26 June 2004 Saturday 07 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425 NA speaker accused of violating rules ISLAMABAD, June 25: The parliamentary secretary of Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD), Izhar Amrohvi, has accused National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain of violating the rules in getting the budget passed in a haste. ... PML-N criticizes Rocca's remarks ISLAMABAD, June 25: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) secretary-general Saranjam Zamindar has taken exception to US assistant secretary of state Christina Rocca's assertion that Pakistan is more democratic now than before the October 1999 coup. ... PPP refuses to support MMA: 'Peace march' in Karachi ISLAMABAD, June 25: Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy (ARD) chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim has decided to convene a two-day meeting of the heads of all the component parties of the alliance in Lahore from July 2, sources told Dawn on Friday. ... NSC to ensure democracy, says Pervaiz LAHORE, June 25: The Punjab is politically stable and playing its role in strengthening national economy, says Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi. ... MMA's rally slammed KARACHI, June 25: The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), especially the Jamaat-i-Islami, has planned to organise a peace rally in the city so that a law and order situation can be created, and to blackmail the government once this aim is achieved. ... Political awareness must for basic rights KARACHI, June 25: Speakers at a symposium, on Friday, stressed that the provision of basic human rights and the solution to all problems could only be possible through creating awareness about political system among the masses. ... CM vows to honour MMA's decisions PESHAWAR, June 25: The NWFP Chief Minister, Akram Khan Durrani, has said he will honour the decisions of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal which has elected him as the chief minister of the province. ... 'Punjab CM's Vision 2020 unrealistic' RAWALPINDI, June 25: The Punjab chief minister's Vision 2020 is unrealistic and has failed to take into account the ground realities and the problems being confronted by the common man. ... Sanjrani new Sindh chief secretary ISLAMABAD, June 25: The federal government has appointed Mohammad Aslam Sanjrani chief secretary of Sindh in place of Dr Mutawakal Qazi, sources told Dawn. Dr Qazi, a grade-22 officer, had been made officer on special duty. ... Sindh may suffer loss of Rs271bn: opposition - Non-finalization of NFC KARACHI, June 25: The opposition in the Sindh Assembly claimed on Friday that the province would suffer a loss of Rs271 billion because of the government's inability to get the NFC award issue finalized. ... PA rejects all cut motions: Punjab budget passed LAHORE, June 25: The Punjab Assembly passed here on Friday the budget for 2004-05 after rejecting all cut motions moved by the members of the opposition. ... Assembly approves Rs1.056bn demands PESHAWAR, June 25: The NWFP Assembly on Friday approved six demands for grants of Rs1.056 billion to meet the expenditures to be borne by different departments for ongoing schemes by June 30, 2004. ... Over 100 PPP men arrested, released LAHORE, June 25: More than 100 PPP workers were detained and later set free after a clash with police in a bid to protest the killing of Munawwar Suharwardi on The Mall on Friday. ... Asif shifted to Karachi amid tight security ISLAMABAD, June 25: The spouse of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, Asif Ali Zardari, was shifted to Karachi form Islamabad on Friday night, official sources said. ... Senate panel postpones discussion on Hudood laws ISLAMABAD, June 25: The Senate standing committee on Human Rights postponed the deliberations on examination of controversial Hudood laws, as the minister for law and interior failed to show up. ... Pakistan, India advised to build peace gradually ISLAMABAD, June 25: India and Pakistan should normalize ties gradually, focusing on trade and transport links rather than by trying to force the pace on resolving their central dispute over Kashmir, a leading think-tank said. ... Body formed to probe Okara farms issue ISLAMABAD, June 25: The Senate functional committee on human rights on Friday decided to form a sub-committee to probe loss of life and other issues of Okara military farms tenants with the directions to submit a 'confidential report'. ... Dutch embassy to provide Rs183 million: SPO programme in Balochistan ISLAMABAD, June 25: The Netherlands embassy will provide Rs183 million for Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) programme in Balochistan over the period 2004-08. ... Uzbek envoy for enhanced trade ties with Pakistan RAWALPINDI, June 25: The ambassador of Uzbekistan to Pakistan, Anvar Salikhbaev, on Friday appreciated the government's economic policies. ... Pesticide trade: advisory body's amends ignored MULTAN, June 25: Some 'unscrupulous elements' at the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) have reportedly distracted some of the vital decisions taken by the agricultural pesticides technical advisory committee (Aptac) ... Anti-Drugs Day 'Over 3.5m addicts in country' ISLAMABAD, June 25: On the eve of the 'World Drugs Day' the situation in Pakistan is getting more serious as officially confirmed figures show that there are 3.5 to four million addicts in the country ... Commemoration of first ascent of K-2 GILGIT, June 25; Over 700 foreign tourists are expected to participate in a ceremony to be held in July to commemorate the first ascent of K-2, world's second highest peak. ... PP leader criticizes AJK budget MUZAFFARABAD, June 25: Taking part in the budget debate in the AJK Legislative Assembly on Friday, a legislator belonging to the opposition People's Party said that any decision on Kashmir taken 'under pressure' would be unacceptable to the Kashmiris. ... 'No survey on child labour since 1996' ISLAMABAD, June 25: No statistics are currently available to ascertain the exact volume of child labour in the country as the latest survey conducted in this regard was in 1996. ...

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