Washington, Sept 11 : A top US defence official has reportedly said that besides gunning down the terrorists crossing into Afghanistan from Pakistan, the US should focus on eliminating the “safe havens” of these militants in Pakistan itself.

Islamabad, Sept 11 : Newly-elected Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has reportedly decided to cut down the size of entourage that would accompany him on his foreign visits. The move is seen as a cost-cutting exercise in the wake of the deep economic crisis Pakistan is going through.

According to the Daily Times, Zardari will also take a usual commercial flight on foreign visits instead of a separate aircraft.

Washington, Sept 11 : A top US military officer has said that America was not winning its war-on-terror in Afghanistan, and called for an overhaul in US’ war strategy, warning that thousands more troops were needed to battle an intensifying insurgency there, besides a greater US military involvement across the border in the strife-torn country’s tribal areas.

“I am not convinced that we’re winning it in Afghanistan. I’m convinced we can. Frankly, we are running out of time. Not sending US reinforcements to Afghanistan is too great a risk to ignore,” said Adm. Michael Mullen, who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff while testifying before the House Armed Services Committee.

Islamabad - The death toll in the overnight attack on a mosque in Pakistan's militancy-plagued North West Frontier Province (NWFP) rose to at least 25 people, officials said Thursday.

The attackers targeted the packed mosque in Maskani area of Dir district late Wednesday night as locals offered special prayers in the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

They first lobbed at least three hand grenades over the parameter wall and then fired volleys of shots at the people, including children, as they fled the mosque in panic.

Islamabad, Sept 11 : Over the past seven years after 9/11, al-Qaeda has spread its violent tentacles across Pakistan, while its ally the Taliban have staged a bloody comeback both in Pakistan and Afghanistan, said an article in the globeandmail. com.

It said that both al Qaeda and the Taliban have “destabilized nuclear-armed Pakistan”, and largely taken over its northwest fringe. Afghanistan has been sent into a tailspin of violence, even as al-Qaeda, having influence in Pakistan and Afghanistan, is planning terror strikes against the West.

Washington, Sept 11 : Senior US officials have revealed that American President George W Bush had for the first time secretly passed orders in July (2008) to carry out unilateral military operations and air strikes in Pakistan without prior approval of the Pakistan government.