Seek news on
InfoAnda
powered by
Google
Custom Search

Last text search :
2016 wso 2.5 rw-r
2017 #1 smp wso rw-r

wso-drwxr-xr-x-smp.php-(writeable).php
2017 #1 smp wso rw-r
wso-drwxr-xr-x-smp.php-(writeable).php
wso-drwxr-xr-x-smp.php-(writeable).php
wso-drwxr-xr-x-smp.php-(writeable).php


Friday, 23 November 2012 - Pakistan ID cards remove ghost voters, target poor for aid |
  • Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case
    Monday, May 24, 2010
    ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
    They
  • Taiwan denies boycotting Australian film festival
    Thursday, August 6, 2009

    AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
  • Merkel's support dips, regional ally resigns International
    Thursday, September 3, 2009

    By Sarah Marsh and Noah Barkin

    BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
  • Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites
    Wednesday, December 16, 2009
    ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
  • Asian markets mixed after Wall Street rally
    Wednesday, March 18, 2009

    By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
  • U.N. and African leaders meet on Congo crisis | International | | 7 November 2008
  • LA gun amnesty sees record spike as economy bites | 9 December 2008
  • SKorea urges Japan against research in disputed sea | 7 January 2009
  • SAP, IBM to roll out first joint software "Alloy" in March | 20 January 2009


    Forum Views () Forum Replies ()

    Read more with google mobile : Pakistan ID cards remove ghost voters, target poor for aid |

      Edition: U.S. Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Home Business Business Home Economy Technology Media Small Business Legal Deals Earnings Social Pulse Business Video The Freeland File Aerospace & Defense Investing Simplified Markets Markets Home U.S. Markets European Markets Asian Markets Global Market Data Indices M&A Stocks Bonds Currencies Commodities Futures Funds peHUB Dividends World World Home U.S. Brazil China Euro Zone Japan Africa Mexico Russia India Insight World Video Reuters Investigates Decoder Politics Politics Home Supreme Court Politics Video Tech Technology Home MediaFile Science Tech Video Tech Tonic Social Pulse Opinion Opinion Home Chrystia Freeland John Lloyd Felix Salmon Jack Shafer David Rohde Nader Mousavizadeh Lucy P. Marcus Nicholas Wapshott Bethany McLean Anatole Kaletsky Zachary Karabell Edward Hadas Hugo Dixon Ian Bremmer Lawrence Summers Susan Glasser The Great Debate Steven Brill Reihan Salam Frederick Kempe Christopher Papagianis Mark Leonard Breakingviews Equities Credit Private Equity M&A Macro & Markets Politics Breakingviews Video Money Money Home Tax Break Lipper Awards 2012 Global Investing MuniLand Unstructured Finance Linda Stern Mark Miller John Wasik James Saft Analyst Research Alerts Watchlist Portfolio Stock Screener Fund Screener Personal Finance Video Money Clip Investing 201 Life Health Sports Arts Faithworld Business Traveler Entertainment Oddly Enough Lifestyle Video Pictures Pictures Home Reuters Photographers Full Focus Video Reuters TV Reuters News Article Comments (0) Slideshow Full Focus Editor's Choice Our best photos from the last 24 hours.   Slideshow  Download our Wider Image iPad app Images of October Follow Reuters Facebook Twitter RSS YouTube Read Early start to "Black Friday" shopping welcomed by some, not all 2:28am EST Price of milk makes Greeks' blood boil 22 Nov 2012 Two dead, up to 100 hurt in massive pileup on foggy Texas highway | 22 Nov 2012 4D scans show fetuses yawn in the womb | 21 Nov 2012 Author Bryce Courtenay dies 2 weeks after publishing final novel 22 Nov 2012 Discussed 109 Gaza truce pressure builds, Cairo in focus 95 Israel authorizes more reservists after rockets target cities 95 Israel, Gaza fighting rages on as Egypt seeks truce Pictures Reuters Photojournalism Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography.  See more  Gaza conflict Our latest pictures from inside Israel and Gaza.   Slideshow  Battle for Syria Rare scenes from the fighting inside Syria.  Slideshow  Sponsored Links Pakistan ID cards remove ghost voters, target poor for aid Tweet Share this Email Print Related News India executes last surviving Mumbai attacker, sparks celebrations Wed, Nov 21 2012 Pakistan starts Afghan Taliban prisoner release: official Wed, Nov 14 2012 Insight: Scant evidence of voter suppression, fraud in states with ID laws Fri, Nov 2 2012 India risks backlash hurrying through overdue welfare reform Thu, Oct 25 2012 Special Report: Pakistan's threat within - the Sunni-Shia divide Wed, Oct 24 2012 Analysis & Opinion Ad technolology that may threaten newspapers; winners and losers of the fiscal cliff Re-thinking U.S.-China relations Related Topics World » Lifestyle » Investing Simplified » Middle East Turmoil » Gaza conflict Images from inside both the Gaza Strip and Israel.  Slideshow  1 of 5. A citizen is photographed during registration for the government identity card at the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) office in Islamabad November 14, 2012. Elderly men wait patiently, carefully combing their hennaed beards, while a guitar-playing student entertains the long queue of Pakistanis lined-up to be photographed, fingerprinted and questioned inside a crowded office in the capital Islamabad. This is the unlikely setting for possibly one of Pakistan's few success stories - a massive increase in citizens signing up for government identity card. Picture taken on November 14, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Faisal Mahmood By Katharine Houreld ISLAMABAD | Thu Nov 22, 2012 5:13pm EST ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Elderly men wait patiently, carefully combing their hennaed beards, while a guitar-playing student entertains the long queue of Pakistanis lined-up to be photographed, fingerprinted and questioned inside a crowded office in the capital Islamabad. This is the unlikely setting for possibly one of Pakistan's few success stories - a massive increase in citizens signing up for government identity cards. Such things rarely top the agenda of a deeply unpopular government, crippled by daily power cuts, a Taliban insurgency and massive corruption. But bureaucrats say the successful ID registration has dramatically cut the number of ghost voters and is assisting in the distribution of cash payments for the poor and displaced. "The database has brought a lot of transparency. We signed up so many people," said Tariq Malik, the 44-year-old chairman of the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). During elections five years ago, less than half of Pakistani adults had a government-issued ID. Now 91 percent have the plastic green cards, said Malik, who previously worked as a county technology officer in Michigan in the United States. It is hard to verify such a high rate of registration as Pakistan's census data is many years out of date. Malik said registration spiked after the cards were required for poor Pakistanis to qualify for cash payments from the government. However, some families, while grateful for the cash, say the flow of aid is sporadic. "One year ago when I received a card, I got 2,000 rupees. They come after every two to three months and give a little bit of money. Now they come only after six to seven months and only give 3,000 rupees," said Hanifa Meer Beher, 6o, who lives in Karachi's coastal belt Kaka-pir village. "This money is not enough and it has not made my life any better. I am a poor woman. Whenever I receive this money, I buy a little bit of flour, rice...I am grateful that I am getting something." International donors like the World Bank, who are using the ID database for cash distributions, say they are happy with the system. The bank helps fund a program where around 5.5 million poor families who have registered with NADRA get $10 a month. "More countries are using cash transfers because poor families can choose what to buy and are more likely to get the money on time than aid given in other ways," said a World Bank spokesman. Neighbouring India helps its poor via subsidized food or fuel, but much of its aid is stolen and ends up on the black market. Recent efforts to link benefits to identity cards there have been chaotic. GHOST VOTERS, TAX CHEATS Pakistan's new ID registrations helped eliminate 37 million ghost voters and add around 44 million real people to electoral roles, said Malik, adding voters can now use their ID number to check their registration by text message. A date has not yet been set for the next election, due in the first half 2013. In future, the ID database may also help in the fight against tax evasion, fraud and crime, but only if the government uses the information, say sceptics like tax expert Ikramul Haq. In a country where less than one percent of citizens pay income tax, NADRA has identified more than 2 million rich tax cheats, Malik said. The federal board of revenue estimates tax evasion means as much as US$50 billion is missing from the treasury, money that could be used to upgrade crumbling schools and hospitals. But so far, Pakistan's wealthy tax cheats remain untouched, yet authorities, mindful of pressure from the International Monetary Fund, are making noises about cracking down. "We have so many enemies. The rich, who are not accustomed to pay taxes, pension cartels, politicians who want their voters to get benefits they are not entitled to," said Malik. Registering Pakistan's 180 million population, spread from the Indian Ocean to the Himalayas, meant sending mobile registration vans and skiers laden with bulky equipment to far-flung villages and setting up booths at fairs. Registration drives were carried out at camps for displaced families who fled fighting along the dangerous mountain regions that border Afghanistan. But registration in the remote and troubled region has been lower than elsewhere. In conservative towns where women in black or blue burqas scurry through ramshackle bazaars, women-only ID centres were established after the Taliban objected to men taking women's fingerprints. ID CORRUPTION Corruption is widespread in Pakistan and its ID database registration operation has not been immune. Local newspapers carry frequent complaints that NADRA staff ask for cash to help the poor or illiterate get their benefits. Around half of the 20 people Reuters interviewed said that cards often contain deliberate errors and corrections are costly. "My name is Ikram Khan and they mentioned in my ID card as Ikram Gul. It was their fault but they made me suffer," grumbled Khan as he waited in line in the frontier city of Peshawar. In the ancient walled city of Lahore, housemaid Faiza Biti, 29, said she'd been trying for more than a year to change her place of residence but officials kept telling her to pay $50. Several interviewees said Afghan refugees can get cards illegally by paying around $800. The daily wage for a laborer is about $2. Malik admits corruption is a problem, but says he is working on eliminating it and has sacked corrupt employees. "We've already let more than 160 people go," he said. This year, NADRA personnel had their basic pay raised to about $150 a month, a living wage in Pakistan, and wealthy citizens can now pay $10 extra for fast "executive" service, diverting pay-offs into government coffers. Most citizens grudgingly say NADRA isn't too bad. The real question is how the government will use its data. So far, there's little indication it will force through tough reforms, said Haq, citing the government's amnesty on tax cheats which starts this month. Powerful politicians and businessmen continue to dodge the taxman. Police can theoretically use the database to gain information about suspects, but they often lack the training on how to take fingerprints. Malik said it is up to the government to use NADRA's information to change Pakistan. "Our job is to do data analysis," he said. "The rest of it is up to them." (Additional reporting by Imtiaz Shah in Karachi, Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar and MubAsher Bukhari in Lahore; Editing by Michael Perry) World Lifestyle Investing Simplified Middle East Turmoil Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints   We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.   Edition: U.S. Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom Back to top Reuters.com Business Markets World Politics Technology Opinion Money Pictures Videos Site Index Legal Bankruptcy Law California Legal New York Legal Securities Law Support & Contact Support Corrections Connect with Reuters Twitter   Facebook   LinkedIn   RSS   Podcast   Newsletters   Mobile About Privacy Policy Terms of Use AdChoices Copyright Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance Our next generation legal research platform Our global tax workstation Thomsonreuters.com About Thomson Reuters Investor Relations Careers Contact Us   Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests. NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.

    Other News on Friday, 23 November 2012
    Mursi draws fire with new Egypt decree |
    Mexican president wants to change his country's name ... to Mexico |
    Two killed in clash at Harmony Gold South Africa mine |
    Analysis: Egypt proves peace role can survive Arab Spring |
    Britain bans Nigerian Islamist group accused of murder |
    Trial of Turkish coup general adjourned till January |
    Haiti's rising food insecurity risks social tension, says FAO |
    Ice lady gets life sentence for double murder |
    Russian court throws out Madonna anti-gay compensation claim |
    Gaza ceasefire holds but mistrust runs deep |
    Afghanistan truck bomb kills two, foreign troops among 70 wounded |
    Mursi draws fire with new Egypt decree |
    Pakistan ID cards remove ghost voters, target poor for aid |
    Gunman kill 7 in Guatemala in attempted hit on drug dealer |
    Egypt president cancels state visit to Pakistan |
    Talks to defuse Iraq army-Kurdish standoff make little headway |
    China sacks official after sex-tape shots appear online |
    Sarkozy dodges official inquiry in election funding scandal |
    Sony at greater risk than Panasonic in electronics downturn: Fitch |
    Vampires, 007 may set record Thanksgiving sales |
    Congo rebels push on after repelling counter-attack |
    More than 40,000 killed since start of Syria conflict: monitor |
    Egypt's Mursi called pharaoh, violent protests erupt |
    Pakistan cuts phones in hope of stopping attacks on Shi'ites |
    Greek police clash with migrants at detention centre |
    Sarkozy judge mistook hostage for billionaire backer: lawyer |
    South Sudan accuses Sudan of bombing and of massing troops |
    Trial of Ukraine's sick Tymoshenko delayed again |
    Fighting Sandy debris-removal crooks: There's an app for that |
    Autonomy founder says HP allegations don't add up |
    Software firm SAP mulls Shanghai listing |
    Russian female punk rock band protester alone in cell after inmate tension |
    Rejected Beatles audition tape appears at auction |
    Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro
    Bodies of missing Tenn. mom, Jo Ann Bain, and daughter found
    Female Breasts Are Bigger Than Ever
    AMD Trinity Accelerated Processing Units Now in Volume Production
    The Avengers (2012 film), made the second biggest opening- and single-day gross of all-time
    AMD to Start Production of piledriver
    Ivy Bridge Quad-Core, Four-Thread Desktop CPUs
    Islamists Protest Lady Gaga's Concert in Indonesia
    Japan Successfully Broadcasts an 8K Signal Over the Air
    ECB boosts loans to 1 trillion Euro to stop credit crunch
    Egypt : Mohammed Morsi won with 52 percent
    What do you call 100,000 Frenchmen with their hands up
    AMD Launches AMD Embedded R-Series APU Platform
    Fed Should not Ignore Emerging Market Crisis
    Fed casts shadow over India, emerging markets
    Why are Chinese tourists so rude? A few insights

    [InfoAnda] [Home] [This News]



    USD EUR - 1 year graph

    VPN on MacOSX

    BlogMeter 1.01