Pakistan has appointed a new head of intelligence, injecting some uncertainty in America’s dealings with an agency crucial to its hopes of negotiating a peace deal with the Afghan Taliban and keeping pressure on al Qaida.

Pakistan’s prime minister has appealed for support from parliament in a stand-off between his beleaguered government and the armed forces, saying MPs had to choose between “democracy and dictatorship”.

Pakistan’s prime minister telephoned the top British diplomat in the country, expressing fears that the army might be about to stage a coup, reports say.

Pakistan’s army has rejected a US investigation into the Nato air strikes that killed 24 of its soldiers.