The Taleban now control all but the far north of the country, which is the last stronghold of the ethnic Tajik commander Ahmed Shah Masood.

BBC: Analysis: Who are the Taleban?

"Just getting the macroeconomic fundamentals right isn't enough anymore, " says Masood Ahmed, head of the World Bank's Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Network.

CNN: CLOSING IN ON CRIME

The men, who were released, were Maulana Masood Azhar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Mushtaq Zargar.

BBC: Mumbai: A Pakistan militant link?