Lahore, Feb. 11 : Banned Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif may have something to cheer as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hinted that he may regain his spot in the national squad after completion of the penalty imposed by the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"Mohammad Asif may regain his place in the Pakistan cricket team after his one-year ban ends while he may also be included in central contract," The News quoted, PCB chief Ijaz Butt, as saying.

Islamabad - A provincial lawmaker and eight more people were injured Wednesday in a blast in Pakistan's troubled north-west, as US Special Representative Richard Holbrooke visited the region for security talks, officials and police said.

Alam Zaib, who belongs to the secular Awami National Party (ANP), was moved to the hospital in critical condition after his car was hit by a roadside bomb in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province, party spokesman Zahid Khan said.

Peshawar, Feb. 11 : Awami National Party (ANP) leader Alam Zeb Khan, along with eight other persons were injured in a bomb blast which rocked the Momin Town area here on Wednesday.

Police sources said that the bomb was planted in a motorcycle, which wentoff injuring the leader and other passerbys.

People wounded in the blast have been admitted to Lady Reading Hospital, where the condition of six persons is stated to be serious, The News reports.

Karachi, Feb. 11: Veteran Pakistan politician and President Asif Ali Zardari's father Hakim Ali Zardari, has been taken to London for specialized medical attention.

Zardari senior has been in bad health for some time.

Doctors attending him said his condition was better than before and asked him to seek views from more experienced doctors in London, The News reports.

Islamabad, Feb. 11 : The Pakistan Senate's Standing Committee on Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis on Tuesday criticized the Foreign Office for its `inability' to help the country's troubled nationals working abroad.

It was observed that the Foreign Office continued to remain on the defensive stand and was "unable to convince the International community of Pakistan's innocence throughout the Mumbai terror attacks and its aftermath, the Daily Times reports.

"The Foreign Office should take a leaf out of the book of foreign diplomats, who are always ready to help their citizens in all sorts of situations. It is wrong to assume that every Pakistani abroad is an illegal resident or an alien," said the committee's members.

Islamabad, Feb. 11: Pakistan expects more from the United States in return for its cooperation against al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and this message was amply conveyed to President Obama's Special Envoy on Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke during his meetings with the leadership here.