 1425 PM to preside party meeting ISLAMABAD, May 1: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali will chair a meeting of heads of Pakistan Muslim League's five factions along with Sindh Democratic Alliance (Imtiaz Sheikh group) on May 2 at the PM House to discuss the unification arrangements ... PPP to protest Khosa's remarks at ARD meeting LAHORE, May 1: The PPP on Saturday took exception to an accusatory statement attributed to Punjab PML-N President Zulfikar Khosa against Ms Benazir Bhutto, and declared that the leadership would also register its protest at a meeting of the Alliance for Restoration of Democracy (ARD) ... - to invite ARD leaders LAHORE, May 1: The PML-N leaders will formally invite all ARD leaders that they should join them in receiving their exiled president Mian Shahbaz Sharif on his return from London. ... Jabbar opposes Millat Party merger with PML ISLAMABAD, May 1: Senior Vice-President of Millat Party Javed Jabbar has opposed the decision taken by the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) regarding the party's merger with Pakistan Muslim League (PML) after its unification. ... PPP sets up cell for election KARACHI, May 1: Pakistan People's Party will set up an election cell to monitor the election process. The cell would work round-the-clock and inform the media and human rights organisations about the polling process. ... MMA striving for Islamic system: leader KARACHI, May 1: Deputy secretary-general of the Jamiat Ulema-i- Islam and MNA Maulana Attaur Rehman and NWFP Minister for Local Bodies Sardar Mohammad Idrees have said that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal has provided the nation an excellent forum against corruption ... Punjab created wheat crisis, says JUI-F PESHAWAR, May 1: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) has held Punjab responsible for wheat crisis in the country and asked the Centre to meet the NWFP flour requirement on propriety basis. ... Ban on wheat movement to stay: Pervaiz ISLAMABAD, May 1: Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi here on Saturday said the ban on movement of wheat out of Punjab would remain intact till the province achieved the target of securing 3.5 million tons of wheat. ... Plan to offer golden handshake to army NCOs ISLAMABAD, May 1: The formation commanders decision for a phased reduction in troops' strength by 50,000 would be implemented in the army with a bottom-up approach. ... CJ wonders how an official can amass millions ISLAMABAD, May 1: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui on Friday wondered as to how a public servant could accumulate properties worth millions when public functionaries right up to the Supreme Court judges barely made both ends meet on government salaries. ... Minority rights' team meets Kasuri ISLAMABAD, May 1: A delegation of the South Asian Peoples' Commission for the Rights of Minorities met Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri here in Islamabad. ... EU hints at accord on WMDs, war on terror ISLAMABAD, May 1: The European Union has expressed intention to develop a cooperation mechanism with Pakistan on issues of weapons of mass destruction and the fight against terrorism. ... 'EU set to encourage Pakistan, India talks' NEW DELHI, May 1: The European Union has evinced its keenness to encourage both India and Pakistan to effectively pursue the dialogue process for the settlement of their disputes, including Kashmir. ... Jamali, Khaleda laud SDEF initiative KARACHI, May 1: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said that Pakistan has an active programme for poverty alleviation which the present government is pursuing in all earnestness and endeavouring to make it as effective and wide-ranging as possible. ... Better ties with India a must for peace: Sahr PESHAWAR May 1: The human rights activists from South Asian countries on Saturday observed that the restoration of complete bilateral relations between India and Pakistan was necessary for the lasting peace in the region. ... Move to give court data on Dr Khan ISLAMABAD, May 1: Maj (retd) Hassamul Haq on Friday filed an application in the Supreme Court to make some additional records part of an earlier petition moved for producing former KRL chief Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan in the court. ... JUI wants Hasba Act implemented KOHAT, May 1: Parliamentarians belonging to Jamiat Ulema-i- Islam (Fazl) have accused the federal government of creating hurdles in the way of the implementation of the controversial Hasba Act through the governor house by causing unrest in the tribal areas. ... Nepra rejects tariff revision request: Jamshoro Power Company ISLAMABAD, May 1: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has rejected a request from the Privatization Commission to revise Jamshoro Power Company's (JPC) tariff determination from five year to nine years. ... Officials to be asked to travel by PIA ISLAMABAD, May 1: The government has decided to stop its officials from travelling abroad on airlines other than the PIA to avoid loss of foreign exchange. ... PTA to earn $0.5bn from mobile firms licences renewal ISLAMABAD May 1: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) is poised to earn another chunk of half a billion US dollars when the licence terms of two mobile cellular telephone companies would expire next year in April, an official source told Dawn. ... Govt asked to abolish IRO, raise salaries RAWALPINDI, May 1: The members of All Pakistan Workers Confederation (APWC) on Saturday demanded abolition of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2002, and a modest increase in the salaries of the working classes in commensurate with the inflation rate. ... PTDC to open offices abroad, says minister ISLAMABAD, May 1: The government will try its best to provide facilities of international standards to foreign tourists at hotels and motels to promote tourism in the country. ... Subsidy on gas for fertilizer sector to go KARACHI, May 1: The Sui Southern Gas Company has urged the government to retain the subsidy for gas consumers despite the fact that international financial institutions insist that the subsidy be abolished. ... Problems of working women highlighted LAHORE, May 1: Denial of equal wages and rights to working women was decried at a seminar on Globalization and Working Women organized by the Woman Workers Helpline here on the May Day. ... Labour Day observed ISLAMABAD, May 1: The workers' community on Saturday observed the May Day across the country to pay homage to the workers of Chicago for defending their rights. ... Abolition of all anti-worker laws demanded KARACHI, May 1: Scores of events were organized on Saturday in the metropolis to mark the international labour day, May Day. Thousands of public and private sector employees attended the rallies ... Child labour elimination a top priority, says adviser KARACHI, May 1: The elimination of child labour is among the top priorities of the government with major emphasis on providing necessary support to children forced into economic activities beyond their capacities. ... Suspension of GATT terms for Saarc urged KARACHI, May 1: Speakers at an international conference on Saturday stressed that due importance be given to polytechnic education and training for the mid-level technical manpower. ... 10m people suffer from asthma in Pakistan KARACHI, May 1: World Asthma Day is being observed on Tuesday (May 4) with the burden of approximately 200 million patients globally and more than 10 million patients in Pakistan ... Indian visa office in Sindh sought ISLAMABAD, May 1: The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has taken up with the foreign office the issue of allowing Indian embassy to open a visa camp office in Karachi to facilitate a large number of intending travellers to India. ...

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