The transition, after eight years of military-led rule under President Pervez Musharraf, an important US ally in its war on terrorism, is happening at the worst of times. Asif Ali Zardari is struggling to fill the void left by the

The building collapsed before dawn yesterday. Rescuers recovered the bodies of two boys aged two and 14 and six adults. Police said authorities would investigate why the two-year-old building caved in.

Police in white jumpsuits made fingertip searches through the night to find clues after Sunday's blast, which targeted a crowd of policemen guarding the rally by thousands of hardline Islamists in the Pakistani capital. There was no immediate claim of

The powerful blast, which was heard from several kilometres away, occurred as a large crowd of slogan shouting and flag waving people, including madrassa students and outlawed extremist groups like the Sipah-e-Sahaba and Jaish-e-Mohammed, began dispersing at about 7.50 PM.

We have 11 policemen dead and it appears to be a suicide attack," the senior security official said. "The blast happened 15 minutes after the meeting dispersed. A heavy contingent of police was at a main crossing several hundred metres

In the latest apparent revenge attack, the powerful blast, heard several kilometres away, occurred as thousands of Islamic hardliners demanding public hanging of President Pervez Musharraf at the rally were dispersing at about 7.50 PM(localtime). Rehman Malik, Advisor to the