Lt General Rashad Mahmood has been appointed as the Chief of General Staff in a major reshuffle in the Pakistan Army at the general headquarters in Rawalpindi.
Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha has embarked on a secret visit to China that is being seen as part of Pakistan's efforts to reduce its dependence on the United States in the wake of strained military and intelligence ties.
The suicide attacker detonated his explosives when he was stopped at a check post near the army camp at Kabal town in the Swat valley. Three soldiers at the check post received minor injuries.
At least five people were killed and several others injured in a suicide attack on an army facility in northwest Pakistan on Saturday.
Pakistan's military spokesman said the convoy was targeted with an improvised explosive device when it was traveling from north Waziristan to Bannu, a major city bordering Afghanistan.
Military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said the first suicide attack occurred at a checkpoint outside the Pakistan Army's general headquarters while the second was carried out on a bus carrying defence personnel.
The troops are moving closer to Shangla and consolidating their positions and eliminating the militants before making a push towards Alpuri.
The move came hours after four security personnel were injured in a bomb attack on a military caravan in the Malakand area late on Tuesday. Seven persons were arrested in connection with the attack.
Over 150 pro-Taliban militants and 45 soldiers have been killed in three days of fierce fighting in Pakistan's restive North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan, However, the army on Tuesday ruled out the possibility of declaring a ceasefire to put an end to the violence. Approximately 13 security personnel have also been reported missing in the last two days. Local reports also claimed that 50 civilians had died in the clashes but these were denied by the army.
Over 60 pro-Taliban militants and 20 soldiers were killed in fierce clashes between security forces and rebels in the troubled North Waziristan tribal region; where over 50 Pakistani troops were reported missing on Monday. Military spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said army authorities had lost contact with two groups comprising over 50 security personnel. Local residents alleged that several civilians were killed and injured in the attacks
The attack is being seen as a possible fallout of the recent Army crackdown on the pro-Taliban Lal Masjid in Islamabad.
73 bodies of militants were recovered. Eight of the bodies were charred beyond recognition.
Pakistani troops involved in the operation to flush out militants holed up in the Lal Masjid in Islamabad have located radical cleric Abdul Rashid Ghazi and have given him an ultimatum to surrender.
Ten people, including six security personnel, were killed and five others injured on Wednesday in two separate attacks on army and police vehicles in Pakistan, which officials suspect could be a fallout of the crackdown on Lal Masjid clerics.
The suicide bomber got close to the personnel and detonated his explosives on a road that is also used by the local population, military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said.
The blast occurred as the recruits were returning to the cantonment after participating in a sports event. The suicide bomber got close to the personnel and detonated his explosives on a road that is also used by the local people.
A suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into a military school bus on Monday, injuring at least nine people, including five children, in Pakistan's Punjab province.
Reports said that soon after the first explosion, a second bomb explodes in the commercial area.
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