Islamabad, Dec. 9 : Authorities in Pakistan are refusing to confirm or deny the arrest of Lashkar commander and Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi.

A senior Pakistani security official first said that Lakhvi, an operational commander for Lashkar, was among the dozen Jamaat-ud-Dawa activists arrested, but later backed away from the assertion.

Islamabad, Dec. 9: With the Pakistan Government ordering a crackdown on the banned Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant group and its political wing, the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, which are being suspected for masterminding last month’s terrorist attacks on Mumbai, an order has been issued to militant volunteers to leave Pakistan and take refuge in Afghanistan.

Washington, Dec. 9 : The United States has downplayed the two insurgent attacks on NATO military depots in Pakistan, describing the assaults as having an "insignificant" impact on the overall US and NATO military effort in Afghanistan.

"The overall impact on our logistical efforts to re-supply US forces, NATO forces, ISAF forces as well as Afghan forces has been small and has had an overall insignificant impact to date," the Daily Times quoted Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman, as saying.

"That said, we constantly are reviewing and adjusting our security procedures based on our own assessments of the environment. We are looking at ways to mitigate the effect of these attacks," he added.

Peshawar, Dec.8 :  The Pakistan and North West Frontier Province governments have ordered a probe into the attacks on three terminals of containers carrying goods for NATO forces.

Peshawar authorities were quoted by The News as saying that all three terminals have been sealed and a case has been registered in connection with the torching of Bilal Terminal.

Sources said that some unidentified miscreants last night hurled explosives on Bilal Terminal, which set the terminal afire, gutting scores of trucks and containers.

Muzaffarabad, Dec. 8 : The chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the political wing of the banned militant organization, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed has accused India of wanting to destroy Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Saeed told Geo News that the ongoing operation in Pakistan Kashmir was under Indian pressure, and this was unwarranted.

Saeed further said that the targeting of Kashmiri organizations without any proof was an expression of weakness.

London, Dec. 8 : The militants who killed Hindus, Christians and Jews in Mumbai have evidently seen the attack as a part of a struggle connecting India with Kashmir, America, Afghanistan and Britain, reports The Times.

The paper is of the view that the Mumbai outrage has raised the bar, again on the requirements for proof of Pakistan''s commitment to counter terrorism on or from its territory.