Robert Gates said there had been contacts between US and Taliban….

"There s been outreach on the part of a number of countries, including the United States. I would say that these contacts are very preliminary at this point," US Defence Secretary.

The comments from the outgoing US defense chief were aired a day after Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the United States was in contact with the Taliban, a striking public acknowledgment of a peace initiative that has been cloaked with secrecy.

United Nations splits Taliban and Al Qaeda on sanctions list…..

The United States wants to bring Taliban to negotiation table at the end of this year.

 The UN Security Council has split the UN sanctions list for Taliban and Al Qaeda figures into two to bring the former to negotiation table.

two explosions rocked Peshawar, PAKISTAN.....

34 people were killed 100 injured when two explosions rocked Peshawar late Saturday night.

A senior police official Dost Mohammed says a small blast went off just after midnight Sunday that drew rescue workers and police to the site.

UK supports dialogues with Taliban......

India has no role in Afghan security issues, says UK Ambassador to Afghanistan William Patey.

 Patey called on the National Assembly Standing Committee on foreign Affairs. He said that afghan people considered that Pakistan’s role was vital than India. He admitted Pakistan’s reservations on India’s interference in Afghanistan.

 They also discussed Pakistan role in war on terror. The UK envoy to Pakistan was also present on the occasion.      

US gave list of 5 most wanted militants list to Pakistan....

 As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Pakistan Friday, the United States gave Islamabad a list of terrorist leaders it wants joint operation against them, officials said.
The list includes Osama bin Laden deputy Ayman al Zawahiri, along with Siraj Haqqani of the Haqqani network, Ilyas Kashmiri, the head of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami and suspected al-Qaida leader, and Atiya Abdel Rahman, al-Qaida operations chief, the US TV reported, citing unnamed officials from both governments.

Afghan district captured by Taliban....

The defense ministry said that Afghan commandos had reclaimed the district.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters attacked and briefly seized parts of a district in Afghanistan s remote and mountainous northeast on Wednesday, provincial officials said, with gunfights raging for hours between insurgents and Afghan troops.

Jamuladdin Badr, the governor of Nuristan province near the border with Pakistan, told Reuters the Duab district center had "fallen into the hands of insurgents," but most of it was recaptured within hours by Afghan troops.

5 BLASTS IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN ....

About 10 terrorists storm PNS Mehran building, naval commandos start operation.

            According to sources, there were around 5 blasts which were followed by gunshots and smoke clouds and huge flames could be seen on the site.

PRESIDENT OBAMA SAYS REPEAT OPERATION IN PAKISTAN......

US President Barack Obama has said he would order a similar operation to that which killed Osama Bin Laden if another militant leader was found in Pakistan.

He said the US was mindful of Pakistani sovereignty but said the US could not allow "active plans to come to fruition without us taking some action".

United States has stepped up direct talks with the Afghan Taliban....

The United States has stepped up direct talks with the Afghan Taliban for a political settlement. A US newspaper reported that the Obama administration was directly engaged in negotiating with Taliban and discarded the option of Pakistan’s mediation by calling it “unnecessary.” A US representative attended three meetings in Qatar and Germany, with a Taliban official considered close to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the report said.

            It said that Washington was hoping to make progress in these talks before July, when President BarackObama announces the first troop withdrawals from Afghanistan, part of a process of handing over responsibilities to Afghan forces by 2014.