Security forces backed by helicopter gunships killed 10 suspected insurgents today in a mountainous valley in north-western Pakistan, where the government is battling supporters of a militant pro-Taliban cleric, the military said.

A pair of suicide bombers were apparently behind last week's attack on Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, a top intelligence official said today.

Police in Pakistan are questioning three people over the bombing of Benazir Bhutto’s convoy, which killed at least 136 people and shattered what was intended to be a triumphant return from exile.

BENAZIR BHUTTO’S return to Pakistan yesterday was marred by a bomb attack in which up to 125 people, including 20 police officers, are reported to have been killed.

Pakistan will hold parliamentary elections early in the new year the prime minister said today.

Corruption charges against former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto have been dropped, raising speculation she is moving closer to a power sharing deal with President Musharraf.

Security forces sealed off the Pakistani capital Islamabad today to prevent a protest against President General Pervez Musharraf’s controversial candidacy for a new five-year term.

Time is running out for President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to finalise a pact with ex-premier Benazir Bhutto that would keep the US-allied leader in office, Bhutto’s party warned today.

A recently constructed road bridge collapsed in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi today, killing at least four people and injuring others, officials said.

Pakistan marks the 60th anniversary of its independence from British rule today.

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.

Pakistan said it successfully test-fired a cruise missile capable of delivering nuclear warheads deep into India.

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

Pakistan today called on the international community to rush aid to one million people left homeless by massive flooding amid forecasts that still more rain would be dumped on the stricken areas in coming days.

Security guards prevented a suicide bomber from killing Pakistan's interior minister in an attack at a political gathering in a north-western town today that left at least 22 dead and 35 wounded, officials said.

Pakistan's prime minister today told the United States not to criticise his country's anti-terrorism efforts, saying it could prove counterproductive.

A Pakistani couple injured in a deadly train bombing in a remote Indian village returned home today with caskets containing the charred remains of five of their children, officials said.

Pakistan successfully test-fired a new version of its long-range nuclear-capable missile today, the military said.

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a courtroom in troubled south-western Pakistan on Saturday, killing a judge and 14 others, police and other officials said.

Tony Blair was due to arrive in Pakistan today, a day after a British man who had spent 18 years on death row in the country was freed.

Pakistan’s parliament today resumed debate on a bill to change controversial Islamic rape laws that human rights groups want to have repealed.

Prince Charles has contacted the Pakistani prime minister with his concerns over the case of a British man due to to be executed there in less than a fortnight, his spokesman said today.

Pakistan’s president led a sombre memorial service today in Kashmir to mark the first anniversary of a massive earthquake that killed more than 80,000 people.

Pakistan will continue to support Kashmiris in their struggle for independence from Indian rule, but is striving for peace in their divided Himalayan region, Pakistan’s prime minister said today.

The Islamic world’s biggest bloc today demanded that the United Nations implement an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and investigate what it called flagrant human rights violations by Israel.

The Islamic world’s biggest bloc today demanded an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon and a role for Muslims in a UN peacekeeping force, stressing that a slow end to Israel’s warfare could drown chances for lasting peace.

The stand-off over Iran’s nuclear ambitions overshadowed trade talks opening on Bali today between leaders of Muslim-majority countries, with snipers on rooftops, anti-terror squads patrolling the resort and security posts on the beach.

Pakistan today successfully test fired its longest-range, nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile, the military said.

British actor Ben Kingsley today promised to help raise funds to assist victims of a powerful earthquake in Pakistan last year that killed about 87,000 people and left millions homeless.

PAKISTANI security forces yesterday stopped hundreds of hardline Islamists from heading to north-western Pakistan to protest against a fatal US missile attack, the first time authorities have tried to quell mounting anti-American sentiments.

An al-Qaida explosives and chemical weapons expert and a relative of the terror network’s number-two leader were among three top operatives believed killed in a US missile strike in Pakistan last week, Pakistani security officials said today.

Pakistani provincial authorities said today four or five foreign terrorists were killed in last week's US missile strike that has strained relations with the Muslim nation that is a key ally in President George Bush's war on terror.

Pakistan “cannot accept any action” like the US missile attack, apparently aimed at al-Qaida’s number-two, that killed civilians in a border village, the prime minister said today.

The pre-dawn airstrike aimed at Ayman al-Zawahri in a remote Pakistani village was intended as a devastating blow to al-Qaida but it has strained ties with a key US ally in the war on terror and could provoke more anti-Americanism in the Islamic country, analysts said today.

Donors have pledged $5.4bn (€4.6bn) in quake aid to Pakistan, surpassing the amount sought for relief and reconstruction, the country’s prime minister said today.

ABOUT 200 desperate people pushed and fought each other for milk, bread and biscuits brought in by mule train yesterday.

Torrential downpours today threatened to cause crucial delays in quake relief efforts in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, where only a fraction of the tents needed for an estimated 2.3 million people left homeless have been provided as winter nears.

Pakistan president General Pervez Musharraf today thanked the international community for sending aid to victims of the devastating earthquake that left tens of thousands dead.

Injured and hungry, families huddled under makeshift tents waiting for relief supplies today after Pakistan’s worst earthquake wiped out entire villages, buried roads in rubble and knocked out electricity and water supplies. The death toll ranged from 20,000 and 30,000 and is expected to rise.

RESCUERS struggled to reach remote, mountainous areas and stricken residents of a devastated city scavenged for food and gasoline yesterday, a day after a massive earthquake struck Pakistan and India.

More than 3,000 people died today when a massive earthquake triggered landslides, toppled an apartment building and flattened villages of mud-brick homes near the border between Pakistan and India.

A powerful 7.6-magnitude earthquake reduced villages to rubble in Pakistan and India on today, killing hundreds of people. Pakistan’s army described the damage as widespread and said it included villages buried in quake-induced landslides.

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake jolted south Asia today, killing at least 21 people and injuring hundreds of others in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.

India and Pakistan today signed a deal requiring them to notify each other of plans for ballistic missile tests, a key step in the peace process between the two nuclear-armed rivals. However, India warned that militant attacks in Kashmir could derail the thaw in relations.