Islamabad, Mar 6 : A Pakistani court on Friday directed authorities to respond within a week to a petition filed by Jamaat- ud- Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeeds wife, Memoona Saeed, challenging the government's decision to detain Saeed.

Justice Khurshid Anwar Bhinder of the Lahore High Court disposed of the petition on Wednesday and directed the Punjab home secretary to respond within one week to her plea.

The judge also said the authorities would face contempt of court proceedings if they failed to respond to the plea.

Islamabad, Mar. 6 : The Pakistan Government has spent a whopping 139.06 million rupees on Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's foreign visits.

According to a report tabled in the National Assembly, Gilani's foreign tours to10 countries from May 2008 to January 2009 has made Pakistan Government's wallet lighter by 139.06 million rupees.

Gilani's trip to the United States, Britain and Sri Lanka from July 26 to August 3 last year itself cost a staggering 43.55 million rupees.

Islamabad, Mar. 6: Amidst the on-going political uncertainty and blame game, the Pakistan Army has downed speculations about a probable military coup in the country, saying that it would remain neutral on political developments.

According to The Nation, top officials of the Pakistan Army met the Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani to discuss the current political developments.

The officials underlined the need for greater stability and harmony in the country.

Islamabad  - Initial investigations indicate that militants from the outlawed Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group might be involved in this week's attack on the Sri Lankan cricket squad in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, a media report said Friday.

Initial details emerging from the inquiry suggested that a group of LeT activists acted on their own in carrying out Tuesday's attack, the English-language Dawn newspaper reported.

Islamabad - A methane gas explosion deep inside a coal mine in Pakistan's mineral-rich province of Balochistan killed 14 miners and injured at least 11 others, media reports said Friday.

The blast occurred Thursday afternoon when more than 25 people were at work in Soranje coal mine, located some 25 kilometres from the provincial capital Quetta.

The explosion caused the mine to cave in, trapping the miners several hundred metres below ground level, the Daily Times newspaper said.

Islamabad, Mar. 6 : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that he is ready to mend ways with former Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League -Nawaz (PML-N) chief, Nawaz Sharif.

In a meeting with Awami National Party (ANP) leader Asfandyar Wali Khan and Jamiat Ulema Islam (JUI) chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Zaradri asked the PML-N to restrain itself from attacking the government, and added that he was ready to think about confidence building measures with Sharif.