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Wednesday, June 7th, 2017

 

US, UK had access to NADRA database: Wikileaks

| June 7, 2017
CANBERRA, JUN 07 (DNA) - The US and UK stole data of Pakistani citizens as they had direct access to NADRA database, according to a Wikileaks’ cable in 2009 from the US Embassy in Islamabad. It is yet unclear if the access was full and how deep they could penetrate into NADRA system. It merits mentioning here that NSA used to infect systems through front companies and then had tools to gain access to deeper networks across the world. Even more bizarre, the leaked cable from US Embassy to Islamabad suggests that the then PM Yusuf Raza Gillani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik actually went to the embassy and offered to share NADRA’s database, which includes all sorts of data of Pakistani citizens. In a call between Julian Assange and Imran Khan, Assange referenced cable code [09ISLAMABAD1642] and said: “We discovered a cable in 2009 from the Islamabad Embassy. Prime Minister Gilani and Interior Minister Malik went into the embassy and offered to share NADRA – and NADRA is the national data and registration agency database. The system is currently connected through passport data but the government of Pakistan is adding voice and facial recognition capability and has installed a pilot biometric system as the Chennai border crossing, where 30,000 to 35,000 people cross each day. This NADRA system, that is the voting record system for all voters in Pakistan, and a front company was set up in the United Kingdom – International Identity Services, which was hired as the consultants for NADRA to squirrel out the NADRA data for all of Pakistan. It seems to me that that is a theft of some national treasure of Pakistan, the entire Pakistani database registry of its people.”=DNA =================CANBERRA, JUN 07 (DNA) - The US and UK stole data of Pakistani citizens as they had direct access to NADRA database, according to a Wikileaks’ cable in 2009 from the US Embassy in Islamabad. It is yet unclear if the access was full and how deep they could penetrate into NADRA system. It merits mentioning here that NSA used to infect systems through front companies and then had tools to gain access to deeper networks across the world. Even more bizarre, the leaked cable from US Embassy to Islamabad suggests that the then PM Yusuf Raza Gillani and Interior Minister Rehman Malik actually went to the embassy and offered to share NADRA’s database, which includes all sorts of data of Pakistani citizens. In a call between Julian Assange and Imran Khan, Assange referenced cable code [09ISLAMABAD1642] and said: “We discovered a cable in 2009 from the Islamabad Embassy. Prime Minister Gilani and Interior Minister Malik went into the embassy and offered to share NADRA – and NADRA is the national data and registration agency database. The system is currently connected through passport data but the government of Pakistan is adding voice and facial recognition capability and has installed a pilot biometric system as the Chennai border crossing, where 30,000 to 35,000 people cross each day. This NADRA system, that is the voting record system for all voters in Pakistan, and a front company was set up in the United Kingdom – International Identity Services, which was hired as the consultants for NADRA to squirrel out the NADRA data for all of Pakistan. It seems to me that that is a theft of some national treasure of Pakistan, the entire Pakistani database registry of its people.”=DNA =================

CANBERRA, JUN 07 (DNA) – The US and UK stole data of Pakistani citizens as they had direct access to NADRA database, according to a Wikileaks’ cable in 2009 from the US Embassy in Islamabad. It is yet unclear if the access was full and how deep they could penetrate into NADRA system. It merits mentioning here that NSA used to infect systems through front companies and then had tools to gain access to deeper networks across the world. Even more bizarre, the leaked cable from US Embassy to Islamabad suggests that theRead More

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Trump injects US into volatile crises by siding against ally Qatar

| June 7, 2017
WASHINGTON, JUN 07 (DNA) - President Donald Trump injected the United States into a volatile crisis among America’s Mideast allies, siding Tuesday with Saudi Arabia and other countries against Qatar in a dispute that threatens to disrupt efforts to defeat the militant Islamic State (IS) group and counter Iran. In a series of early-morning tweets, Trump appeared to endorse the accusation that the small, gas-rich kingdom funds terrorist groups, a serious allegation against a strategic US partner that hosts a base with some 10,000 American troops. He also sought to cast the anti-Qatar action led by the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates as the result of his trip last month to Riyadh, where he pressed leaders from dozens of Arab and Muslim governments, including Qatar’s emir, to combat extremism. Trump said he’d told the kings, presidents and prime ministers that funding “Radical Ideology” can’t be tolerated, and “Leaders pointed to Qatar – look!” “They said they would take a hard line on funding… extremism, and all reference was pointing to Qatar. Perhaps this will be the beginning of the end to the horror of terrorism!” Trump said on Twitter, claiming his visit to Saudi Arabia was “already paying off.” He appeared to take a more measured tone during a call with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. Trump told Salman that a united Gulf Cooperation Council is “critical to defeating terrorism and promoting regional stability,” according to a White House readout of the conversation. The council includes Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman and Kuwait. The president’s sharp critique of Qatar pulled the US directly into a conflict that American diplomats had wanted the bickering parties to resolve among themselves. The US wasn’t planning a major mediation role, a State Department official said, pointing to offers from Turkey and Kuwait to intervene in what is emerging as the worst diplomatic crisis in the Persian Gulf in decades. The fracas pits Qatar a country smaller than Connecticut and the world’s biggest producer of liquefied natural gas against Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain. Those countries on Monday severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, leading to suspended flights and regional ports closed to Qatari ships as anxious residents started stockpiling food. Qatar’s neighbours have long accused the country of tolerating or even encouraging support for extremist groups, including Al-Qaeda’s Syria branch all of which Qatar denies. But its independent foreign policy has led to various tensions with its neighbours. The region’s Sunni states bristle at Qatar’s less hostile position toward Shiite Iran and object to its backing groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood, whose ideology challenges the system of hereditary rule in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and elsewhere. For Trump, the rift has emerged as a key test of his goal to unite the region around destroying IS and other extremist groups, and containing Iranian influence. While he has even held out hopes that a communal effort could pave the way for Israeli-Arab rapprochement, the Qatar crisis serves as a reminder of the region’s many fault lines that challenge US diplomacy. While Trump, too, shares the Saudi and UAE goals of weakening hardline movements and stemming Iran’s influence, American officials hadn’t publicly singled out Qatar as a problem.=DNA ==============

WASHINGTON, JUN 07 (DNA) – President Donald Trump injected the United States into a volatile crisis among America’s Mideast allies, siding Tuesday with Saudi Arabia and other countries against Qatar in a dispute that threatens to disrupt efforts to defeat the militant Islamic State (IS) group and counter Iran. In a series of early-morning tweets, Trump appeared to endorse the accusation that the small, gas-rich kingdom funds terrorist groups, a serious allegation against a strategic US partner that hosts a base with some 10,000 American troops. He also sought to castRead More

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Burmese military plane vanishes with 116 on board

| June 7, 2017
DNA JUN 07 NEWS FILE 14

MYEIK, JUN 07 (DNA) – A Burmese military aircraft reportedly carrying 116 people has gone missing, officials say. The army said the plane was flying between the southern city of Myeik and Yangon (Rangoon). Search and rescue efforts are under way. “Communication was lost suddenly at about 1:35 pm [07:05 GMT] when it reached about 20 miles west of Dawei town,” the army said in a statement. There were 105 passengers and 11 crew on board, said an airport source. The military did not say how many people the Chinese-builtRead More

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Residents in Shahbaz Sharif’s constituency deprived of clean water

| June 7, 2017
LAHORE, JUN 07 (DNA) - Residents belonging to Shehbaz Sharif’s constituency PP 161 are still deprived of basic necessities despite the government having completed four out of five years of its tenure. Clean water is not easily available in the areas and people are forced to drink polluted water. The prolonged usage of polluted water as drinking water has caused the onset of many water borne diseases in the area and is becoming a major cause of concern now. Residents of union council (UC) 264, 265, 266 say that the one clean water scheme in the area ended abruptly and all the expensive machinery displaced. They further add that only the affluent people in the areas can afford to buy clean water. According to the residents leaders belonging to NA128 and PP 161 are badmouthing each other one the issue, instead of rising up to the occasion and doing something for the betterment of the area. Residents of Manga Mandi, Shamki Bhatian, Sunder, Baath, Sultaankay, Kamaas, etc say that they do not care about the chief minister’s promise of converting the constituency into Paris but they should at least be provided with clean water.=DNA =============

LAHORE, JUN 07 (DNA) – Residents belonging to Shehbaz Sharif’s constituency PP 161 are still deprived of basic necessities despite the government having completed four out of five years of its tenure. Clean water is not easily available in the areas and people are forced to drink polluted water. The prolonged usage of polluted water as drinking water has caused the onset of many water borne diseases in the area and is becoming a major cause of concern now. Residents of union council (UC) 264, 265, 266 say that the one clean waterRead More

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Britain braces for general election in wake of terror attacks

| June 7, 2017
Britain

LONDON, JUN 07 (DNA) – Britain braces for the final day of general election campaigning on Wednesday, after a turbulent few weeks which have shifted the political ground and been marred by terror attacks. Prime Minister Theresa May was riding high when she called a snap election on April 18, having kicked off Brexit proceedings and boasting a double-digit lead over the rival Labour party. But in recent weeks, the Conservative leader has seen her popularity wane as the political debate shifted from EU membership to domestic policy and herRead More

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Imran Khan fails to submit reply in contempt of court case

| June 7, 2017
Imran Imran

ISLAMABAD, JUN 07 (DNA) – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan has on Wednesday again failed to submit reply in the court in contempt of court case. A five-member bench of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) resumed hearing of the contempt of court case. During the proceedings, the counsel of Imran Khan he did not get to discuss anything with Imran Khan as he was in Nathia Gali. The hearing has now been adjourned until June 19. On the other hand, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Daniyal Aziz pleaded the courtRead More

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