Pakistan is holding historic elections today, pitting former cricket star Imran Khan against a two-time prime minister once exiled by the army and an incumbent blamed for power blackouts and inflation.

Pakistan’s prime minister is trying to keep his government from collapsing after a key party said it was quitting the ruling coalition, leaving the government short of majority support in parliament.

Pakistan’s ruling party struggled to keep its grip on power today after a coalition partner said it would join the opposition and threatened to bring the government down.

Pakistan’s government should negotiate with the country’s Taliban militants to ease the relentless security crisis in the nuclear-armed, US-allied nation, the top opposition leader said.

Pakistan ordered the deportation of about 50,000 Afghan refugees in an insurgency-wracked tribal region amid a major military offensive against al-Qaida and Taliban fighters.

THOUSANDS of Pakistani lawyers and other opponents of President Pervez Musharraf embarked on a “long march” aimed at reinstating judges sacked by the embattled US-backed leader.

PAKISTAN’S two main opposition parties announced yesterday they would form a new government together after their victory over President Pervez Musharraf’s allies in elections this week.

The focus of Pakistan’s opposition to President Pervez Musharraf returned to the country’s lawyers today.

President Pervez Musharraf will not step down as head of state despite the sweeping election victory by his opponents, his spokesman says.

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.

The Pakistani government said today it would push ahead with its fight against al-Qaida and Taliban militants and work to ensure a peaceful election campaign after a suicide attack at a mosque near the Afghan border killed at least 50 people.

Police blocked a protest march by former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and hundreds of supporters today.

The opposition party of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif planned to stage a march today on the heavily guarded home of the country’s deposed chief justice.

Pakistan’s opposition parties neared agreement today on their demands for President Pervez Musharraf in return for calling off a boycott of next month’s parliamentary elections.

Riot police arrested dozens of opposition activists protesting against President General Pervez Musharraf today as Pakistan's Supreme Court dismissed two legal challenges to his re-election bid.

Lawyers for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif filed a petition in Pakistan’s Supreme Court today challenging his deportation to Saudi Arabia, setting up another confrontation between the judiciary and Pakistan’s military ruler as he battles to hold onto power.