Islamabad, Feb 20 : President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the provincial government of Punjab to take immediate steps to provide speedy relief to Mukhtaran Mai and also ensure her security against harassment by culprits.

Taking notice of various media reports in which it was pointed out that Mukhtaran Mai is being subjected to harassment by some influential people, Zardari instructed the provincial government that justice should be delivered without fear or favour.

Islamabad, Feb 20 : Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army Chief Geneneral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani have decided to keep the Army in Swat till complete restoration of peace in the area.

In a meeting at the presidency, they discussed matters pertaining to the regional situation, including the Swat peace accord and the military operation in the tribal areas.

It was the second meeting of the president, the prime minister and the COAS during the last 10 days, in which they discussed matters relating to the national security, The News reported.

Islamabad, Feb 20 : Pakistan's Finance Adviser Shaukat Tareen has said that arrears of coalition support for the War on Terror have increased to 1.5 billion dollars since May 2008.

"We have asked them to at least release 100 million dollars per month and scrutinise the remaining claim of 50 million dollars for subsequent disbursement and they have termed it as a good suggestion," he told reporters after inaugurating a one-day workshop on the Medium Term Budget Framework (MTBF).

He said that Pakistan would forward its formal request for an additional 4.5 billion dollars to bridge the financing gap owing to losses of the war on terror to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) authorities at the IMF-World Bank annual meeting in April.

Islamabad, Feb 20 : Pakistan's Attorney General Latif Khan Khosa has said that any Pakistani court trying the accused involved in the Mumbai terror attacks could ask for the custody of lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab through Interpol.

"If our investigators submit a challan against the suspects for their involvement in the Mumbai tragedy, a trial court can issue warrants for physical custody of Ajmal Kasab," he said.

Such a warrant could be processed through Interpol; The Dawn quoted him, as saying.

The Attorney General was explaining trial procedures to a group of media personnel in his chambers in the Supreme Court.

Islamabad  - An earthquake measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale shook parts of northern Pakistan Friday, a Meteorological Department official said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The epicentre of the quake, which struck at 8:49 am (0349 GMT), was 95 kilometers north-east of the capital, Islamabad, department chief Qamaruz Zaman Chaudhry said.

The jolts were felt in several cities and parts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir, which was devastated in an October 2005 earthquake, which killed at least 73,000 people and left 3.5 million others homeless.

Islamabad - The United States has not paid Pakistan a penny for the last nine months for rendering its military services to fight Taliban and al-Qaeda in restive tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, a Pakistani official said on Thursday.

Shaukat Tarin, the financial advisor to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, said Pakistan's latest reimbursement bill of 1.35 billion dollars for flushing out militants from the tribal region in the north-west of the country, was delayed.

"We have not received any amount since May 2008," Tarin told reporters.