Islamabad - More than a dozen people were killed in an airstrike carried out by a suspected US drone in Pakistan's tribal region along border with Afghanistan, security officials said.

"A US pilotless aircraft fired two guided missiles on the house of a person named Amanullah in Asori village of Mir Ali sub-district of North Waziristan," said a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Peshawar - Unknown gunmen on Friday abducted the brother of Afghan Finance Minister Anwarul Haq Ahadi in Pakistan's North-Western Frontier Province, his family said.

They said Ziaul Haq Ahdi was on his way home after Friday prayers at a mosque in the Hayatabag neighbourhood of Peshawar when four assailants riding a vehicle kidnapped him on gunpoint.

"We were informed about the incident by witnesses," his elder brother Israrul Haq told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

Israrul Haq has a permanent residence in Peshawar while his younger brother Ziaul Haq was visiting from Afghanistan.

Islamabad - At least 20 people, including five policemen and eight Taliban militants, were killed Friday in a suicide bombing and army airstrikes in Pakistan's tribal region and the neighboring North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), officials and media reports said.

A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the office of a senior police officer, killing five policemen and four civilians in NWFP.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Akhtar Ali Shah said the attack against a vehicle of his security escort took place when he was about to leave his office in Mardan, some 50 kilometres north-east of provincial capital Peshawar.

"I was the target of the attack," he told English-language Dawn news channel.

Islamabad - Pakistani authorities on Friday switched their focus from rescue efforts to providing relief aid for thousands of earthquake survivors, who are spending cold
nights under the open skies, officials said.

Soldiers aided people in remote villages ravaged by the shallow 6.4-magnitude earthquake that struck the northern and central parts of the gas-rich Balochistan province
early Wednesday.

Two days after the tragedy, the official death toll stood at 225 but the provincial Chief Minister Aslam Raeesani said it might cross 300.

"(The) bulk of the rescue work is over and operations have systematically entered the relief phase," said Major Ali Qasim, a military spokesman in Quetta, the capital of

Lahore, Oct 31 : Geoff Lawson believes his sacking as the Pakistan cricket coach had nothing to do with his performance but was influenced by political changes in the country and the change in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) set-up.

The former Australian bowler will return home on Friday after just over a year as coach of the national team.

The PCB cleared his financial dues with a final payment of 80,000 dollar, which included a bonus for guiding the national team into the final of the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last year.

Lawson had refused to leave until the PCB cleared all his payments and this was done on Monday by the board, the Daily Times reported.

Lahore, Oct 31 : The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is confident of getting all its stadiums ready to host the home series against India in January and February.

The board has decided to spend Rs. 800 million on refurbishing all five venues for the tour, which includes three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20.

Salim Altaf, the PCB’s director general, is confident the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will be ready in time to host the second Test and third one-dayer.

The venue was dropped from the Champions Trophy as the renovation work wasn’t complete and the ICC wasn’t convinced about the security situation there.

The tournament was eventually postponed due to security concerns, the Daily Times reported.