28 January 2005 Friday 17 Zilhaj 1425 Hashmi wants united front LAHORE, Jan 27: Central leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, has asked people to asses the Balochistan issue in the context of former East Pakistan. ... New alliance acts to become effective force ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: The Independent Democratic Group (IDG), a political alliance formed on Tuesday, plans to gear up its activities and hold a series of meetings in the coming months to gain support ... Sui crisis: Wasti seeks president's intervention RAWALPINDI, Jan 27: Pakistan Muslim League Vice President Syed Kabir Ali Wasti has expressed apprehension about the efforts being made by the party chief, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain ... PPP leader criticizes Jam Yousuf's statement PESHAWAR, Jan 27: The Pakistan People's Party has criticized a statement by the Balochistan chief minister in which he alleged that Iran was fuelling unrest in his province. ... JUI-F opposes operation in Balochistan SUKKUR, Jan 27: The Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (F) has opposed any army operation in Balochistan, saying it will harm the integrity and solidarity of the country. ... Zobaida rules out military operation in Sui ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Zobaida Jalal on Thursday ruled out the possibility of a military operation in Sui area. ... Centre asks Balochistan to improve monitoring ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: The federal government has asked the Balochistan government to improve its allocation of funds and monitoring mechanism with a view to ensuring effective and transparent utilization of uplift funds. ... Tribal set-up responsible for Sui crisis: TI LAHORE, Jan 27: The Tehrik-i-Istiqlal holds tribal system and chieftains responsible for the current situation in Balochistan. ... Govt targeting PPP workers before LB polls: Qaim KARACHI, Jan 27: Pakistan People's Party on Thursday slammed the provincial government and the police for the killing of its worker and arrest of several others in Mirpurkhas ... Cut in UC seats a concession to the elite: PPP ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: The decision to reduce the number of union council seats reflects the government's clear intention to use both the electoral process and the structure as a political tool. ... PPP lawmaker blames MQM for attack: Tension in Mirpurkhas MIRPURKHAS, Jan 27: Pakistan People's Party MNA Syed Qurban Ali Shah has alleged that MQM activists were involved in an incident offiring onhis house on Wednesday and the DPO of Mirpurkhas had got names of the culprits. ... Arrest warrants for 18 PML-N workers RAWALPINDI, Jan 27: Civil Judge Amjad Iqbal here on Thursday issued arrest warrants for 18 activists of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) for their failure to appear before the court ... Gilgit curfew to be lifted soon: Hayat ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: The government has decided to lift curfew in Gilgit within a few days, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat told Dawn on Thursday. ... Committee constituted to monitor climate change ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has constituted a seven-member permanent committee to ascertain and minimize the impact of overall climate change on Pakistan's agriculture, economy and environment, Dawn has learnt. ... Japanese envoy, NDI official meet Fakhar ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: Japanese Ambassador Nabuaki Tanaka and the country representative of National Democratic Institute, Mary Cummins separately called on former Speaker of the National Assembly ... NAB asks all institutions to have good governance KARACHI, Jan 27: Chairman of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Lt-Gen Munir Hafeez, on Thursday urged all institutions in the country to have good governance and also systems of checks and balances ... Kenyan firms keen on joint ventures SIALKOT, Jan 27: Kenyan High Commissioner in Pakistan David A. Mutemi has said that several companies have shown keen interest in establishing joint ventures with Pakistani especially Sialkot's business community. ... Norwegian team LAHORE, Jan 27: The people-to-people contact between Pakistan and India has increased and this will leave a positive impact on the dialogue process. ... Body reviews status of govt assurances ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: The Senate Functional Committee on Government Assurances on Thursday reviewed implementation status of various assurances given by the ministries of interior, communication, education and tourism on the floor of the house. ... Pakistan, Iran & India may undertake joint spray KARACHI, Jan 27: It is likely that health authorities in Pakistan would join hands with their counterparts in Iran and India in an extensive aerial spray of pesticide to eliminate sand flies which cause leishmaniasis ... World Punjabi moot on April 17-20 ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: The World Punjabi Congress (WPC) on Thursday announced plans to hold an international conference in Lahore on April 17-20 and use this feast of the language it seeks to promote to help peace with neighbouring India. ... 'Cell phone subscribers to increase by 15m soon' ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Shahzada Alam Malik on Thursday said the authority expected increase in the number of cell phone subscribers by 15 million by the year end ... Two cell phone firms in the dock LAHORE, Jan 27: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority may suspend the licences of two major cell phone companies if the reports of its secret survey, which is starting on Feb 1, establishes poor quality of their service. ... Women to be trained for preparing ORS PESHAWAR, Jan 27: The National Commission for Human Development has launched a one-year programme under which 38,000 mothers would be imparted training in making oral re-hydration salt (ORS) in the Bajaur Agency ... Faisal assures help to Mangla affected men ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: Minister for Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas Makhdoom Syed Faisal Saleh Hayat on Thursday assured all possible help to the people affected by Mangla dam construction. ... Rs30m project for AJK varsity okayed ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has approved a project of Rs30 million to strengthen the faculty of agriculture at Rawalakot, University of AJ&K. ... Pak-Afghan JEC to meet on Feb 10 ISLAMABAD, Jan 27: The Pak-Afghan Joint Economic Commission (JEC) will hold its next meeting in Islamabad on Feb 10-11, to work towards augmenting the current bilateral trade levels. ... Doubts over reliability of refugee census PESHAWAR, Jan 27: The census of Afghan refugees in Pakistan may not be foolproof because the procedure being followed for the exercise has several loopholes, said official sources. ...

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