Gilani Urges Taliban to Engage in Talks

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s top court ordered the arrest of the country’s prime minister in a corruption case Tuesday, officials said, as a firebrand cleric rallied thousands of people against the government for a second day in the capital.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Akbar Salehi told Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani that the Iranian part of the Iran-Pakistan natural gas pipeline is scheduled for completion in 2012. A second project scheduled for completion next year is Pakistan’s import of 1,000 megawatts of electricity per day from Iran. Foreign Minister Salehi added that Iran could begin immediate electricity exports if it could be connected with Pakistan’s electrical grid.

The leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan used a British summit Monday to set an optimistic target of six months to reach a peace deal with the Taliban – the first time such a time frame has been imposed. Speaking after meeting David Cameron, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari committed to an all-out bid for reconciliation with the insurgents, despite years of frustration.

Prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has warned that a US military surge in Afghanistan could further destabilise his country and urged the White House to consult before making a decision on troop numbers

Pakistan's prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani will seek at least $600m in emergency funds from donors to fund up to 2m internally displaced people from the embattled Swat valley – described by UN officials as one of the world's worst refugee crises

Prime Minister Yusaf Raza Gilani was once jailed for refusing to switch allegiance. Some say that's what made him prime minister, and now, with a recent constitutional change, a man more powerful than the president. A stint behind bars doesn't always have to be an ignominious coda to a politician's career.

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday gave powerful army chief General Ashfaq Kayani a three-year extension in the top job."I have decided to extend tenure of army chief General Ashfaq Kayani for three years in consultations with President Asif Ali Zardari," Gilani said in a brief televised address to the nation, underlining the importance of the move.He said the decision had been taken after relaxing the rules and keeping in view the active role played by Kayani in the war against terror.