Islamabad - Four Islamic militants were killed Wednesday in a missile strike by a suspected pilotless US aircraft, while five Taliban and four civilians were killed in actions by local security forces in north-west Pakistan, officials and media reports said.

One of the two missiles fired presumably by a US drone hit a house in the Jani Khel semi-tribal area of the Bannu district in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP).

Islamabad - At least four Islamic militants were killed and seven more were injured Wednesday in a missile strike by a suspected pilotless US aircraft in north-west Pakistan, a Pakistani official said.

One of the two missiles fired hit a house in the Jani Khel semi-tribal area of the Bannu district in the North-West Frontier Province.

The pre-dawn airstrike destroyed a mud compound that belonged to a Taliban militant named Dilber, alias Parpand, a local intelligence official said, on the condition of anonymity.

Islamabad, Nov 19 : Pakistan cricket coach Intikhab Alam has said that Test matches against India should be at a neutral venue in case the Indian government does not clear its cricket team’s tour of Pakistan in January due to security concerns.

“First of all, I think India should come to Pakistan. But if for any reason the tour does not go ahead as planned, I think playing at neutral venue is the best option,” The News quoted Alam as saying.

Islamabad, Nov 19 : The Islamabad High Court has reportedly dismissed a petition calling for the name of former president Pervez Musharraf to be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL), saying the petition was inadmissible.

Besides Musharraf, the petitioner had also sought to place the name of State Bank Governor Dr Shamshad Akhtar also on the ECL. Earlier the same petitioner had challenged Dr Akhtar’s appointment as Governor.

Islamabad  - At least 18 people, including 15 militants, were killed in overnight security operations and clashes between Taliban and local tribesmen in north-west Pakistan, officials said on Tuesday.

Seven Islamist militants died in an exchange of gun and artillery fire by security forces in the Kabal area of Swat district, where troops are fighting the followers of a militant cleric Maulana Fazlullah.

Fazlullah has waged an armed struggle to enforce Taliban rule in the area since late last year.

"One soldier was killed separately when the miscreants ambushed an army patrol in Kanjo area, while four were injured," local army spokesman Colonel Nadeem Ahmad told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Islamabad, Nov. 18 : Pakistan has denied that it perceives the planned first joint exercise of the Indian Air Force (IAF) with its Chinese counterpart as threatening or a matter of concern in any way.

Indian Air Force Chief, Air Chief Marshal Fali H. Major had talked about the region''s two largest air forces'' coming together during his recent Beijing visit. He had stated that though there was no schedule as yet, it would take place "sooner than later". December will also see the Chinese army coming for joint army exercises in Karnataka''s Belgaum district.