05 January 2005 Wednesday 23 Ziqa'ad 1425 Opposition MPs not to quit seats: Fahim LAHORE, Jan 4: Alliance for Restoration of Democracy chairman Makhdoom Amin Fahim, ruling out the possibility of the ARD legislators resigning from their seats ... PPP offered Senate opposition's slot ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The government has contacted the People's Party Parliamentarians (PPP) afresh to seek its cooperation in running the forthcoming sessions of the Senate and National Assembly smoothly ... Opposition MPs decline to attend briefing at GHQ ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The ARD senators in the Senate standing committee on defence and defence production have declined to go to General Headquarters (GHQ) for a briefing and demanded that the same should be held within the precincts of parliament. ... Expansion in Sindh cabinet likely KARACHI, Jan 4: Another expansion in the Sindh cabinet may be effected in a week and at least two ministers and three advisers are likely to be inducted. ... Asif likely to contest Lahore NA seat ISLAMABAD Jan 4: Pakistan People's Party leader Asif Ali Zardari is likely to be a candidate for the Lahore National Assembly seat vacated by Pakistan Awami Tehrik chief Dr Tahirul Qadri. ... Shahbaz seeks permission to travel to US, says Dar ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The exiled president of the PML-N, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, had sought permission from the Saudi authorities to travel to the United States for a medical check-up ... Case against eight MMA activists: 'Slogans against president' BAHAWALPUR, Jan 4: Police on Tuesday registered a case under 16-MPO against eight MMA leaders, including deputy parliamentary leader in Punjab Assembly Dr Syed Waseem Akhtar, for allegedly raising slogans against President Gen Pervez Musharraf. ... Scuffle mars opening of Lahore 'Bilawal House' LAHORE, Jan 4: PPP leaders on Tuesday hoisted a party flag at the "Bilawal House", which marked the opening of the residence of Ms Benazir Bhutto and Asif Ali Zardari in the Punjab capital. ... Bhutto's birth anniversary today LARKANA, Jan 4: Top leaders of the People's Party Parliamentarian will address a 77th birth anniversary function of the founder of PPP and the former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto here on Wednesday. ... Religion column in passport unlikely ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The federal government is unlikely to include the religion column in the newly introduced machine readable passports (MRPs), despite criticism from religious parties, due to technical constraints ... Sub committee report on Balochistan in 15 days ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The parliamentary sub-committee on Balochistan has finalized its recommendations on political and economic issues and it will be presented to parliament within a fortnight. ... PM asked to invest own capital in country ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz should invest his own money in Pakistan to win confidence of local and foreign investors. This was stated by PML-N Central Information Secretary Mohammad Siddiqul Farooque ... Lawyers urged to observe black day ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) on Tuesday asked lawyers community to observe black day on Monday next (January 10, 2005) to protest against President Gen Pervez Musharraf's decision to keep both offices ... PN crew's performance in Maldives lauded KARACHI, Jan 4: Commander of Pakistan Fleet Vice-Admiral Mohammad Haroon has said that the whole nation is proud of the crew of Navy ships Tariq and Nasr for performing an excellent job in extending humanitarian help ... Relief goods reach Indonesia ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The first batch of relief from Pakistan reached the Indonesian province of North Sumatra on Tuesday to help people affected by tsunami. ... US earmarks $75m for Pakistani students: Fulbright scholarship ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The US government has earmarked $75 million under the Fulbright Scholarship Scheme for Pakistani students to study at the best universities of America in the field of science and technical education. ... 50,000 villages to get wireless phone facility: Aziz SUKKUR, Jan 4: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said that 50,000 villages in the country have been connected through the wireless local loop (WLL) service. ... Call charges to be reduced: minister SUKKUR, Jan 4: Federal Minister for Information Technology Awais Leghari has said that the government is working on a package on the tariff of local telephone calls, which will be shortly announced. ... Cell phone firms warned against poor service ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Tuesday warned cellular phone companies to improve their quality of service by January 15 to avert legal action. ... Narrow escape for PK-786: PIA, CAA blame pilot RAWALPINDI, Jan 4: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are trying to pass on the blame to each other concerning Monday's incident ... 70 journalists for conference in Chandigarh ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: A group of 70 Pakistani journalists would attend a two-day media conference starting on Thursday in the Indian state of Chandigarh. ... APNS appeal hearing adjourned ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned for Jan 6, a review petition filed by the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) against the Seventh Wage Board Award for newspaper employees. ... New oil well to generate Rs1bn annually ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The newly-discovered oil well of the Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL) at Dakhni fields, Attock, will generate revenues amounting to Rs1 billion per year, said Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources ... PR freight section may be privatized LAHORE, Jan 4: Minister for Railways Shamim Haider has said his organization is contemplating to hand over its freight section to the private sector. ... Afghan family 'vanishes' after deportation ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: A high-profile asylum-seeking family who were deported from Australia after a five-year battle arrived safely in Pakistan but have since disappeared, officials said Tuesday. ... Quetta hit by rockets QUETTA, Jan 4: Three rockets were fired on the Hazarganji area of the city early Tuesday while police recovered a rocket planted in the Railway's football ground. ... Strategies being devised to control hepatitis: official ISLAMABAD, Jan 4: The government is devising strategies to control the spread of hepatitis-B and C that posed a major public health challenge. ... Substandard food items being used in slums KARACHI, Jan 4: Pakistanis living in squatter settlements consume foods neither as per the internationally accepted standards nor as per the National Health Survey. ...

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