US prosecutors have charged the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, for the plot that killed seven CIA employees at an American base in Afghanistan last December, the US Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Mehsud was charged with conspiracy to kill Americans overseas and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.

On December 30, a Jordanian doctor who had gained the trust of the CIA employees detonated a bomb hidden under his clothing after entering the heavily fortified compound outside Khost. It was the second-most deadly attack in CIA history.

‘Criminal charges are meant to deal with Hakimullah if he's captured,’ said one US official who declined to be further identified. ‘He can face justice in other ways, too. That hasn't changed,’ eh added.

US military forces have tried to kill Mehsud since the attack with strikes by unmanned aerial drones. The State Department is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to his location.

After the attack, a video surfaced in which the bomber, identified as Jordanian Humam Khalil Abu Mulal al-Balawi, appeared with Mehsud claiming responsibility for the suicide bombing and stating that it was revenge for the killing of the group's leader Baitullah Mehsud.

Al-Balawi's legs were recovered from the scene of the blast and DNA testing helped identify him, according to the criminal complaint filed in US District Court for the District of Columbia. Six Americans were also injured in the attack.

The World Bank has increased funding to help Pakistan cope with catastrophic flooding by $100 million, to a total of $1 billion, the bank said in a statement on Wednesday.

‘The World Bank is committed to helping the people of Pakistan during this time of need and has made US$1 billion available to finance immediate recovery needs and longer-term reconstruction,’ the statement quoted World Bank President Robert Zoellick as telling Pakistani Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh in Washington.

The funds are being diverted to flood use from money already earmarked for Pakistan. They will come from the International Development Association, the bank's fund for the poorest countries, and are concessional and carry no interest payments, the statement said.

Zoellick also told Shaikh that continued economic, institutional and governance reforms were critical to maintaining donor confidence.

‘We need to respond strongly to the crisis at hand, but we need to do it without losing sight of important economic reforms,’ he was quoted as saying.

‘Renewed commitment to governance and fiscal reforms will be important to mobilize domestic revenues and ensure that funds reach the poor people it is intended for. The response of donors to the floods will also depend on the government's ability to deliver in this area,’ he said.

Shaikh is part of a delegation visiting Washington for discussions with the International Monetary Fund about Pakistan's $11 billion IMF loan program.

While vowing to remain on track with the 2008 IMF loan program, under which the country pledged to implement tax and energy sector reforms, the minister also said he would seek understanding from the international community about the troubles Pakistan faced from the catastrophic floods.

Pakistani Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said on Wednesday the country would register economic growth of just 2.5 percent in the year to June 2011 because of the impact of flooding, trimming an earlier 4.5 percent target.

Relief efforts in flood-ravaged Pakistan are being stretched by the ‘unprecedented scale’ of the disaster, while funding has almost stalled, the UN said today.

‘Given the number of those in need, this is a humanitarian operation of unprecedented scale,’ said Manuel Bessler, head of the UN's coordination agency, OCHA.

‘We need to reach at least eight million people, from the Karakoram Mountain Range in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south,’ he said.

The UN said 1,760 people have died as a result of the floods and more than 18 million people have been affected, with some eight million left reliant on aid handouts to survive.

The initially slow pace of funding had improved significantly since a visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on August 15, the UN said in a statement.

‘But it has been almost stalled since the beginning of last week,’ rising from just 274 million dollars to 291 million dollars, equivalent to 63.4 per cent of required funds, the statement said.

‘The crisis is far from over,’ said Tammy Hasselfeldt, chair of a Pakistan charity consortium. ‘In fact, we are now entering the most difficult stages. Unless we can act fast enough, children and other vulnerable people may succumb,’ he added.

At least 31 people including a child were killed and over 200 others injured in three bomb attacks near Karbala Gamay Shah on a procession taken out on Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the martyrdom of Hazrat Ali (RA).

Reacting violently to the explosions, people in the procession attacked a police building, set public property on fire and fought with riot police for more than an hour.

The blasts, two of which the police confirmed were suicide attacks, took place in a span of 20 minutes despite what appeared to be tight police security.

Witnesses said a suicide bomber blew himself up at a security barrier at Karbala Gamay Shah chowk at around 7pm when a large number of people were there after the culmination of the main procession.

According to the website of an Urdu newspaper, the group named Lashkar-i-Jhanghvi Al Aalmi claimed responsibility for the attack. Police said they had no information about any such claim.

The attack came at a time when all those connected with the procession must have been looking forward to relax after a day of fasting and mourning. They had broken the fast and the Maghrib prayers were to be offered.

The procession had reached the destination and the law-enforcement personnel must have heaved a sigh of relief at having seen the rally through.

The attack was followed five minutes later by another blast, said to be caused by a timed device, around the nearby Bhati chowk.

The third blast, again a suicide attack, took place at the traffic signal at the chowk.

People, including women and children, fled in all directions in panic.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (operations) Rao Sardar Ali Khan told a leading daily that the two bombers had exploded themselves after having been stopped at barriers by policemen. At least seven policemen were injured.

The DIG said police had found two skulls and limbs believed to be of the suicide bombers and sent them for forensic examination.

He said police were uncertain about the nature of the third blast which also could have been a suicide explosion.

He said police had anticipated that such attacks could take place and maximum security measures had been taken for the procession.

People started raising slogans against police after the second blast.

As soon as the third blast took place, they divided into groups, pelted police with stones and set government and private vehicles on fire.

A large number of policemen, who were also divided into groups to counter the protesters, first acted in a defensive manner. But after the mob let off a volley of stones on the Lower Mall police station and set some motorcycles and vehicles on fire, they hit back.

Riot police fired in the air to disperse the mob. The protesters damaged both gates and lights of the city division police building. Police managed to disperse the mob at about 8.30pm.

The protesters criticised police for failing to maintain security and chanted slogans against the PML-N leadership and the Punjab police.

Soon after the first blast, police cordoned off the area and did not allow people to leave.

Ambulances of Rescue 1122, Edhi and other services shifted the injured to the Mayo, Services and Ganga Ram hospitals where a state of emergency was declared.

The fires were extinguished after the protesters had been dispersed.

Some Rangers’ vehicles also arrived at the place.

Two cases have been registered by the New Anarkali and Bhatti Gate police under the Pakistan Penal Code and the Explosives and Anti-Terrorism Acts.

Police and Rangers personnel maintained strict security in the area till late in the night.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced a compensation of Rs 500,000 for the heirs of each of those killed and Rs 75,000 for each injured person.