Dera Ghazi Khan (Pakistan), Apr. 14 : The Taliban and local militant groups continue to make inroads into Pakistan's Punjab province that is home to more than half of the country's citizens.

Tell tale signs of creeping militancy abound in a belt of towns and villages near Dera Ghazi Khan. Militants have gained strength considerably in the district, which is a gateway, both to Taliban-controlled areas and the heart of Punjab, police and local residents say.

New Delhi, April 14 : A Chinese professor has theorized that the famed terracotta army of Xi'an region of the country are not soldiers, but royal servants and bodyguards.

If this theory by Liu Jiusheng at Shaanxi Normal University proves to be true, it might turn China's most important archeological discovery upside down.

Most historians believe the 2,200-year-old clay statues buried near the emperor's tomb represent an army custom-made to guard him in the afterlife.

Islamabad, Apr. 14 : Following the National Assembly's nod, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has signed the sharia law deal which is to be implemented in the North West Frontier Province's Swat region.

"Yes, the president has signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation before leaving for Dubai on a two-day visit," The Daily Times quoted presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar, as saying.

London, Apr. 14 : The Kashmir National Party which champion policy of liberal democracy and oppose forces of communalism, terrorism and hatred; has decided to send two senior leaders to Pakistani Administered Kashmir.

KNP is a true nationalist party and wants independence from both India and Pakistan. KNP leaders sincerely believe that united and independent Jammu and Kashmir is the only viable and acceptable solution to the Kashmir dispute. This is the only solution which could bring lasting peace in the Sub Continent.

Islamabad, Apr 13: Pakistan Prime Minister's Interior Affairs Advisor Rehman Malik on Monday responded to India's reply to 30 questions forwarded by Pakistan on Mumbai terror attacks last year.

Addressing a press conference here, Malik said the DNA report of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone survivour attacker of Mumbai attacks, was same as slain terrorist Mohammad Ismail.

Malik has also asked the India Government to provide the details of sim cards used by the terrorists.

Islamabad, Apr. 13: Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar who was once kept under house arrest in Bahawalpur in Pakistan has been mysteriously and `officially' declared missing from the country, The Daily Times reports.

Pakistani authorities had placed restrictions on the movement of Azhar, by confining him to his multi-storied concrete compound in the Model Town area of Bahawalpur.