Tokyo  - Japan and the United States Friday pledged to provide 1 billion dollars each to Pakistan.

"Pakistan plays an extremely important role in the international fight against terrorism and extremism," Prime Minister Taro Aso said at a ministerial-level meeting of the Friends of Pakistan group in Tokyo.

At the opening of the meeting, Aso officially announced Japan's contribution of 1 billion dollars to Pakistan. The United States vowed to donate the same amount.

Islamabad - Pakistani authorities on Thursday freed the hard-line cleric at Islamabad's radical Red Mosque, Maulana Abdul Aziz, a day after the Supreme Court granted him bail.

Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Asadullah Faiz told German Press Agency dpa that police had been withdrawn from Aziz's residence in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

Islamabad  - Pakistani authorities on Thursday freed the hard-line cleric at Islamabad's radical Red Mosque, Maulana Abdul Aziz, a day after the Supreme Court granted him bail.

Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Asadullah Faiz told German Press Agency dpa that police had been withdrawn from Aziz's residence in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

"He is a free man now, and he can go wherever he wants," he added.

Hundreds of Aziz's followers gathered outside his residence, where he had been in detention, as the hard-line cleric drove away in a vehicle to an undisclosed location.

Tokyo  - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso on Thursday told visiting Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari that stability in Pakistan is important for stability in south-western Asia.

"The stable development of Pakistan will directly lead to the stability of the entire region," the Kyoto News Agency quoted Aso as telling Zardari during a meeting at the premier's office in Tokyo.

Karachi, Apr. 16 : Pakistan is hoping that the International Cricket Council (ICC) will adopt a sympathetic stance towards it while taking a final decision on its status of a co-host of the 2011 World Cup during the upcoming ICC Executive Board meetings.

Karachi, Apr 16 : Pakistan Taliban, which has gained a foothold in Swat, intends to spread its influence more broadly across Pakistan - and may face little resistance in some areas

After securing their demand for imposing Islamic law in the Swat Valley, the Taliban has moved into the neighbouring district of Buner and won the right to preach in mosques there.