Australia completed a dominant eight-wicket victory in the fourth Ashes Test before tea on day four, swatting away a toothless England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday to take a 4-0 lead in the five-Test series.
"The federal government has set up an investigation team of security agencies and Sufi Mohammad will be formally charged on the basis of its findings," the Dawn quoted North West Frontier Province Law Minister Arshad Abdullah, as saying on Monday.
The Pakistani Taliban on Thursday dismissed the military's claims that their chief in the Swat valley was 'critically' wounded, asserting that he was healthy and unhurt in the army operations in the restive region, where troops killed at least two militants in the latest fighting. The Taliban's response came in the wake of the military's recent statement that they had 'credible' information about Maulana Fazlullah being injured in the offensive against militants.
Although the report could not be confirmed, sources in the Pakistan army said that the troops had intercepted a phone call of Fazlullah, which indicated that he was hiding in Swat.
Predicting the "defeat" of Pakistani military in its fight against the Taliban in North West Frontier Province, a top Al-Qaeda commander on Monday warned that if his group takes over Islamabad's nuclear weapons, it will "use them" against the United States.
The Taliban on Wednesday abducted and released 30 Pakistani security personnel in Swat Valley after the hostages promised to quit their jobs in exchange for freedom.
It took Kim Clijsters a few minutes to familiarise herself again with the layout at Wimbledon after a four-year absence. Once on court though, the returning Belgian wasted little time in swatting aside Italian Maria Elena Camerin 6-0, 6-3 to ease into the second round on Monday.
Richard Holbrooke, the United States Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, has asserted that the Obama administration "believes that what happens in Afghanistan and Pakistan is of vital interest to our national security and that India is a country that we must keep in the closest consultations with."
Two top leaders of a banned pro-Taliban group, which brokered the controversial Swat peace deal, were killed on Saturday in Pakistan's restive northwest, when militants ambushed a security forces' convoy transporting the detained extremists to a prison in Peshawar.Maulana Muhammad Alam, deputy chief of Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e- hariah Muhammadi which is headed by radical cleric Sufi Muhammad, and the group's spokesman Amir Izzat Khan were killed.
Pakistani troops on Friday consolidated their positions in the restive north-western Swat valley and nearby areas in the wake of two attacks by Taliban fighters that killed 14 security personnel, even as militants retaliated by targeting a mosque, leaving 40 dead.
United States were the only team to take a lead after Saturday's Fed Cup World Group first round ties where Serbia's Ana Ivanovic continued her woeful form.
Russian qualifier Teimuraz Gabashvili swatted sixth seed Andy Roddick aside 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in the third round of the French Open on Saturday as the American let his temper get the better of him.
Moving from street to street, Pakistani troops on Sunday captured several key areas in Swat valley's main town Mingora from Taliban as their offensive to regain the control of the restive tribal region entered the decisive phase.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday said his country was 'fighting the war for its survival' and the military operation against the Taliban was the last resort against militants and extremists who challenged the writ of the state. He was talking to a delegation of parliamentarians from Swat and Malakand areas, where security forces are engaged in a major offensive against the militants, a statement from the President's Office said.
Pakistani military on Thursday surrounded the Swat valley capital Mingora where around 5,000 armed Taliban fighters were dug in for a long haul with roads being mined and trenches dug and a deadly battle loomed for control of the strategic town.
As Pakistan pushes ahead with its onslaught against the advancing Taliban militia in the country's northwest, thousands of residents in the region have been left homeless.
Clay master Rafa Nadal tamed big-serving American John Isner 7-5, 6-4 to claim a place in the last eight of the Madrid Open on Thursday and was joined by Roger Federer and Andy Murray.
Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh on Thursday expressed concern over attacks on Hindus and Sikhs by Pakistan-based Taliban and asked the government to take up the matter with the neighbouring country "immediately and in full earnest."
This potential jihadist takeover of a nuclear-armed Pakistan poses India with a serious conundrum.
Indian intelligence agencies and military experts, who have been watching the developments in Pakistan closely, say the military operation is a lot more complex than it seems to be and in the end, might even result in a direct threat to India.
A Pakistani legislator was killed in a suicide attack in the northwestern Swat valley on Tuesday. Details awaited.
Taliban has come under tremendous pressure following Pakistan's military action against the militant group in Swat valley and adjoining areas, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Sunday.
Former Pakistani Ambassador to the US, Maleeha Lodhi has ridiculed the recent fears of the Obama administration and the US Congress that the Taliban when they gained control of the Swat Valley -- since recaptured by the Pakistani military -- would get a hold of the country's nuclear arsenal.
Describing Pakistan as "Somalia of South Asia", Congress today said the terror attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore is a result of Pakistan's long-standing policy of ceding its territory to fundamentalists and the Taliban.
Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee John Kerry said on Wednesday that Pakistan has become the "ground zero of terrorism" and "security threat" to the United States.
The army operation against militants in Swat and Malakand division will soon be over but Pakistan will continue to fight terrorism and take the campaign to its "logical conclusion", Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Wednesday. "The nation will soon hear the good news... soon the army operation will be over.
The Taliban forces operating out of Pakistan's Swat region pose a common threat to India and the United States, besides the host country, America's special envoy Richard Holbrooke suggested in New Delhi on Monday. The envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who met External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon, said he had sought the Indian leadership's assessment of the situation.
Days after the United States Senate approved a $1.5 billion package for Pakistan, including $400 million in military assistance, Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik told The Financial Times that his government has put Punjab and Sindh on high alert to avert the possibility that Taliban terrorists, fleeing the military offensive in the Swat valley and Waziristan, may seek refuge in these areas.
Andy Murray took a step closer to a first title in arguably the toughest year of his playing career, grinding out a 3-6, 7-5 ,6-2 win over Ugo Humbert on Saturday to reach the final of the European Open in Antwerp.
United States President Barack Obama is sending a team of officials led by Richard Holbrooke, his special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, to visit refugee camps housing lakhs of people who have been displaced by the military offensive in Swat and adjoining areas of the North Western Frontier Province. Holbrooke is expected to have a first hand assessment of the situation and then recommend how best the US can accelerate relief measures.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik on Wednesday indirectly blamed the Taliban for the daring suicide attack on the Inter Services Intelligence's provincial headquarters in Lahore. "It appears to be a fall-out of the ongoing military operations in Swat, Dir and other areas of the North West Frontier Province," Malik said and warned that there would be no let up in the crackdown on these 'anti-national elements'.
Los Angeles Police Department Counter-Terrorism and Criminal Intelligence Commanding Officer Michael P Downing will lead a small delegation, including executive, investigative, and tactical officers to Mumbai, 'to learn, observe, and bring back best practices to LAPD,' and to disseminate to other major cities to help guard against Mumbai-like terrorist attacks on American soft targets.
President Asif Ali Zardari has assured the United States that the Pakistan government will not allow anybody to challenge its writ or run a parallel administration in any part of the country. Zardari gave the assurance to US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke during a telephonic conversation, the Daily Times reported on Friday.
Nearly 200 boys, some as young as six years, were rescued by Pakistani security forces from Taliban camps in the lawless Swat valley, where they were being 'brainwashed' and trained to become suicide bombers."These children have been brainwashed in a way that now they even want to kill their own parents," he said. Bilour said some children were initially pleased when they were handed over to their parents. But the parents later said their kids were trying to kill them.
Pro-Taliban cleric Sufi Muhammad, who brokered a now-defunct peace deal between the authorities and insurgents, was arrested on Sunday in northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar for his links to militants and his role in fomenting unrest in the lawless Swat valley. Sufi, who heads the banned Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariah Muhammadi, was arrested with his sons Ziaullah and Rizwanullah and an accomplice by a large police contingent during a raid in the City Town area of Peshawar.
Dr Sandeep Pandey, a Magsasay award winner, who was part of an Indian delegation that visited Pakistan recently, writes about the situation there.
Taliban militants, who had kidnapped a top civil official in the restive Swat valley in North West Frontier Province on Sunday, released him only in exchange for two militants, raising question marks over a peace deal stuck between the militant group and the government. Taliban spokesman Muslim Khan said the official, Kushal Khan, and his guards had been released in exchange for two militants who were arrested in Peshawar last week.
Pakistani journalists on Thursday condemned the killings of scribes in the Taliban-infested North Western Frontier Province and said that these were attempts to scare them away from the restive region.They termed the killing of a scribe Musa Khankhel in Swat on Wednesday as 'deliberate and cold blooded' so that the happenings there do not reach the outside world.The journalists said they would not be cowed down and would continue to operate in the troubled region.
B Raman on the situation in Pakistan after the death of Baitullah.
Punjab Police and Border Security Force on Sunday carried out a joint search operation and flag march in villages near Indo-Pak border, amid a heightened vigil in the wake of the Uri attack a week ago.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances