Islamabad - Businesses remained closed and thousands held protest rallies in Pakistan's largest province of Punjab on Friday against President Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Thousands of people thronged in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab, to register protest against a court ruling that banned the top opposition leader and two-time Premier Nawaz Sharif from elected office.

Sharif says Zardari's loyal judges gave the ruling on his orders, because of a criminal conviction after his government was ousted in 1999 by the then military chief Pervez Musharraf.

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.

Lahore, Mar. 6 : Dispelling the notion that the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team took place due improper security arrangements, Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer said that the transfer of top officials had nothing to do with the terror attack.

Taseer said that the security cover provided to the visiting Lankan team was similar to what was adopted by the Shahbaz Sharif regime.

Peshawar (Pakistan), Mar. 6: The truce inked between the government in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and the defunct Tehreek Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi (TNSM) last month in the Swat region, seems to have allowed the Taliban a chance to expand their harsh religious rule, reports the New York Times.

Just days after the truce was signed, a member of a prominent anti-Taliban family returned to his mountain village, having received assurances from the government that it was safe.

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.