Washington, Aug. 4 : An MIT-trained Pakistani neuroscientist, accused of belonging to an al-Qaeda cell based in Boston, is alive and in American custody in Afghanistan, five years after she was reported missing.

“It has been confirmed by the FBI that Aafia Siddiqi is alive,” The News quoted Elaine Whitfield Sharp, a lawyer for Siddiqi’s family, as saying.

Sharp said she spoke to an FBI official on Thursday, who told her that Siddiqi is injured but alive, and that she is in Afghanistan.”

Islamabad, Aug. 4 : Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif will meet here on Tuesday in what is being touted as their last chance to save the Pakistan People’s Party-Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz coalition.

The News says that there is a possibility of the governance in Pakistan spiralling into a crisis and a political abyss in the event of the two leaders failing to iron out their differences on key issues, including the restoration of the sacked judges and the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf.

Washington, Aug.

Karachi, Aug. 4 : Gang wars and drug peddling activities are as healthy as ever in Karachi’s infamous Lyari area. The only change that appears visible is that now women are playing a vital role.

According to the Daily Times, they are being roped in for the above activities, and police say the day is not far off when they will be seen bearing arms and getting involved in clashes.

Last month, the Sindh Rangers and Police staged a joint operation that resulted in peace being restored to Lyari and other areas which were previously off-limits for uninvolved citizens.

Drug peddling, however, is tradition and is a major source of income for the people of Lyari and so it has proven impossible to eliminate completely.

Karachi, Aug. 4 : Describing the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) as Pakistan’s first line of defence, President Pervez Musharraf on Sunday rubbished allegations that it was involved in the July 7 bombing of the Indian Embassy in Kabul, and that it had a role to play in last week''s serial bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad.

Addressing businessmen in Karachi, Musharraf said that the people of Pakistan should defend Pakistan against such conspiracies, and warned that weakening the ISI would also weaken the global war on terror.

Lahore, Aug. 4: European intelligence chiefs have reportedly decided to explore and understand a new strategy by al-Qaeda to recruit and deploy female militants within the European Union.

The Daily Times quoted a London Observer report as saying that these female recruits were being used for a wide range of activities, including running logistics and propaganda activities to undertaking suicide bombing missions.

A diplomatic official connected with the investigation said: “This phenomenon has not been really taken into account yet and, we need to explore and understand it. It is a new strategy by Al Qaeda.”