Rafiq Tarar forced to quit?
Did Muhammad Rafiq Tarar resign as Pakistan President or was he forced to quit to pave the way for Gen. Pervez Musharraf to step into his shoes?

PM calls up Musharraf, looks forward to summit
Accepting Gen. Pervez Musharraf as the new Pakistan President, India has signalled that there would be no change in its approach to the Agra summit as a result of the political developments across the border today.

Fresh formulations on cards for Indo-Pak. talks
In the run-up to their summit, India and Pakistan are working on new ``win-win'' formulations which will address the Kashmir issue as well as New Delhi's concerns about cross-border infiltrations.

PM, Musharraf agree on conducive atmosphere
Pakistan's President and Chief Executive, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, has complained to the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, about provocative statements from New Delhi on the eve of the summit between them and has said that they did not help in creation of a proper atmosphere ahead of his visit to India.

Manipur MLAs to wait till Aug.1 to resign
Manipur legislators today said that they would resign en masse if the Centre did not withdraw the extension of Naga ceasefire to the State by August 1.

Militants driven out of mosque
In the third incident of its kind within a month, three militants temporarily took shelter in a mosque today while one of their associates was shot dead by security personnel just before entering the religious place in Kupwara town of north Kashmir.

SLMC may offer issue-based support
Sri Lanka today braced for a period of political uncertainty as a crucial ally of the ruling People's Alliance withdrew support to the Government, reducing it to a minority in Parliament.

Sanctions to go in stages
U.S. sanctions on India and Pakistan, imposed after both countries went nuclear in 1998, will not be lifted in one go and a decision on this issue will be taken on the basis of the U.S.'s relationship with the country.