Lahore, Mar. 15 : Former Pakistan Prime Minister and Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N) chief Nawaz Sharif was placed under house arrest at his Model Town residence on Sunday.

Restrictions on Sharif’s movement in and around the country were imposed a day before a planned “Long March” by politicians and lawyers’ into Islamabad from various parts of the country.

The Pakistan capital was under a state of high alert ahead of the march, and the government has asked the Army to remain on stand by.

Islamabad  - Pakistan's government Saturday announced a proposal that it hopes will calm growing political tensions in the nuclear-armed country.

The announcement came after US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton placed separate calls to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, in last-ditch efforts to end a stand-off between them over the restoration of a top judge sacked by former military strongman Pervez Musharraf in 2007.

Islamabad  - The Pakistani government has put its troops on standby ahead of a planned anti-government rally in Islamabad by opposition groups, an army spokesman said Saturday.

Major General Athar Abbas said the military had been formally asked to keep the troops ready. "These can be deployed in sensitive areas of some districts if the situation gets out of control," he added.

Islamabad - The Pakistani government has put its troops on standby ahead of a planned anti-government rally in Islamabad by opposition groups, an army spokesman said Saturday.

Major General Athar Abbas said the military had been formally asked to keep the troops ready. "These can be deployed in sensitive areas of some districts if the situation gets out of control," he added.

Karachi, Mar. 14 : The current political turmoil in Pakistan has not only raised questions about the stability of the democratic regime in the country, but it also has severely dented its economic growth.

According to an estimate, Pakistan is losing about three billion rupees daily due to the political chaos, as the lawyers' protest march has paralysed routine business and foreign trade in most parts of the country.

Lahore, Mar. 14 : The US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, Admiral Michael Mullen has rebuked the notion that Pakistan is headed for another bout of military rule, but accepted that the Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani is in a `tight spot' amidst the on-going political pandemonium in the country.

Mullen said that he had talks with the Pak army chief several times in the recent past, and Kayani has assured him that he is committed to a civilian government in the country.