New Delhi, July 21: Pakistan Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir met Leader of Opposition LK Advani here last evening.

The meeting was held ahead of Foreign Secretary-level talks, which will commence today.

Bashir arrived here to continue with the official talks that were begun last week.

Efforts to build mutual trust received a setback last week when India''s National Security Adviser MK Narayanan blamed Pakistan''s intelligence service (ISI) for the suicide attack on Indian embassy in Kabul, which killed 41 people, including an Indian diplomat and army brigadier.

The two countries resumed the composite dialogue during External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee''s visit to Islamabad in May.

New Delhi, July 21: The two-day special session of the Lok Sabha will begin here today where the trust vote by the UPA government will be taken up.

The special session is being held after Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh expressed his desire to seek a trust vote in the wake of Left parties withdrawing support.

A one line confidence motion will be moved by the Prime Minister, followed by a debate on the motion and the vote on Tuesday. At the end of the debate, he is also expected to reply to it before the motion would be put to vote.

New Delhi, July 21: Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee called a meeting of the floor leaders of different political parties here today.

The meeting is being held ahead of the special session of the House to decide on the confidence motion.

Issues related to the trust vote being sought by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in the wake of Left withdrawing support to the government on the Indo-US nuclear deal will be discussed during the meeting.

New Delhi, July 20 : Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Chief Shibu Soren today pledged that his party would support the United Progressive Alliance Government with its five members during confidence motion in the Lok Sabha on July 22. 

His statement came after his meeting with UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence, along with Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda and Deputy Chief Minister Sudhir Mahto this morning. 

Last night, Soren had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his official residence to discuss the matter. 

New Delhi, July 20 : Nine attempts have been made by the government of the day to secure a vote of confidence since 1979.

Of these nine attempts, six have been unsuccessful and three successful, which speaks volumes about the import of coalition politics in the Indian context in the last three decades.

In 1979, Chaudhary Charan Singh was the first Prime Minister of the country to be asked to prove his majority after the Congress withdrew its support to his government. He, however, opted to resign rather than face Parliament.

New Delhi, July 20 : Seven politicians from different parties are emerging as the key movers and shakers ahead of the crucial July 22 vote of confidence moved by the Manmohan Singh-led UPA Government.

They are Amar Singh of the Samajwadi Party, Pranab Mukherjee and Ahmed Patel of the Congress, Sharad Pawar of the National Congress Party, Mayawati of the Bahujan Samaj Party, Prakash Karat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party.