Pakistani security forces on Friday killed more than 24 militants in a nationwide crackdown, a day after an ISIS suicide bomber blew himself up in Sufi shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sindh's Sehwan, claiming 76 lives.

Paramilitary Sindh Rangers today said they killed 18 terrorists in overnight operations in the southern province.

According to Rangers, seven terrorists were killed in a shootout after they attacked a convoy of the paramilitary troops on the Super Highway near Kathor, Sindh.

The convoy was returning from Sehwan town after taking part in rescue operations. A soldier was also injured.

Another 11 terrorists were killed in a raid carried out in Manghopir area of Karachi, according to Rangers.

Separately, police in northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa said they have killed 11 extremist in the restive province.

According to a security official, police killed three terrorists in Reggi area of Peshawar, while army targeted and killed four militants in Orakzai tribal region.

Another four militants were killed in exchange of fire in in Bannu area of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Official said the crackdown would be intensified in the coming days as government had resolved to eliminate militancy.

The crackdown was launched simultaneously by the federal and provincial governments after at least eight terror attacks rocked Pakistan since the weekend, killing dozens.

A high-level meeting this week chaired by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif agreed that militants posing threat to national security should be "liquidated".

Several persons injured in shrine blast are in critical condition and they will be shifted to Karachi, officials said.

The army said that the armed forces had placed all required resources to facilitate the rescue effort. Pakistan Army and Rangers assisted with rescue efforts at the site.

The ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack on their Aamaq news agency, saying a suicide bomber had targeted a "Shiite gathering" at the shrine in Sindh.

The shrine has been sealed and police have collected initial evidence and secured CCTV footage.

The fresh wave of terror attacks started when a suicide bomber attacked a protest rally outside the Punjab assembly in Lahore on Monday killing 14 people and injuring dozens.

On the same day, a terrorist attack was foiled in Quetta but two officials of the Bomb Disposal Squad were killed diffusing a bomb under a bridge in Quetta.

Terrorists also carried out attacks in Mohmand agency and Peshawar followed by shrine blast in Sindh.

The government on Friday said it is keeping a close watch on some companies trying to create an artificial shortage of life-saving coronary stents and stringent action will be taken against those engaging in unethical practices.

There are reports of shortages of stents in hospitals after the government reduced their prices by up to 85 per cent by capping rates of bare metal stents at Rs.7,260 and drug-eluting ones at Rs.29,600 on February 13.

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), Drug Controller General India (DCGI) as well as the Health Ministry have been asked to ensure compliance of price-capping and adequate availability of coronary stents in the market at the earliest.

"We are keeping an eye on all those who are engaging in unethical practices such as creating an artificial shortage of stents, not abiding by the fixed ceiling price etc., against whom strict action will be taken," Pharma Secretary Jai Priye Prakash said.

The government would take all steps to ensure that there is an adequate supply of coronary stents for cardiac patients in the country, he added.

The Department of Pharmaceuticals has written separately to the NPPA, DCGI and Healthy Ministry, requesting them to take "necessary action" to curb the artificial shortage.

"…NPPA, on February 13, has fixed the ceiling prices of coronary stents. There are some reports regarding a shortage of coronary stents in the markets/hospitals.

"It is, therefore, requested that necessary action may be taken under paragraph 21 of the Drugs (Prices Control) Order, 2013 (DPCO, 2013) to ensure an adequate availability of coronary stents at the earliest," it said in its letter.

To implement the price cap, some manufacturers, distributors and importers are withdrawing cardiac stents from hospitals in the name of re-labelling, thereby creating an artificial shortage.

A team of Australian scientists are using a world-first approach combining three-dimensional (3D) printing and virtual reality (VR) to bring a dinosaur "back to life".

Palaeontologists at a site in New South Wales state near the Great Ocean Road have uncovered more than 200 bits of bones of the wallaby-like leaellynasaura, an ornithopod native to Australia, in just 12 days, Xinhua news agency reported.

Meanwhile, mechatronics students from Deakin University are using the bones uncovered to create a 3D model of the dinosaur on a computer which will eventually be printed.

When completed, the project will be displayed at Geelong's National Wool Museum.

Experts from Deakin's Virtual Reality Lab will then create a VR experience to make the tactile 3D-printed model of the dinosaur appear real.

Ben Hornan, a co-founder of the project, said he hoped the experience would further the general population's knowledge of dinosaurs that once roamed Australia.

"We're looking at how we can use virtual reality and 3D printing to help with providing educational experiences in a museum context," Horan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) on Friday.

"So we are doing experiments on how we can best print dinosaur-like skin so people will not just feel the geometry, the size and the scale but also the contour of the skin as well."

Researchers believe they will be able to replicate the skin of a leaellynasaura by scanning a blue tongue lizard, which has scaly skin similar to that of the dinosaur, and 3D-printing its scales.

The leaellynasaura was a small herbivore and was thus understood to be a shy dinosaur, so participants who put the VR glasses on will be warned to approach it with care.

Patricia Vickers-Rich, the scientists who discovered the leaellynasaura in the 1980s, said the project was an exciting new way to communicate her work.

Four more persons died after they consumed "adulterated liquor" at the dinner party of a candidate, who contested the local body election in district's Pangarmal village, police said.

The toll in the incident has reached seven with the death of Shahadev Avhad last morning, assistant civil surgeon Dr Bapusaheb Gadhe saidon Friday.

Three persons had died after they had consumed liquor in excess at the party hosted by a Shiv Sena candidate on Sunday. On Monday morning, some persons (who attended the dinner) started complaining of vomiting and loose motions and were rushed to a nearby hospital where three of them died.

Police had initially ruled out hooch consumption.

"So far, seven people have died after consuming adulterated liquor at the party and few more are undergoing treatment," Deputy Superintendent of Police Ghanshayam Patil said.

The three persons, who were booked in this connection – Zakeer Shaikh, Hanif Shaikh and Jitu Gambhir – were produced before a court on Thursday which remanded in police custody till February 20.

Meanwhile, the villagers of Panagarmal boycotted the Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti polls held on Thursday for 15 ZPs and 165 Panchayat Samitis across Maharashtra.

Panagarmal recorded 'zero voting' and the villagers did not exercise their franchise despite being requested by Tehasildar Sudhir Patil, assistant election officer Arun Anandkar said.

The angry locals demanded immediate compensation for the families of the victims and those hospitalised.

Farhan Akhtar’s upcoming movie set is already talk of the town for its larger than life detailed design.

The huge Film City studio in Mumbai’s Goregaon is popular for its massive sets and at the moment, houses Lucknow Central’s set.

Interestingly, spread across nearly two acres, the set has been designed as Lucknow. The 2 acre set is designed to recreate Lucknow jail on such a huge landscape.

“A great amount of research went into recreating a jail,” Amit Ray, the set’s designer said.

The designer also said that he wanted to make the jail look huge and scary and hence the makers kickstarted with the layout, drawings and fashioned few 3D models and nearly took three months to be completed.

Lucknow Central has already been generating interest among Farhan’s fans as they eagerly await the film’s release.

Audiences are keen on watching Farhan through this amazing movie lined up on his kitty.

Produced by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures, the film is directed by Ranjit Tiwari.

At least 25 school children were injured on Friday when their school bus skidded off the mountain road in Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, police said.

The mini bus was going to school when it skidded off the road in Dehar near Sundernagar town, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Bhatia said.

He said two students, who grievouly injured, have been referred to a government hospital in Mandi town and others with minor injuries have been admitted in a civil hospital in Sundernagar.The students were from Vivekanand Public School at Dehar.

Eye witnesses told police that the bus driver probably lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn.

The accident spot is some 100 km from the state capital.

At least 25 school children were injured on Friday when their school bus skidded off the mountain road in Mandi district in Himachal Pradesh, police said.

The mini bus was going to school when it skidded off the road in Dehar near Sundernagar town, Deputy Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Bhatia said.

He said two students, who grievouly injured, have been referred to a government hospital in Mandi town and others with minor injuries have been admitted in a civil hospital in Sundernagar.The students were from Vivekanand Public School at Dehar.

Eye witnesses told police that the bus driver probably lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn.

The accident spot is some 100 km from the state capital.

Reserve Bank Governor Urjit Patel on Friday said India's economic growth will make a "sharp V" recovery following the recall of old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.

Patel also made a strong case for continuing with globalisation even in the face of a potential shift to trade protectionism under US President Donald Trump as India has benefited from open trade.

"Almost everyone agrees that the impact is going to be a sharp 'V', that we would have a downgrade of growth for a short period of time," he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

"However, the remonetisation has happened at a fast pace and that was part of the plan."

RBI last week lowered economic growth for the current fiscal to 6.9 per cent from the previously projected 7.1 per cent, but saw it bouncing back in a big way to 7.4 per cent in 2017-18.

He said the benefit of junking 86 per cent of currency in circulation will take time to fully play out and needs more work to ensure they are lasting.

Asked when India could achieve 9 per cent GDP growth, he said it is difficult to predict sustainable growth rates.

Higher growth rate is possible if very fundamental reforms, especially in factors of production like land and labour, are undertaken, the Governor said.

"Now how much higher than 7.5 that we are achieving so far is difficult to say. But the fact is we need to grow at some point faster than we are now," he said. "I think 7.5 per cent growth rate is not something to be disappointed about."

The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) headed by Patel had last week kept interest rates unchanged at 6.25 per cent for the second straight meeting and changed policy stance to 'neutral' from 'accommodative'.

The change in stance, he said, gives more flexibility to cut, raise or hold rates as compared with an accommodative one on inflation outlook.

"The best way that central bank can support growth on a durable basis is to ensure inflation is low, stable, there is financial stability and that is the role the central bank plays. Very few countries grow at high growth rate if inflation is high and volatile. So, I think we are doing our bit to support higher growth rate, but on a durable basis," he said.

The RBI Governor expressed concern over the US moving towards protectionism under Trump.

"I think it is a cause of concern for the world, I think it is a cause of concern for the emerging markets in terms of creating financial volatility. I don't think anyone will be safeguarded from it. We have to manage this as it plays out," he said. 

Reserve Bank Governor Urjit Patel on Friday said India's economic growth will make a "sharp V" recovery following the recall of old 500 and 1,000 rupee notes.

Patel also made a strong case for continuing with globalisation even in the face of a potential shift to trade protectionism under US President Donald Trump as India has benefited from open trade.

"Almost everyone agrees that the impact is going to be a sharp 'V', that we would have a downgrade of growth for a short period of time," he told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

"However, the remonetisation has happened at a fast pace and that was part of the plan."

RBI last week lowered economic growth for the current fiscal to 6.9 per cent from the previously projected 7.1 per cent, but saw it bouncing back in a big way to 7.4 per cent in 2017-18.

He said the benefit of junking 86 per cent of currency in circulation will take time to fully play out and needs more work to ensure they are lasting.

Asked when India could achieve 9 per cent GDP growth, he said it is difficult to predict sustainable growth rates.

Higher growth rate is possible if very fundamental reforms, especially in factors of production like land and labour, are undertaken, the Governor said.

"Now how much higher than 7.5 that we are achieving so far is difficult to say. But the fact is we need to grow at some point faster than we are now," he said. "I think 7.5 per cent growth rate is not something to be disappointed about."

The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) headed by Patel had last week kept interest rates unchanged at 6.25 per cent for the second straight meeting and changed policy stance to 'neutral' from 'accommodative'.

The change in stance, he said, gives more flexibility to cut, raise or hold rates as compared with an accommodative one on inflation outlook.

"The best way that central bank can support growth on a durable basis is to ensure inflation is low, stable, there is financial stability and that is the role the central bank plays. Very few countries grow at high growth rate if inflation is high and volatile. So, I think we are doing our bit to support higher growth rate, but on a durable basis," he said.

The RBI Governor expressed concern over the US moving towards protectionism under Trump.

"I think it is a cause of concern for the world, I think it is a cause of concern for the emerging markets in terms of creating financial volatility. I don't think anyone will be safeguarded from it. We have to manage this as it plays out," he said. 

There was huge improvement in the night temperature across Kashmir division, including Ladakh region, even as some places in the Valley received rains overnight.

The Meteorological Department (MeT) has forecast scattered to widespread rainfall or snow over five days from Friday.

The minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir settled above the freezing point on Thursday night, a MeT official here said.

The mercury has continuously marked upward movement in the last few days owing to overcast conditions.

The official said many places in the Valley received rains overnight, but there were no reports of snowfall anywhere.

The mercury in Srinagar settled at a low of 5.1 degrees up by nearly two degrees from the previous night's 3.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Qazigund, the gateway town to the valley, registered the minimum temperature of 2.6 degrees, a notch above from the previous night.

The north Kashmir town of Kupwara registered a low of 2.5 degrees and Kokernag in south recorded a low of 3.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.

The health resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of 0.7 degrees, while the mercury at the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north settled at minus 1.0 degrees Celsius, over two degrees up from Thursday.

The official said Gulmarg was the only place in the valley where the mercury stayed below the freezing point.

Leh, in Ladakh region, also recorded a low of minus 1.0 degrees, an increase of over six degrees from the previous night's minus 5.6 degrees Celsius.

The nearby Kargil town was the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of minus 4.8 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous night's minus 7.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.

There was huge improvement in the night temperature across Kashmir division, including Ladakh region, even as some places in the Valley received rains overnight.

The Meteorological Department (MeT) has forecast scattered to widespread rainfall or snow over five days from Friday.

The minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir settled above the freezing point on Thursday night, a MeT official here said.

The mercury has continuously marked upward movement in the last few days owing to overcast conditions.

The official said many places in the Valley received rains overnight, but there were no reports of snowfall anywhere.

The mercury in Srinagar settled at a low of 5.1 degrees up by nearly two degrees from the previous night's 3.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Qazigund, the gateway town to the valley, registered the minimum temperature of 2.6 degrees, a notch above from the previous night.

The north Kashmir town of Kupwara registered a low of 2.5 degrees and Kokernag in south recorded a low of 3.8 degrees Celsius, the official said.

The health resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of 0.7 degrees, while the mercury at the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north settled at minus 1.0 degrees Celsius, over two degrees up from Thursday.

The official said Gulmarg was the only place in the valley where the mercury stayed below the freezing point.

Leh, in Ladakh region, also recorded a low of minus 1.0 degrees, an increase of over six degrees from the previous night's minus 5.6 degrees Celsius.

The nearby Kargil town was the coldest recorded place in the state with a low of minus 4.8 degrees Celsius, compared to the previous night's minus 7.5 degrees Celsius, the official said.

Bellandur Lake in Bangalore caught fire on Thursday and covered the city with toxic clouds, triggering panic among residents.

“Garbage and debris that are dumped in the lake caused fire,” sources said, adding,”The residents have often complained about dump waste in the lake”.

The state pollution board has also issued notices to various local bodies to stop dumping waste in the lake, according to reports.

"Usually, a pile of garbage strewn around the lake is set on fire, but yesterday (Thursday) it caused a scare among residents and motorists as the smoke started billowing and surrounding the lake in the evening," KU Ramesh, deputy director at Karnataka Fire Department, said.

Some angry residents of the city took to Twitter to express their anger at the condition of Bengaluru lakes.

“Here's a tragic sight that sums up exploitation n killing of Bengaluru,” Rajeev Chandrasekhar tweeted.

“Wake up CM of Karnataka, You guys are killing the citizens of Bangalore,” Kashyap, another Bangalore resident, wrote.

Supporting Chandrasekhar and Kashyap's concerns, another Twitteratti, Rahul Raj said, “Fire, smoke, garbage and pollution around Bellandur Lake in Bengaluru. The city used to be so clean. We have become immune to slow death”.

“That smoke is not from a forest fire or even a blast. It is a Bengaluru lake ON FIRE. AGAIN,” one resident Dhanya Rajendran tweeted.

Bellandur Lake in Bangalore caught fire on Thursday and covered the city with toxic clouds, triggering panic among residents.

“Garbage and debris that are dumped in the lake caused fire,” sources said, adding,”The residents have often complained about dump waste in the lake”.

The state pollution board has also issued notices to various local bodies to stop dumping waste in the lake, according to reports.

"Usually, a pile of garbage strewn around the lake is set on fire, but yesterday (Thursday) it caused a scare among residents and motorists as the smoke started billowing and surrounding the lake in the evening," KU Ramesh, deputy director at Karnataka Fire Department, said.

Some angry residents of the city took to Twitter to express their anger at the condition of Bengaluru lakes.

“Here's a tragic sight that sums up exploitation n killing of Bengaluru,” Rajeev Chandrasekhar tweeted.

“Wake up CM of Karnataka, You guys are killing the citizens of Bangalore,” Kashyap, another Bangalore resident, wrote.

Supporting Chandrasekhar and Kashyap's concerns, another Twitteratti, Rahul Raj said, “Fire, smoke, garbage and pollution around Bellandur Lake in Bengaluru. The city used to be so clean. We have become immune to slow death”.

“That smoke is not from a forest fire or even a blast. It is a Bengaluru lake ON FIRE. AGAIN,” one resident Dhanya Rajendran tweeted.

Stocks clocked a fresh 5-month high on Friday as investors bought heavily into HDFC Bank after a small trading window opened for foreigners to buy into one of the most stable and rewarding stocks in India.

HDFC Bank, India's most valuable lender, jumped 6.7 per cent to a record high after the Reserve Bank of India removed the private lender from its list of stocks banned for foreigners to raise their stake further. A recent allotment of ESOPs by the management to local staff led to the overall foreign stake falling in HDFC Bank to 72 per cent from the earlier 74 per cent. Thus, it gave foreign funds got a rare chance to buy up to 2 per cent equity in the private bank. The RBI generally keeps a 2 per cent buffer before loosening the limit. As a consequence, HDFC Bank soared 89 rupees to 1,418 rupees with Rupees 11,000 crore worth of shares changing hands in the first 2 hours of trade.

The Nifty, meanwhile, jumped 51 points to 8,828 points to its highest level since September 23. The rally came mostly on the bank of private banks such as Kotak and IndusInd Bank and NBFCs such as HDFC.

Here are the major events of the trading day:

* The Sensex gains for a second session on Friday. The index adds 213 points to 28,514 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange with HDFC Bank being the top gainer as also the most traded stock. TCS lost the most on the Sensex.

* HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC, BPCL and IndusInd Bank rose 1.5-6.8 per cent. They were among 23 stocks that gained on the Nifty.

* On the losing side were Bharti Infratel, Hindalco, Idea, BHEL and Eicher Motors. They dropped 1.5-3.1 per cent and were among 28 decliners on the Nifty.

* HDFC Bank dominated the list of most active shares by volume and value. Nearly 7.7 crore HDFC Bank shares were traded valued at more than Rs. 11,000 crore. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Cadila and Kotak Bank were heavily traded too.

* JP Associates, Idea, Federal Bank and ICICI Bank were also on the list of most active securities by volume.

* The Nifty 100, 200 and 500 indices rose smartly in trade, adding more than 0.5 per cent each. There were similar gains on the mid cap and small cap counters.

* The trend was mixed in the sectoral space with mild profit booking seen on auto, software, metals and PSU banking shares. Strong gains were seen on the Bank Nifty, private banks and the pharma sector.

* Sentiment remained bullish in the wider market after 986 shares rose compared to 581 that fell.

Stocks clocked a fresh 5-month high on Friday as investors bought heavily into HDFC Bank after a small trading window opened for foreigners to buy into one of the most stable and rewarding stocks in India.

HDFC Bank, India's most valuable lender, jumped 6.7 per cent to a record high after the Reserve Bank of India removed the private lender from its list of stocks banned for foreigners to raise their stake further. A recent allotment of ESOPs by the management to local staff led to the overall foreign stake falling in HDFC Bank to 72 per cent from the earlier 74 per cent. Thus, it gave foreign funds got a rare chance to buy up to 2 per cent equity in the private bank. The RBI generally keeps a 2 per cent buffer before loosening the limit. As a consequence, HDFC Bank soared 89 rupees to 1,418 rupees with Rupees 11,000 crore worth of shares changing hands in the first 2 hours of trade.

The Nifty, meanwhile, jumped 51 points to 8,828 points to its highest level since September 23. The rally came mostly on the bank of private banks such as Kotak and IndusInd Bank and NBFCs such as HDFC.

Here are the major events of the trading day:

* The Sensex gains for a second session on Friday. The index adds 213 points to 28,514 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange with HDFC Bank being the top gainer as also the most traded stock. TCS lost the most on the Sensex.

* HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma, HDFC, BPCL and IndusInd Bank rose 1.5-6.8 per cent. They were among 23 stocks that gained on the Nifty.

* On the losing side were Bharti Infratel, Hindalco, Idea, BHEL and Eicher Motors. They dropped 1.5-3.1 per cent and were among 28 decliners on the Nifty.

* HDFC Bank dominated the list of most active shares by volume and value. Nearly 7.7 crore HDFC Bank shares were traded valued at more than Rs. 11,000 crore. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Cadila and Kotak Bank were heavily traded too.

* JP Associates, Idea, Federal Bank and ICICI Bank were also on the list of most active securities by volume.

* The Nifty 100, 200 and 500 indices rose smartly in trade, adding more than 0.5 per cent each. There were similar gains on the mid cap and small cap counters.

* The trend was mixed in the sectoral space with mild profit booking seen on auto, software, metals and PSU banking shares. Strong gains were seen on the Bank Nifty, private banks and the pharma sector.

* Sentiment remained bullish in the wider market after 986 shares rose compared to 581 that fell.

Applauding the security printing presses for their efficiency, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said that while people were estimating that it will take a year or seven months for printing adequate number of notes, the situation was normalised in a few weeks.

"People used to guess it will take a year or seven months for remonetisation. But in a few weeks things were normalised," Jaitley said here at the 11th Foundation Day function of the Security Printing Minting Corporation of India Limited (SPMCIL).

"To maintain the supply line of notes, SPMCIL and the Reserve Bank of India printing presses did a commendable job," he added.