Islamabad, Feb 20 : Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army Chief Geneneral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani have decided to keep the Army in Swat till complete restoration of peace in the area.

In a meeting at the presidency, they discussed matters pertaining to the regional situation, including the Swat peace accord and the military operation in the tribal areas.

It was the second meeting of the president, the prime minister and the COAS during the last 10 days, in which they discussed matters relating to the national security, The News reported.

Islamabad, Feb 20 : Pakistan's Finance Adviser Shaukat Tareen has said that arrears of coalition support for the War on Terror have increased to 1.5 billion dollars since May 2008.

"We have asked them to at least release 100 million dollars per month and scrutinise the remaining claim of 50 million dollars for subsequent disbursement and they have termed it as a good suggestion," he told reporters after inaugurating a one-day workshop on the Medium Term Budget Framework (MTBF).

He said that Pakistan would forward its formal request for an additional 4.5 billion dollars to bridge the financing gap owing to losses of the war on terror to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) authorities at the IMF-World Bank annual meeting in April.

Lahore, Feb. 20 : Premier Pakistan middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf is still non-committal to leave the Indian Cricket League (ICL) to get himself picked for the national team as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt had asked for.

"I have not thought about leaving the ICL till now although the board chairman felt this would be the easiest way for me to make a comeback to the Pakistan team," The Nation quoted Yousuf, as saying.

Washington, Feb. 20 : Days after the Pakistan Government signed a deal with the Taliban to establish peace in the Swat Valley, Washington is still trying to ascertain the intricacies of the deal, with US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton saying that Islamabad is making `contradictory statements' about its intentions regarding the accord.

"I want to get the whole picture of what it is they''re attempting to achieve," The News quoted Clinton, as saying on the sidelines of her first official visit to Tokyo.

New York, Feb 20 : Pakistan's Ambassador to the United Nations, Abdullah Hussain Haroon, has said that the Swat peace agreement will not affect his country's resolve to fight terrorism.

Addressing a gathering at the New York University on Tuesday night, Haroon said the accord between the NWFP Government and the Tehreek-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Muhammadi should not be taken as a "paradigm shift" in Islamabad's position on the struggle to rid its soil of terrorism.

He said President Asif Ali Zardari had clearly stated that he would not sign the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation unless peace is restored in the valley, the Daily Times reported.

Islamabad, Feb 20 : Pakistan's Attorney General Latif Khan Khosa has said that any Pakistani court trying the accused involved in the Mumbai terror attacks could ask for the custody of lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Kasab through Interpol.

"If our investigators submit a challan against the suspects for their involvement in the Mumbai tragedy, a trial court can issue warrants for physical custody of Ajmal Kasab," he said.

Such a warrant could be processed through Interpol; The Dawn quoted him, as saying.

The Attorney General was explaining trial procedures to a group of media personnel in his chambers in the Supreme Court.