Rawalpindi, July 26 : As embarked on his maiden official visit to the United States on Saturday, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said that his government is determined to fight al Qaeda and the Taliban, as it saw this battle as its own.

Islamabad, July 26 : Expressing concern over a reported NATO attack in Pakistani tribal areas, President Pervez Musharraf warned a U-S think-tank on Saturday that no such attacks will be tolerated in future, and that Pakistan reserves the right to retaliate.

Talking to a senior advisor of the US think-tank Dr Hormon Olmen in Rawalpindi, Musharaf asserted that the Afghan-based NATO forces are not being attacked from the Pakistani soil nor is any cross-border activity taking place from here.

Lahore, July 26 : Pakistani Christians are considered “Westerners” despite their efforts in the country’s independence movement and nation building.

Community Development Initiatives (CDI) Executive Director Asif Aqeel said: “It is an interesting fact that these Christians are aboriginals and the remnants of the Indus
Valley Civilisation. It was the Aryan conquest that brought these people to the status where they were considered untouchables.”

Islamabad, July 26 : The next India-Pakistan composite dialogue meeting is likely to consider Pakistan’s offer to India to invest in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) bus manufacturing.

Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Ahmed Mukhtar while announcing the trade policy for 2008-09 last week said a decision had been taken that if Indian manufacturers of CNG buses make a firm commitment to manufacture such buses in Pakistan, the ministry might allow the import of 10 buses by road via Wagah border, from each potential investor as a test consignment.

Washington, July 26: United States Congress looks forward to having a long-term sustained relationship with Pakistan, and would help it in its democratic and economic development.

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has said US Congress leaders would discuss with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani ways to assist the elected government''s efforts for democratic and economic development.

Lee, who co-chairs the Pakistani Caucus on the Capitol Hill, said that she was confident of progress on pending bills, including the Biden-Lugar Bill that would approve 7.5 billion dollars in assistance for socio-economic development to benefit Pakistanis over the next five years.

Karachi  - Pakistan's top security official will discuss the issue of an American girl holed up inside an Islamic madrassa in Karachi with US State Department officials next week in Washington, official sources said Saturday.

Rehman Malik, a cabinet member and advisor on the country's internal security, would accompany Pakistan's newly elected premier Yousaf Raza Gilani as he starts four-day official visit of the United States on Sunday.