Pakistan made its first public appeal Friday for the Taliban to participate in peace talks with the Afghan government, a potentially significant move given Islamabad's perceived influence over the militants.

Inside a high-security air force complex that builds jet fighters and weapons systems, Pakistan's military is working on the latest addition to its sprawling commercial empire: a homegrown version of the iPad.

The Supreme Court charged Pakistan's prime minister with contempt Monday for defying its order to reopen an old corruption case against the president, sharpening a political crisis that has shaken this already volatile country.

Pakistan's Supreme Court vowed Thursday to charge the prime minister with contempt for his failure to reopen an old corruption case against the president, ramping up a destabilizing political crisis just as Washington seeks to rebuild a troubled anti-terror alliance with the country.

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's ruling party lobbied coalition partners on Friday for a vote of support as the government faces the most intense pressure from the powerful military since a 1999 coup.

Pakistan's prime minister telephoned the top British diplomat in the country this week expressing fears that the Pakistani army might be about to stage a coup, a British official and an official in Islamabad said Friday.

The U.S. Defense Department has neither sought nor received assurances that the Pakistani army will not stage a coup even though there is near-open conflict between the civilian and military leadership, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.

Pakistan's president left the country Thursday for what was described as a one-day private visit to Dubai, amid a deepening crisis between the government and the powerful military, officials said.

Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday warned it could disqualify both the president and prime minister from office for disobeying its orders to re-open high profile corruption cases.

Pakistan on Friday rejected a U.S. probe into the killing of 24 Pakistani soldiers, extending a crisis in its U.S. alliance now overshadowed by a showdown between the government and military in Islamabad.