Welcome to DAWN, Pakistan's most widely circulated English language newspaper.
Updated round-the-clock, with a major update before 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT).
President confirms govt in contact with Benazir
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has confirmed that the government is in contact with Ms Benazir Bhutto in order to have a certain arrangement on the future political set-up of the country.
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Pakistan will choose my successor: Musharraf
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday he will not nominate any successor to take over should an assassin take his life, and Pakistan's next leader would be chosen by its people and the National Assembly.
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Larger SC bench to hear petition against dual office
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: The Supreme Court ordered on Thursday the constitution of a larger bench to hear petitions challenging the 17th Constitutional Amendment and the dual office of President Gen Pervez Musharraf. A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Nazim Hussain Siddiqui, Justice Javed Iqbal and Justice Tassadduq Hussain Jillani, issued notice to the federal government through the law secretary for comments within three weeks .
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Musharraf backs equal share for centre, provinces: National Finance Commission Award
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday he had asked the federal government to do away with the concurrent list to give maximum autonomy to provinces and finalize a new NFC award on the basis of 50:50 shares for the centre and the federating units.
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Pakistan, Spain to boost defence ties
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: Pakistan and Spain on Thursday agreed to increase cooperation, particularly in the field of defence.
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Pakistan, Eritrea vow to promote relations
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: President Gen Pervez Musharraf and his Eritrean counterpart, President Issias Aferki on Thursday affirmed to expand bilateral ties at an exclusive meeting here at the Aiwan-i-Sadr.
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NA secretary suspended
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: The government on Thursday suspended National Assembly Secretary Mahmood Salim Mahmood, a BPS 22 officer, amid reports that an inquiry is to be held into allegations of his objectionable behaviour during a flight from Washington to London.
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Sui rapist must hang: president
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: President Gen Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday that the culprit behind the rape of a lady doctor in Sui would face hanging. However, the president defended an army captain who is the chief suspect in the case, saying he believed the man was not guilty.
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Balochistan issue: lawmakers call for political solution
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: The opposition blamed the policies of the past and present military rulers for the present unrest in Balochistan as the National Assembly began a three-day debate on injustices done to the province.
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Tribal women hold rally in Dera Bugti
QUETTA, Feb 24: Hundreds of tribal women staged a rally in Dera Bugti on Thursday in protest against the government's failure to arrest the main accused involved in the lady doctor's criminal assault case.
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Manmohan, Karzai discuss trade via Pakistan
NEW DELHI, Feb 24: India and Afghanistan will boost their air links from March 27, when India Airlines will revive its Delhi-Kabul sector, official sources said on Thursday.
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Suicide bomber kills 12 in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Feb 24: A suicide car bomber killed 12 people on Thursday, underlining Iraq's dire security challenges, while a Kurdish politician spelt out demands that could complicate the formation of the country's new government.
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Palestinian cabinet approved
RAMALLAH, Feb 24: Embattled Palestinian prime minister Ahmed Qorei finally won approval for his cabinet on Thursday when MPs overwhelmingly endorsed his radically-overhauled line-up which is dominated by technocrats. -AFP
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Sharon slams France
JERUSALEM, Feb 24: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon criticized France on Wednesday for balking at a US-backed proposal to declare Hezbollah a terrorist group. "The French are pro-Arab," Mr Sharon said in an interview aired on Israel's Channel 2 television. -Reuters
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Bush & Putin oppose Iran going nuclear
BRATISLAVA, Feb 24: US President George Bush said on Thursday he had agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin at a brief summit that Iran and North Korea should not have nuclear weapons.
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Iran rejects US role in N-talks
TEHRAN, Feb 24: Iran said on Thursday that it opposed US participation in nuclear talks alongside the European Union, just two days after a government-linked think-tank floated the idea.
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Founder: Quaid-I-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah
Editor: Tahir Mirza
ISLAMABAD, Feb 24: President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday he had asked the federal government to do away with the concurrent list to give maximum autonomy to provinces and finalize a new NFC award on the basis of 50:50 shares for the centre and the federating units.
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