Govt borrowings increased by Rs202 billion

An increase of Rs202 billion has been recorded in government borrowings during the first half-year of the current financial year.

According to statistics released by the State Bank of Pakistan, during the first half-year ended in December 2007, the volume of government borrowings exceeded Rs1,100 billion where as this was Rs898 billion in June 2007.

The government has increased the volume of borrowings through the central bank from Rs325 billion to Rs524 billion while debt volume from commercial banks has been increased from Rs572 billion to Rs575 billion.


http://www.geo.tv/details.asp?id=15504

Pakistani News Channel Goes Off Air


ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- A private TV news station accused Pakistan's government Thursday of blocking its transmissions after it aired a program featuring a critic of President Pervez Musharraf.

The satellite transmission of Aaj television was blocked late Wednesday after commentator Nusrat Javed appeared on-screen, said Aslam Dogar, an assignment editor at the station.

Prior to the broadcast, Musharraf's spokesman Rashid Quereshi had advised Aaj that it should not allow Javed to appear on any of its programs, Dogar said.

Calls to Quereshi for comment were not immediately answered.

Aaj television had been banned in November when Musharraf declared a state of emergency and put curbs on the media.

Rights groups and Pakistani journalists have expressed concern over such actions, saying they negate the official claim that the government respects media freedoms.

The international media rights group Reporters Without Borders accused state-run Pakistan Television of bias against parties opposing Musharraf. The media group noted Musharraf had promised fair and free elections when Pakistanis choose a new parliament Feb. 18.

''The absence of fairness in the coverage provided by the only national terrestrial broadcast channel shows that this is not yet the case,'' the group said in a statement Wednesday.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/worl...=1&oref=slogin

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Force of blast killed Bhutto, not bullet -report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed by the force of a suicide bomb and not by an assassin's bullet, The New York Times reported in its Friday editions, quoting officials briefed by Scotland Yard investigators.

Bhutto died on December 27 while campaigning in Rawalpindi. Controversy rages in Pakistan over whether the popular politician was struck down by a bullet or by a concussive injury caused by the bomb detonated after an assassin shot at her from close range.

President Pervez Musharraf asked Britain's Scotland Yard to help in the investigation. A poll conducted by Gallup Pakistan found almost half of all Pakistanis believed government agencies or politicians allied to Musharraf were involved in the assassination.

The report, which will be presented to the Pakistani government and Bhutto's family on Friday, said Bhutto died after the suicide blast detonated and she hit her head, the Times said.

The newspaper also said the inquiry determined a single gunman caused the explosion. Government officials in Pakistan initially said there were two assailants, according to The Times.

Investigators shared the findings with Musharraf's government on Thursday, the newspaper said, quoting officials who requested anonymity.

After the assassination, government officials asserted that Bhutto died after striking her head, but many Pakistanis did not accept that explanation.

The Times said it was unclear how Scotland Yard reached its conclusions. Bhutto was buried without an autopsy and the crime scene was cleaned immediately after the blast, potentially washing away vital clues.

The report comes less than two weeks before Pakistan's parliamentary elections on February 18, which were delayed by Bhutto's slaying.

As thousands gathered to mark the end of a 40-day mourning period for Bhutto, Pakistani authorities announced two "important arrests" in connection with her assassination.

A senior police officer in Rawalpindi identified the suspects as Hasnain and Rifaqat, but gave no other details. Two others, including a 15-year-old who admitted being a backup suicide bomber, were arrested last month.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080208/...3UaDrwM.YE1vAI

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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7236579.stm

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All deals enabling BB’s return stand nullified: Zardari

* PPP co-chairman not ruling out his candidature for prime minister

WASHINGTON: Asif Ali Zardari told Voice of America on Friday that former premier Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan as a result of international agreements, but after her murder, all such agreements stand nullified. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chairman did not say what those agreements were and with whom. He regretted that those who had brokered the agreements were not backing his demand for a United Nations investigation into his wife’s murder. To a question about Dr AQ Khan, he said it is the present government that had treated him the way he had been treated and that Khan was not provided with an opportunity to defend himself. He said, “It is the people of Pakistan, not his party, that will decide the fate of Dr Khan.” Zardari’s statement is a virtual recantation of Benazir’s offer during two speeches in Washington on her last visit to the US that she would provide the UN nuclear watchdog with access to Dr Khan. About the new army chief, Zardari said his initial statements were to be welcomed but only time would show as to what extent he would abide by them. Separately, he told The Daily Telegraph that a victory for his party in the February 18 elections would be Benazir’s greatest legacy.

PM candidate: He also didn’t rule himself out as a future candidate for Pakistan’s premiership. He told the newspaper the PPP would restore democracy in the country in the name of Benazir. khalid hasan

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Pakistani Ambassador to Afghanistan goes missing

KHAIBER AGENCY: Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan is feared abducted with his driver after going missing on Monday in an insurgency-hit Pakistani tribal region while driving to Kabul, officials said.

Tariq Azizuddin went missing in the Khyber tribal district, one of seven semi-autonomous regions along the Afghan border where Islamist militants have carried out attacks.

The Pakistan embassy in Kabul said it last had contact with the ambassador at around 11:30 am (0630 GMT) and was trying to find out what had happened.

"We know that he was coming from (the northwestern Pakistani city of) Peshawar to Kabul and we lost contact with him. We are trying our best to find out what happened," officials said.

The chief administrative official in Khyber, Rasool Khan Wazir, said security forces raised the alarm when the envoy failed to reach the main border post between the two countries at Torkham.

"The search was launched when Afghan authorities informed us that he had failed to reach," Wazir said, adding that the envoy was traveling in an official car with his driver, who is also missing, he said.

Officials at another checkpost had earlier ordered the ambassador's car to stop "because they saw some local people sitting in the front seat. But they did not stop," Wazir said. "Where they are we don't know. We have launched a search," Wazir added.

The main road between Pakistan and Afghanistan was closed for search operations.


http://www.geo.tv/details.asp?id=15731

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WASHINGTON: Aging online giant, Yahoo has said no to a 44.6 billion dollar buyout from Microsoft claiming the offer "massively undervalues" the organization.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Yahoo's board believes, Microsoft's is trying to take advantage of the recent weakness in the company's share price to 'steal' the company.

Earlier, Yahoo chief executive Jerry Yang sent a message to employees, assuring them the firm's leaders are exploring ways to avoid a Microsoft takeover.

If the merger goes ahead, the resulting company will have control of nearly 40% of the lucrative Web Search market.

Such a move would give stiff competition to Google, which condemns Microsoft's bid as an attack on the Internet's underlying principles of openness, and innovation.

http://www.geo.tv/details.asp?id=15735

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Army officers recalled from civil departments

Syed Irfan Raza


ISLAMABAD, Feb 11: Pakistan Army on Monday called back all its serving officers from 23 civil departments, in what is being termed here as part of a plan to improve the image of the armed forces.

“More than 300 army officers are presently working in various civil departments and majority of them have been asked to report to the General Headquarters (GHQ) immediately,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Maj-Gen Athar Abbas told Dawn here on Monday.

He said the army authorities had written a letter to the federal government asking it to relieve all serving military officers from civil departments.

The move is in line with a decision taken by the 106th Corps Commanders’ Conference on Feb 7. The conference was presided over by Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who had in an earlier statement, directed army officers to “stay away from political activities.”

The army chief’s decisions about reversal of officers from civil departments and restrictions on meeting politicians have been lauded by the civil society and all major political parties.

The induction of army officers in civil organisations has always been a controversial issue and has been questioned on different forums, including parliament.

The ISPR director general said army officers would be withdrawn in phases over a period of two to six months. “We have asked the federal government to relieve those army officials immediately who can be replaced easily,” he said. “Those who cannot be replaced at once will be called back in two to six months.”

Maj-Gen Abbas said some of the officers who were serving on sensitive posts in civil departments would continue in their present positions as the government required their services for some more time. He said such officials would return to their parent department as and when the federal government relieved them.

He said the process of army officers’ induction into the civilian departments had started under a decision taken in 1981 by former president and army chief Gen Ziaul Haq. With the passage of time, he said, the number of military officers in civil departments kept rising.

Replying to a question, he said the army officers would not be inducted into the civil departments in future.

Sources told Dawn that army officers were being called back from 23 civil departments. The highest number of 61 army officers being called back is presently working in the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) which was set up by Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf soon after taking over the power on October 12, 1999. Later, the NAB became a controversial organisation, and many opposition parties openly criticised its performance and termed it a tool in the hands of the military rulers to gain political advantage.

Similarly, the sources said, 21 army officers working in the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) and 18 in the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) had also been asked to report back to the GHQ.

Other departments from where army officers are being called back include the National Highways Authority, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Accountability Bureau, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Crisis Management Cell, Intelligence Bureau (IB), National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB), education departments, provincial governments, National Institute of Science, Technology and Engineering (NISTE), Customs Intelligence, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Pakistan Steel Mills, Establishment Division and AJK PM Secretariat.

It may be mentioned that at the Corps Commanders’ Conference, Gen Kayani had stated that holding free and fair election was the sole responsibility of the Election Commission and that the “army will meet only its constitutional obligations and help the civil administration maintain law and order, as and when required”.

http://www.dawn.com/2008/02/12/top3.htm

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East Timor president injured in assassination attempt


DILI, Feb 11: East Timor President Jose Ramos-Horta was seriously wounded on Monday by rebel soldiers in an assassination attempt that plunged the fledgling nation into a fresh crisis.

The Nobel peace laureate was airlifted to Australia for emergency treatment after being shot in a dawn gunbattle at his residence in which rebel leader Alfredo Reinado was killed, said Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao.

Gunmen also targeted the home of Mr Gusmao in coordinated attacks that prompted a state of emergency in the country where international forces remain on patrol after being deployed amid unrest in 2006.

After exploratory surgery at an Australian military hospital here, 58-year-old Ramos-Horta was rushed to the Australian city of Darwin.

“I am hopeful for his full recovery,” Royal Darwin Hospital general manager Len Notaras said. “He’s not fighting for his life but his injuries are extremely serious,” the doctor told AFP. “The next 24 to 48 hours will be a critical time for all of us.”

Mr Ramos-Horta had suffered two bullet wounds to the upper chest and one to the abdomen, Notaras said, adding that the president was heavily sedated but not on life support.

“He is in the process of recovery and is out of danger,” parliamentary speaker Fernando de Araujo said while on a visit to Lisbon.

Mr Gusmao declared that a state of emergency would be in force nationwide for at least 48 hours, with a curfew beginning at 8pm and people to be banned from conducting meetings or rallies.

The declaration must be formally approved by the acting head of state, first deputy speaker of parliament Vicente Guterres, but the curfew appeared to have come into force.—AFP

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Pakistan nuclear staff go missing

Two employees of Pakistan's atomic energy agency have been abducted in the country's restive north-western region abutting the Afghan border, police say.

The technicians went missing on the same day as Pakistan's ambassador to Afghanistan, Tariq Azizuddin, was reportedly abducted in the same region.

Mr Azizuddin had been going overland from the city of Peshawar to Kabul.

Pakistan's north-west has witnessed fierce fighting between Islamist militants and government troops.

The pro-Taleban guerrillas declared a unilateral ceasefire last week after months of clashes with troops garrisoned there.


The workers from Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission were on a mission to map mineral deposits in the mountains when they were kidnapped, police say.



"The technicians were going for some geological survey in the area when they were kidnapped at gunpoint along with their driver," Romail Akram, a senior police official, told Reuters news agency.

Their vehicle was intercepted by masked gunmen in the Dera Ismail Khan district, a stronghold of local militants.

"We don't know if the abductors were militants or members of some criminal gang," a local police chief, Akbar Nasir, told the AFP news agency.

He said efforts to locate the missing men had yet to yield any results.

Karzai concerned

Efforts are also continuing to locate the missing Pakistani envoy, Tariq Azizuddin.

Mr Azizuddin went missing on Monday as he was travelling overland from the Pakistani city of Peshawar to the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he was certain the envoy had been abducted, adding: "I hope he is safe and I hope he will be released soon."

The Khyber region has long been a base for bandits and smugglers but has seen little of the unrest linked to an uprising by Islamist militants in adjoining areas.

Pro-Taleban militants recently kidnapped more than 200 Pakistani troops in the South Waziristan region.

The soldiers were reportedly released in a prisoner exchange with Pakistani authorities.

'Protected road'

Pakistan's government has refused to confirm Mr Azizuddin has been kidnapped, saying only that he was missing.

The Pakistani embassy in Kabul said contact was lost with Mr Azizuddin at around 1045 local time (0645 GMT) on Monday.



There were reports on Pakistani television of his car going through a checkpoint without stopping.

An official of the Khyber agency tribal administration told the BBC that the ambassador went through the Khyber agency without taking a security escort that was waiting for him at the start of the tribal territory.

Correspondents say that such escorts are routinely sent with dignitaries and officials when they travel through tribal areas.

But some travellers dispense with them because they think it makes their movements more noticeable.

Mr Azizuddin is said to have previously travelled to Kabul by road, often without the tribal security escort.

The route through the agency is believed to be the shortest and quickest way between Peshawar and Kabul.

Being the main trade route, the Khyber agency road is busy in daylight hours, supplying reinforcements and to the US and Nato forces in Afghanistan.

It is also one of the most protected of all the tribal roads, with a contingent of tribal police posted every 100m. The paramilitary Frontier Corps have a fort along the road.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...ia/7240414.stm

Published: 2008/02/12 10:17:33 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

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