Pakistan Weekly News - Scoop.it

Pakistan says it will ?soon? reopen the Ground Lines of Communications (GLOCs) for Nato containers to re-enter Afghanistan and this could happen in a ?week?s time.?

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Committee on Finance, which met here on Thursday, has unanimously approved the whopping 100 percent increase in travelling allowances of all members of parliament.

Foreigners and NGO staff looking to visit certain areas of the region will be required to get clearance before visiting.?The document states that, ?? during the visit of all foreigners including Ambassadors, Diplomats/Officials too Malakand Division ? comprising the districts of Swat, Dir Upper, Dir Lower, Shangla, Burner, Malakand and Chitral proper foolproof secuty/protection be ensured during their stay.?

In the first ever UN denunciation of the US drones campaign in Pakistan?s tribal belt, a top official of the world body has termed the attacks as a human rights violation, while voicing concerns over other HR abuses in the country and the role of its ?largely unaccountable? intelligence agencies to this effect.

Details of Pakistan?s FY 2012-2013 defense budget revealed that the Army would be allocated $2.8 billion, the Air Force $1.2 billion, and the Navy $562 million, representing increases for the Army and Air Force and a slight decrease for the Navy from last year?s levels. Due to the country?s economic constraints, however, the budget did not include funding for short-term modernization programs or additional procurement.

On Wednesday, clashes between the Kukikhel anti-Taliban militia and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Tirah valley resulted in the deaths of five militants in Sra Vella and one in Rujgaal, with another three persons injured.

An improvised explosive (IED) device went off in Quetta?s Satellite Town on Wednesday, killing 12 and injuring over 40 persons. The bomb?planted on a bicycle stationed near a Sunni seminary?went off on Sariab Link Road. According to AFP, the bomb killed at least 8, including children, and injured nearly 20 people. A police official confirmed the death toll and that the device had been detonated by remote-control.

Bangladesh has joined the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline project. Bangladesh?s participation came following negotiations with India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, and would benefit India, which would receive a transit fee to permit gas exports to Bangladesh. The pipeline is also part of a U.S. effort to drive Pakistan away from an Iranian-Pakistani gas pipeline project

A report titled ?Understanding FATA ? Vol. 5 (Attitudes towards Governance, Religion and Society in Pakistan?s Federally Administered Tribal Areas)?, was launched by the Community Appraisal and Motivation Programme (CAMP) in Islamabad?s Serena Hoteltoday, Wednesday, February 29th, 2012.

A government-run middle school for boys was blown up in the Afzalabad area of Mera Risalpur in Nowshera district on Tuesday, a police official said.?Uniden?tified people had broken into the buildi?ng and plante?d the bomb in one of the classr?ooms.

The patron-in-chief of the Fata Lawyers Forum (FLF) on Wednesday dissolved the cabinet of the body after eight of its office-bearers resigned.?FLF patron-in-chief Karim Mahsud told The News that the FLF officer-bearers were not happy with the president and secretary general for representing Dr Shakil Afridi in the court of commissioner Frontier Crimes Regulation.

The Supreme Court has ruled that dual nationality holding federal and provincial legislators, who possessed double citizenship at the time of filing their nomination papers and did not validly renounce it then, are disqualified to hold office.?This means that such lawmakers stand ousted even if they surrender their dual nationality now as Rehman Malik has done.

A story published in ?The News International? on June 6 under the heading ?UK Home Office fast-tracked Malik?s renunciation application? is based on presumptions and conjectures.

The All Government Teachers? Association (AGTA) called off its hunger strike after the concerned authorities pledged assurances.?AGTA had gone on the hunger strike more than a month back to push the government to meet their demands such as restructuring of teachers? time scale, increment in conveyance allowance and replacement of junior teachers from Grades 18 and 19.

Former ambassador to the United States Prof Husain Haqqani said that the US-Pakistan relationship was deteriorating due to the rising hyper-nationalism in Pakistan and the United States? unilateral actions that did not take into account Pakistan?s sovereignty. Tensions between the two countries only benefit hardliners on both sides.

President Asif Ali Zardari had offered to the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif last year to replace Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with any nominee of Sharif if he abandoned his hostile campaign, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, revelaed in a TV interview.

The Peshawar High Court issued notices to the Director General of Military Intelligence, police officers, and tribal authorities concerning four missing persons cases. The notices called for the officials to appear before the court, having promised to inform the court when missing persons were released or transferred.

Pakistani Taliban commander Maulvi Faqir Mohammad denied reports that he planned to form his own organization and reiterated his loyalty to the TTP.

On Wednesday, a grenade targeting the Risala police station in Karachi killed four people, including three policemen. Lyari gangsters were said to be behind the attack. On Thursday, firing incidents across Karachi killed three men, with incidents taking place in the Liaqatabad area, Orangi Town, and the Aram Bagh area. Targeted operations by Sindh Rangers in Old City and Lyari led to the capture of four suspects and the recovery of firearms and ammunition.

Senior Pakistani security officials on Wednesday commented on the serious threats posed by al-Qaeda-linked militants in Pakistan, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi , after Monday?s drone strike that killed Abu Yahya al Libi. The officials further noted that security in military and government installations across the country had been increased, following new intelligence reports concerning likely terrorist acts.

On Wednesday, Pakistan and China signed three memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to deepen economic cooperation between the countries. Under one MOU, Chinese companies will provide technical expertise to channel 200 million gallons of water per day from the Ghazi Barotha water reservoir in Tarbela to Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Two additional MOUs call for the establishment of a Special Economic Zone in Sindh as well as the de-silting of canals and barrages in Sindh.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the US is fighting a war in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. But rarely has the US fought a war in a place about which it knows so little.

After Taliba?n, police ban cultur?al activi?ties, warn of dire conseq?uences.?After dancing rituals became the centre of controversy in Kohistan, the performers? community of Banr seems to be taking a share of the spotlight. The community, which depends solely on singing and dancing for a living, has been banned by the police from performing the cultural activities in the district.

Ruling Pakistan Peoples Party leader and former law minister Maula Bux Chandio on Wednesday hinted that the dual nationality law may be amended.??We will convene a meeting of parliamentary parties of our coalition partners and then speak to leaders of opposition parties to resolve the matter. I hope that we can arrive at an amicable solution,? Chandio, said.

Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has nominated Justice (r) Naseem Sikandar in place of Justice (r) Zahid Qurban Alvi as the third member of the panel for appointment of chief election commissioner.

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