Islamabad, Nov 6: US ambassador in Islamabad Anne Patterson has reportedly said that the new US President-elect Barack Obama was “deeply interested” in promoting bilateral socio-economic relations with Pakistan.

After winning the Nov 4 presidential election, Obama was in a “better position” to support the country, the Daily Times quoted her as saying.

She also called the nomination and election of a young African-American as US president “the beauty of a transparent democratic process”.

Islamabad - Pakistan's president, premier and opposition leaders on Wednesday congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on his watershed win, saying they were looking forward to promoting peace and stability in the region with his cooperation.

"President Asif Ali Zardari has expressed the hope that Pakistan- US relations will be enhanced under the new American leadership that received a popular mandate in Tuesday's poll," said Husain Haqqani, Pakistan's ambassador to the United States, reported the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.

Wednesday Islamabad - As celebrations erupted in many parts of the world over the victory of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, people in Pakistan, a key US ally in the fight against terrorism, remained generally indifferent and even apprehensive.

"What difference does it make for us? His victory can be good for America, perhaps for many people around the world. But for us, he seems as bad as Bush," said Bilal Ahmad, 35, a shopkeeper in Islamabad's main commercial centre, known as the Blue Area.

Lahore, Nov 5 : The International Cricket Council (ICC) is all set to inquire into the appointment of Salim Malik, the former Pakistan captain, as the head coach of the country’s National Cricket Academy, according to an ICC spokesperson.

“We will write to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and ask them to explain after hearing media reports which say that Malik has been given a position of responsibility in the current Pakistan cricket set-up,” the spokesperson told a cricket website.

Islamabad, Nov 5 : New US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief General David Petraeus has said that he would think about Pakistan’s rising criticism of US missile strikes in its tribal areas.

“We got certain messages with each of those we talked today and some of those were very clear and we have to take those on board,” CNN quoted Petraeus as saying.

He further added that Pakistani leaders recognised the threat from extremism and were ‘very serious’ about dealing with it.

Islamabad- Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Wednesday congratulated US president-elect Barack Obama on his watershed win, saying he was looking forward to strengthening bilateral relations "to promote peace and stability in our region and beyond."