The Pakistan Cricket Board, in an unprecedented disciplinary action against senior team players on Wednesday banned for life former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan. PCB also banned another former captain Shoib Malik and all-rounder Rana Naved for one-year besides fining the latter duo Rs 20 lakhs each for various misdemeanours.

The PCB also fined flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi and the Akmal brothers- Kamran and Umar, Rs 30 lakhs. The trio would also be put under probation for the next six months.

PCB’s iron-handed treatment comes in wake of the recommendations of an inquiry committee formed to look into Pakistan's disastrous tour to Australia. Pakistan was wiped out 3-0 in a 3-Test series, 5-0 in a 5-match ODI series before losing the solitary Twenty20 as well during the 2-month long tour besotted by reports of growing indiscipline in the squad.

The measures represent some of the harshest punishments taken against Pakistan players and will further throw the composition of Pakistan's squad for the World Twenty20 into considerable disarray. None of the players, it is believed, are certain to make the 15-man squad for the tournament at this moment.

A six-man committee had completed its report last week and sent it to the PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt. The chairman held a meeting with the selection committee on Monday in which he briefed them on the contents of the inquiry committee's report.

At least five people including a woman have been killed and several others injured in a bomb explosion at a non-governmental organisation’s (NGO's) building in Mansehra on Wednesday.

According to reports, the bomb exploded inside the building of Vision World NGO killing a woman and four others.

Further details are awaited.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is scheduled to arrive for a two-day visit to Pakistan today and is likely to formally seek the extradition of Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar for trial in Afghanistan.

Baradar, the second most senior leader of the Afghan Taliban, was arrested last month by security agencies from Karachi and both the US and Afghanistan have expressed an interest to get hold of him.

Diplomatic sources said Karzai would explore the possibilities of extradition of Baradar to his country in an attempt to boost his sinking popularity over the war against Taliban, which many consider a lost cause.

They said the Afghan government had also expressed the desire to conduct Baradar’s trail in their country during a meeting of the interior ministers of the two countries in Islamabad last month. Interior Minister Rehman Malik assured his Afghan counterpart Muhammad Hanif Atmar that Pakistan would ‘consider’ any formal request by Afghanistan.

Sources also said that Karzai would seek Pakistan’s assistance in stepping up the process of reintegration and reconciliation with the Taliban, after Saudi Arabia refused to play any role in arranging a ‘deal’ with the Taliban.

During the London Conference on January 28, Karzai openly asked Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to help secure peace with the Taliban. He later paid a visit to the kingdom to meet King Abdullah in this regard, but the latter refused to be ‘dragged into the mess’.

The by-elections for one seat each of National Assembly and Balochistan Assembly and two seats of Punjab Assembly has begun on Wednesday at 8am which will continue without any break till 5pm.

According to details, the constituencies included NA-123 Lahore, PP-82 Jhang, PP-284 Bahawalnagar and BP-25 Jaffarabad where strict security measures have been adopted.

Punjab Chief Minister, Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif directed that foolproof security arrangements should be made for by-elections in the province and law and order should be ensured at any cost so that people could exercise their right of franchise in a peaceful atmosphere.

There are 50 contenders for the seat of National Assembly but the real contest is likely to be held among Pakistan Muslim League-N's Parvez Malik, Pakistan Tehrik e Insaf's Hamid Mairaj and Jamaat-e-Islami's Hafiz Salman Butt.

Pakistan Muslim Leauge-Q announced to support Jamaat-e-Islami's contender Hafiz Salman Butt.

Pakistan Peoples Party is contesting against Pakistan Muslim League-N at Jhang constituency.