London, Apr 27: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has cancelled a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as he arrived in Islamabad for talks with the Pakistani leadership.

Brown, who arrived in Pakistan this afternoon after talks in Afghanistan, told reporters on the plane that he would hold a meeting with President Zardari.

But instead of a joint press conference with Zardari in Islamabad, it has emerged that Brown will appear alongside Pakistani premier Yusuf Raza Gilani.

Peshawar, Apr 27: Pakistani security forces have killed at least 46 militants in a ground and air operation against the Taliban in the troubled Lower Dir on Monday, the army has said.

According to security sources, 46 militants including two top commanders Qari Quresh and Maulana Shahid were killed by the Frontier Corps troops in Maidan area of Lower Dir.

Paramilitary troops and helicopter gunships bombed suspected bases in Lower Dir for a second day running, The News reported.

Islamabad - Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari said on Monday the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden remained unknown and there were unconfirmed reports from local intelligence agencies that he might be dead.

"The Americans tell me they don't know, and they are much more equipped than us to trace him. And our own intelligence services obviously think that he does not exist any more, that he is dead," Zardari told a group of foreign journalists.

But the president acknowledged that Pakistani intelligence did not have evidence on bin Laden's death.

London, Apr. 27: Pakistan Army’s offensive against the militants in the Lower Dir region of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) is certainly a result of the continuous pressure from the United States, a times online article said.

Washington, Apr. 27: The Taliban’s agreement to pull out of Buner district in the North West Frontier Province following Pakistan’s deployment of paramilitary troops to the area demonstrates the Pakistan military has sent the right signal to the Taliban, feels an American expert on South Asian affairs.

Islamabad, Apr. 27 : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that his country's intelligence believes that Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is dead, but they have no proof to back their claims.

"The Americans tell me they don''t know, and they are much more equipped than us to trace him. And our own intelligence services obviously think that he does not exist any more, that he is dead. But there is no evidence, you cannot take that as a fact," The Nation quoted Zardari, as saying.