A suicide attacker set off a bomb at a security checkpoint in north-west Pakistan today, killing at least 10 people and injuring 52, officials and a doctor said, underscoring the relentless security threat in the country.

A PAIR of suicide bombers targeting army vehicles detonated explosives within seconds of each other yesterday, killing at least 43 people in this eastern city and wounding about 100, police said.

SECURITY forces have rescued several children forcibly recruited by the Taliban, allegedly to be used as fighters or suicide bombers, and there could be hundreds more like them, an army official has said.

INVESTIGATORS searched a wrecked luxury hotel in north-western Pakistan for evidence yesterday after a suicide bombing killed 11 people, including aid workers, in what the UN condemned as a “heinous terrorist attack”.

Investigators searched a wrecked luxury hotel in north-western Pakistan for evidence today after a bold suicide bombing killed 11 people, including aid workers, in what the UN condemned as a “heinous terrorist attack”.

Investigators today examined the site of a suicide blast in Islamabad that targeted Pakistan’s police and left at least 15 people dead, while officials searched for clues about the alleged attacker.

The rule of Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf was under threat today after opposition parties roundly defeated his allies in parliamentary elections.

Pakistan’s president appealed for national unity after early unofficial returns showed the opposition heading towards victory today in parliamentary elections that could threaten his rule eight years after he seized power in a military coup.

Washington’s second most senior diplomat will have a crucial meeting with Pakistan’s military leader President Pervez Musharraf today, hoping that face-to-face diplomacy will convince the general to move back on the path to democracy.

Authorities rounded up opposition activists today after President Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan’s constitution and declared a state of emergency.

President General Pervez Musharraf was preparing to impose a state of emergency amid rising violence and political tensions, a private TV network and lawmakers said today.

Pakistan vowed to step up its fight against terrorism today after a suicide attacker detonated an explosive-laden vehicle inside a high-security military base, killing 16 soldiers from an elite counter-terrorism task force.

A suicide attacker in a vehicle detonated a bomb at an army canteen in north-western Pakistan today, killing at least 15 soldiers and wounding 11 others, officials said.

Police manned roadblocks and rounded up supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today as he prepared to end seven years in exile and return to Pakistan to lead a campaign to topple the country’s US-allied military ruler.

President Gen Pervez Musharraf today decided against declaring a state of emergency in Pakistan and will press ahead with plans to hold free and fair elections, a government minister said.

Pakistani troops attempted to clear a women’s religious school after seizing Islamabad’s Red Mosque in fierce fighting that left at least 40 militants and three soldiers dead.

Pakistani commandos stormed Islamabad’s Red Mosque compound today, sparking a fierce fight with militants accused of holding about 150 hostages inside.

Police hunting the killer of Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer are scouring CCTV footage and other electronic records today for clues.

Afghan insurgent leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar claimed in a rare interview with Pakistani television broadcast today that his fighters helped al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden escape intense US bombardment and a hunt in eastern Afghan mountains five years ago.

Pakistanis today burned pictures of Australian cricket umpire Darrell Hair and dubbed him a “mini Hitler” for his role in the sport’s first ever international forfeit – which awarded a game that Pakistan was winning to England.

Pakistan’s Islamic schools today said they would resist any effort by police to round up their foreign students – even as the government backed away from its threat to do so unless the students leave Pakistan by tomorrow.

Security forces are investigating an assassination attempt on Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf – at least the second since he enraged hardliners by backing the war on terror in Afghanistan.

A bomb exploded minutes after a motorcade carrying the Pakistani president passed a road near the capital today.