Khan said Zardari does not want to 'ruffle any feathers in New Delhi' or blame India for being involved through Afghanistan for terrorist attacks in Pakistan. 'He basically does what Americans want him to do. He is petrified of anything where he would get Americans upset,' Khan told his biographer Frank Huzur in an interview.
Pakistan and China on Monday signed an agreement to hand over control of the strategic Gwadar deep sea port to a Chinese company, with President Asif Ali Zardari saying the move would give new impetus to bilateral relations and economic cooperation.
The ruling Pakistan People's Party has authorised Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to dissolve his jumbo cabinet and form a smaller council of ministers amid demands for political reforms from the opposition and international donors.
Pakistan's top leadership has re-affirmed its support for the people of Kashmir, saying confidence-building measures initiated with India should lead to the resolution of the dragging dispute over the region. In messages issued on the occasion of Kashmir Solidarity Day that is observed on February 5 every year, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf reiterated Pakistan's political, moral and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people.
President Asif Ali Zardari has said that Pakistan will not allow its territory to be used against India for any acts of terror and is ready to cooperate with it to punish the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attacks. "Pakistan is ready to cooperate with India to punish the perpetrators of the terror attacks in Mumbai. Pakistan has assured that it would not allow its territory to be used against India for any acts of terror," Zardari told the Financial Times.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari does not believe that India's demand to take action against Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, the mastermind of the terror attacks on Mumbai, is a 'major hurdle' and was hopeful that relations would be normalised soon between the two neighbours."I don't think the issue of Hafiz Saeed is a major hurdle in the normalisation of our relations. I am hopeful that ties between the two countries will be restored very soon," Zardari said.
Pakistan Premier Raja Pervez Ashraf on Wednesday got a temporary reprieve as the Supreme Court extended till August 8 the deadline for him to approach Swiss authorities to revive graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, a case that had cost his predecessor his job
A bill aimed at making the Inter-Services Intelligence more accountable to Parliament and government has been withdrawn from the Senate by the Presidential Spokesman, who had submitted it in his private capacity, Farhatullah Babar, the spokesman of President Asif Ali Zardari, had submitted the bill to the upper house of Parliament last week.
India is among the 12 countries invited by Pakistan to participate in a regional ministerial conference on countering narcotics trafficking that is being hosted by Islamabad next week.
Pakistan on Sunday sought the support of SAARC countries in fighting the menace of illegal drugs, that were being used as a "weapon of war", as parliamentary delegations from India and other members gathered for a meeting of the regional grouping.
The name of the Pakistan People's Party's nominee for the office of the prime minister will be announced at a press conference at 11 am on Friday, presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said on Thursday.
Holbrooke declared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday, "We do not think that Pakistan is a failed State. We think it's a State under extreme test from the enemies who are also our enemies and who have the same common enemy -- the United States and Pakistan. It just isn't (a failed State). But it is a State under enormous social, political and economic pressure. And India is always a factor."
An "emotional" Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari expressed happiness while his powerful army chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani was left "shocked" and demanded a public explanation from American President Barack Obama when the United States told them about Osama Bin Laden's killing in Abbottabad.
Pakistan's Anti-Narcotics Force has named Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's son as an accused in a case of alleged irregularities in the import of controlled drugs, prompting the premier to say that he was being punished for backing President Asif Ali Zardari before the judiciary.
Smaller parties in Pakistan have launched a bid to patch up differences between President Asif Ali Zardari and the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif before matters reach a point of no return.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar is facing a challenge from within her party, with Pakistan People's Party leader and parliamentarian Jamshed Dasti saying he will contest the next general election from her constituency in Punjab.
Faced with a non-bailable arrest warrant against Makhdoom Shahabuddin, its first choice for prime minister's post, ruling Pakistan Peoples Party on Thursday fielded senior leader Qamar Zaman Kaira at the last minute besides a "covering" candidate.
The confrontation between the two will continue in other forms and other arenas, but to describe the recent judgement disqualifying Gilani as a judicial coup would be overstating its significance and implications, says B Raman.
Making an aggressive move on its foreign policy front, the new United States administration has reached out to key world leaders, with President Barack Obama himself calling heads of the states of Canada, Saudi Arabia and Britain, besides United Nations chief Ban Ki-Moon.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reached out to as many as 21 foreign leaders including Minister of External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
A landmark constitutional reforms package aimed at striking down the Pakistani president's sweeping powers and strengthening democratic institutions was tabled in Pakistan's parliament on Friday, with the ruling Pakistan People's Party describing it as a "bill of hope".
The ruling Pakistan People's Party has nominated senior leader Makhdoom Shahabuddin for the post of premier following the Supreme Court's disqualification of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani. Shahbuddin is also a Sajjada Nashin or the descendant of a Sufi saint like his predecessor Yusuf Raza Gilani.
President Asif Ali Zardari today conferred one of Pakistan's highest civilian honours on US Vice President-elect Joseph Biden in recognition of his "consistent support for democracy and socio-economic development" in the country.
In yet another embarrassment for the beleaguered Pakistan government, the Supreme Court on Tuesday suspended the licence of a lawyer close to President Asif Ali Zardari, as Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani faced the possibility of a case being filed against him for alleged misuse of authority.
As lawyers paralysed the working of courts across the country, Pakistan government has moved to avert a showdown with the judiciary by initiating steps to end the row over the apex court striking down appointments made by President Asif Ali Zardari.
United States President Barack Obama joined world leaders in paying rich tributes to late Special Envoy for Af-Pak region Richard Holbrooke, calling him a leading light who served the country until his final moments. "It is no coincidence that his life story so closely paralleled the major events of his times," Obama said, eulogising Holbrooke, who died on December 13, at a memorial ceremony, also attended by visiting Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday.
India is likely to thin out troops from wartime positions on the border with Pakistan, where they were deployed after the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, according to a media report on Monday.
In its bid to offset the impact of Indo-US nuclear deal, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari will take up the acquisition of nuclear fuel technology from China during his forthcoming visit.
Pakistani people would foil any attempt to overthrow the elected government, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said on Friday as speculation mounted in the country of possibility of a silent coup.
China is "working hard" to improve ties between India and close-ally Pakistan, despite facing heavy criticism from within and its expression of happiness over President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to India is "no hollow diplomatic gesture", a state-run daily said on Tuesday.
Former pakistan president Pervez Musharraf has described as a "mistake" his decision to promulgate the National Reconciliation Ordinance, a graft amnesty that was recently struck down by Pakistan's Supreme Court.
Two top United States security officials are traveling to Pakistan on Tuesday to meet the country's civil and military leadership and press for more aggressive action against Al Qaeda-allied groups. Central Intelligence Agency Director Leon Panetta and the National Security Advisor General James Jones, who are embarking on a visit to Islamabad, will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani, Army Chief General Ashfaq Kiyani.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday summoned Cabinet Secretary Nargis Sethi as a witness in contempt proceedings against Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and adjourned the high-profile case till March 7.
Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has blamed former President General Pervez Musharraf for the current chaotic scenario in the country and said that he (Musharraf) had done 'colossal damage' to the long pending Kashmir issue.
Pakistan's embattled Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Thursday appeared before the Supreme Court to face a contempt notice for not reopening graft cases against Asif Ali Zardari, saying he was unable to act as the president enjoyed complete immunity under the Constitution.
'Whether he wins or he doesn't win, one thing is for sure: Imran Khan is making an impact, especially with the youth in Pakistan,' former RA&W chief A S Dulat tells Sheela Bhatt.
Pakistan could see a repeat of the "disastrous" pattern of civilian governments being cast aside by military coups, American media reports said, declaring that a stable Islamabad was of critical interest to Washington.
China has supported its 'all-weather' ally Pakistan's right to use nuclear energy for "peaceful purposes" to overcome its crippling power shortage, a spokesman of President Asif Ali Zardari said today.
Less than a week after they met in Washington, DC, United States President Barack Obama on Tuesday called Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and discussed his administration's Af-Pak policy and climate change with him.
A Pakistani parliamentarian has demanded that Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha should resign following the claims that he travelled to Arab countries to discuss a move to oust President Asif Ali Zardari.
Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is reportedly unhappy with Interior Minister Rehman Malik, a key aide of President Asif Ali Zardari, for announcing some decisions without apprising the cabinet.