Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif stepped up the pressure on President Pervez Musharraf, branding him a “traitor” and claiming that the ruling coalition had agreed to oust the former army strongman. Six Taliban insurgents were killed when their vehicle packed with explosives blew up in the Bajaur region. Residents claimed seeing a drone aircraft in the area shortly before the blast occurred. Two senior Taliban leaders, Mullah Obaidullah Akhund and Mullah Mansoor Dadullah, were freed along with “hundreds” of other insurgents to secure the release of Pakistani envoy to Afghanistan Tariq Azizuddin.
