Afghan president Hamid Karzai has written letters to top political and religious leaders in Pakistan, denouncing the Taliban attack on a Pakistani teenager who is promoting girls’ education and asking them to help battle extremism in both countries.

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 crucial January 8 parliamentary elections are likely to be postponed by up to three or four months following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, a spokesman for the ruling party said today.

Exiled former premier Benazir Bhutto’s party today met to decide whether to end talks with President Gen Pervez Musharraf over a pact that could see them share power and end military rule in Pakistan.