Pakistani opposition leader Imran Khan backed down from a threat to paralyse the capital on Wednesday, a move likely to ease tension that has spilled over into violence in the run-up to the planned protests.
Pakistani police Sunday arrested more than 100 supporters of opposition politician Imran Khan who entered Islamabad days before a planned protest shutdown of the capital, the interior minister said.
A top Pakistani official has said for the first time publicly that the Afghan Taliban's leadership enjoys a safe haven inside his country, which Islamabad uses as a "lever" to pressure the group into talks with Kabul.
A Taliban suicide bomber struck a police base in central Kabul, killing at least nine people just days before a fresh round of international talks aimed at reviving dialogue with the Islamist group.
Pakistan announced this week that authorities have executed 332 criminals and militants since lifting a moratorium on the death penalty in 2014, marking the first time an official tally has been released.
