Islamabad - An explosion ripped through a meeting of pro-government tribesmen in Pakistan's remote region along the border with Afghanistan on Thursday, leaving three people killed and more than 45 others injured, media reports said.

The blast took place when around 200 people from Salarzai tribe were holding a meeting to plan action against Taliban militants in Batmale village, some 50 kilometres from Khar, the main town of Bajaur tribal district.

Urdu-language Aaj news channel reported while citing official sources that the death toll was feared to rise as many of the wounded were in critical condition.

Khar (Pakistan), Nov 6: In a bid to flush out militants from the Bajaur Agency, Pakistani security forces bombed their hideouts with the help of gunship helicopters in overnight raids.

The raids took place in parts of Chaharmang in which several militants were reportedly killed, reported The News.

While fresh contingent of security forces have reached the troubled agency, security forces continued overnight shelling at pro-militants stronghold in Chaharmang, Nawagai and Mamond areas.

Islamabad, Nov 6 : The brother of a Pakistani national imprisoned in India has made an appeal to his country’s President and Prime Minister to take up the case of his brother’s detention with the Indian government and make immediate efforts for his release.

Ihtishamul Haq Khokar told media persons in Islamabad that his brother Rizwanul Haq Khokar alias Bobi was jailed in India for the last 13 years, reported the Daily Times.

According to him, Bobi, a resident of Lahore, had gone to India on a valid visa, “but the Indian police arrested him and made fake cases against him in 1996”.

He was released in 1999 but again arrested and since then he was in prison, maintained the brother.

United Nations, Nov 6: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will represent his country in an inter-faith conference to be held at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters in New York on November 12.

He would be among 30 world leaders, including Saudi King Abdullah, US President George W Bush and US President-elect Barack Obama at the inter-faith conference, the Daily Times quoted a UN spokesman as saying.

Lahore, Nov 6: Perhaps under ICC pressure against a proposal to appoint former Pakistan Test captain Salim Malik as the head coach of the National Cricket Academy (NCA), the PCB last evening said that it never appointed or offered to appoint him as the coach.

Malik, who had a life ban for alleged involvement in match-fixing overturned last month, had said on Tuesday that he had accepted an offer from the PCB to become head coach at the NCA.

Islamabad, Nov 6: The PPP-led federal government in Pakistan has reportedly decided to reinstate all government employees who were recruited between November 1993 and November 1996, i. e. the PPP’s previous regime, but sacked between November 1996 and December 1998, i. e. Nawaz Sharif’s regime.

These employees include those working in the Sui Southern Gas Company.