Islamabad, Jan. 20 : Pakistan has once again urged the United States to stop the drone attacks in the tribal areas along the Pakistan -Afghanistan border.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari met US CENTCOM Chief General David Petraeus here and said that the US drone attacks on Al Qaeda and Taliban targets in the tribal region of the country is weakening the writ of the government and destabilizing the political process, The News reported.

He said that the US led attacks were proving counter-productive in the `war on terror' in the region.

Islamabad - Pakistani security forces attacked hostile targets in the Mohmand tribal region on Tuesday, killing at least two dozen militants, an official said.

Jet aircraft attacked militant positions in Kandharo village before ground troops moved in to clear the area, which islocated close to the Afghan border.

"The airstrike inflicted heavy casualties on the insurgents. At least 24 militants were confirmed killed in the offensive," an official of the Frontier Corps paramilitary force said on condition of anonymity.

Islamabad, Jan. 20 : It is highly unlikely that the Australian cricket team will tour Pakistan amidst the precarious security conditions in the country, a top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board believes.

"I don't think that Australia will agree to play the series in Pakistan because they have security apprehensions," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Ijaz Butt said.

Islamabad, Jan. 20 : `War and Peace' rhetoric was back to the fore after Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi saying that any military offensive initiated by India will be treated with a befitting reply.

Briefing ambassadors and foreign envoys of different countries on the steps taken by Pakistan to probe the Mumbai attacks on lines of the `dossier' provided by India, Qureshi said: "Pakistan would act in `self-defence' if there was any action by the Indian side." The Dawn reported.

Islamabad, Jan. 20 : Pakistan's Information and Broadcasting Minister Sherry Rehman has denied that President Asif Ali Zardari made derogatory remarks about journalists.

"President Zardari has cordial relations with journalists, and he can never think of uttering such words," the Daily Times quoted Rehman, as saying.

Both President Zardari, and Prime Minister Gilani believe in the media's right to freedom of expression, she stressed.

Islamabad - Pakistan on Monday briefed top foreign diplomats in Islamabad about the steps it had taken to investigate suspected links to November's Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik explained to the heads of more than 75 missions that Pakistan was committed to fighting terrorism in the region, according to a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.