Islamabad, Feb. 28: The precarious political situation in Pakistan following the Sharif brothers' disqualification, and the increasing influence of the Taliban, has prompted the Obama administration to maintain a strict vigil on Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

Several serving and retired US officials have claimed that Washington has appointed special officers to look after Islamabad's nukes, to ensure that they don't fall into the hands of militant groups such as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

Islamabad, Feb. 28 : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's reputation in Washington is likely to take a beating as a consequence of his moves against the Sharif brothers, a retired army general, who frequently meets with American officials when they come to Pakistan, has claimed.

The New York Times quoted Lt. Gen. (retired) Talat Masood as saying: "He (Zardari) is deflecting the attention of the whole country to something that is so irrelevant."

Lahore, Feb. 28 : The itinerary of the Australia-Pakistan one-day international series has been revised again.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that the series, which is to be played at a neutral venue, United Arab Emirates (UAE), will be played from April 22 to May
7.

"Now the series will be played from April 22 to May 7 as we have pushed backed the date of the first match by two days," PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said.

'26/11 terrorists didn't go by sea'

The Asif Ali Zardari-led civilian administration's failure to control Pakistan's defence establishment came to fore again on Friday with the navy chief contradicting the government and claiming the terrorists did not use the sea route in the 26/11 attack.

India rubbished the denial as another Pakistani flip-flop.

Pakistan has publicly admitted that the 10 terrorists, including Mohammed Ajmal Amir aka Kasab, the lone gunman to be captured alive, had set sail from Karachi. In fact, interior minister Rahman Malik had publicly given details of the boat used by the terrorists, admitting the strikes were partly plotted in Pakistan.

Islamabad - Police used tear gas and batons on the supporters of opposition leader Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan's capital Islamabad during third day of protest on Friday against a court ruling that banned him from elected office.

Hundreds of demonstrators blocked the main highway linking the capital with the adjoining city of Rawalpindi and pelted the vehicles with stones. Law enforcers fired rounds of tear gas to disperse the crowd and chased them in the nearby streets.

Islamabad, Feb.