In a surprise development, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Tuesday nominated its president Shehbaz Sharif as the prime ministerial candidate of Pakistan instead of the party supremo and three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday said his country was 'fighting the war for its survival' and the military operation against the Taliban was the last resort against militants and extremists who challenged the writ of the state. He was talking to a delegation of parliamentarians from Swat and Malakand areas, where security forces are engaged in a major offensive against the militants, a statement from the President's Office said.
The US administration made hectic behind-the-scenes efforts to make the Pakistani president's India visit a success because US President Barack Obama wants the ongoing Washington-Taliban peace talks in Doha to be productive, which is impossible without Islamabad's support, reports Amir Mir from Islamabad
"I say this because he is a man of courage and honour. He spent 11 years in prison without bending despite torture. He has the political stature to keep our party united," she said in the hand-written letter described by the PPP as Bhutto's political will, which was released to the media in Islamabad on Tuesday.
President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday granted a pardon and remitted two prison terms given to Interior Minister Rehman Malik hours after a Pakistani court dismissed the minister's appeal against his conviction in two corruption cases.
The United States on Wednesday dismissed Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's view that the US-backed coalition forces are losing the war in Afghanistan, saying actions taken in the last several months were keeping in mind the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari decided to host a special Diwali dinner for Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on learning that his meeting with the visiting Indian leader coincided with the Hindu festival of lights, officials said on Tuesday.
Under intense pressure from the United States and amidst escalating political standoff at home, the Pakistan government on Saturday decided to challenge the disqualification of Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz from contesting elections, in a move seen as an attempt to defuse the crisis.
Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrived in Goa on Thursday to attend a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), in the first such high-level visit to India from the neighbouring country since 2011.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday called off a planned visit to Russia to attend a summit after the Supreme Court's disqualification of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani plunged Pakistan into a political crisis.
The ruling by Pakistan Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry to disqualify Yousaf Raza Gilani as prime minister has sent the Asif Ali Zardari-led Pakistan People's Party government into a deep political crisis. Amir Mir reports from Islamabad
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday offered prayers at the historic 13th century dargah of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti in this pilgrim town after which a $1 million donation for the shrine was announced.
'Much as the Palestinian issue remains the core obstacle to peace in the Middle East, the question of Kashmir must be addressed in some meaningful way to bring stability to this region,' he said. He hoped the Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan will work towards a 'just and reasonable' solution to the issue.
Outgoing President Asif Ali Zardari has said that he is leaving the Presidency as a satisfied man after overseeing the first-ever democratic transition of power in Pakistan and relinquishing Presidential powers to Parliament.
The improving trade ties between Pakistan and India, terrorism and violent anti-US protests were among a host of issues that President Asif Ali Zardari discussed with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when they met in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
China on Sunday lauded Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to India, saying better ties between the two nuclear-armed neighbours will benefit both countries and bring stability in the region.
United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is a good partner in war against terrorism, even as Pakistan military or the Inter-Services Intelligence, according to her, have maintained relationship with terrorist groups for decades.
President Asif Ali Zardari said that granting Most Favoured Nation-status to India was a "paradigmatic shift in policy driven by the business sectors on both sides of the border".
In an interview with a Turkish media house, Zardari, while raising concerns over the 30 per cent increase in India's defence budget following the November 26, 2008 Mumbai attacks, said South Asian countries should focus on humanitarian issues rather than building armies and piling up devastating weapons.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari's popularity has dipped to an abysmally low, lower than his predecessor Pervez Musharraf, while cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan has the highest popularity ratings in the country.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday said it expects Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to categorically convey to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari during his forthcoming visit that no "normal dialogue" is possible between the two countries till it stops sponsoring terrorism against India.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that India is not a threat to Pakistan and it is facing danger from the terrorists inside the country. This is the first time a top Pakistani leader has publicly said that India is not a threat to his country; a fact which the Barack Obama administration has been trying to convince Zardari and the Pakistan army for quite some time now. "I have always considered India as a neighbour, which we want to improve our relationship with."
Intense political pressure has forced the ruling Pakistan People's Party to abandon a move to get the parliament to endorse a controversial law, which scrapped graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari, raising questions about his future. Following a meeting of senior PPP leaders chaired by Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the party announced late on Monday night that it would not ask the parliament to validate the National Reconciliation Ordinance.
Pakistan's beleaguered President Asif Ali Zardari, who is facing fresh challenges since the Supreme Court scrapped a graft amnesty that benefited him, has sacrificed hundreds of black goats to ward off the "evil eye" since he moved into the presidency in 2008.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has decided to surrender his presidential powers related to the dissolution of assemblies and the appointment of services chiefs to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made it clear to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari that firm action needed to be taken against anti-India terrorism emanating from Pakistan to allow forward movement in the bilateral relationship, Parliament was informed Wednesday.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday ordered authorities to take "every possible step" to bring home Dr Khalil Chishti, an ailing 80-year-old scientist who was recently granted bail by the Supreme Court after being given a life sentence in a murder case.
Pakistan appears to be reconciled to a long haul in clinching a civil nuclear deal with the US with President Asif Ali Zardari today saying it took nine years for India to secure an atomic pact with Washington.
Amidst differences between Pakistan's civilian government and military over a memo alleging an army plot to seize power, President Asif Ali Zardari has called on the people to not allow any change through "force and intimidation". The ballot should be respected as the instrument of change, said Zardari, who has been facing pressure from the military establishment since Pakistan-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz made public the alleged memo that sought United States's help.
Official sources said the USD 10 million US bounty for Saeed necessitated the late night meeting of the top civil and military leadership at the Governor's House in Lahore
Ahead of Asif Ali Zardari's pilgrimage to the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on nThursday took a dig at the Pakistan President, wondering how could the prayers of those who have an "evil eye" on India could be answered.
All is not well between Pakistan's top two leaders with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani taking exception to "increasing interference" by President Asif Ali Zardari in the day-to-day running of the government, a media report said today.
From mouth-watering kebabs to delicious biryani, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will get a taste of India's diverse cuisine as he settles down for lunch with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday.
'Let us be truthful to ourselves and make a candid admission of the realities. Militancy and extremism emerged on the national scene and challenged the state not because the civil bureaucracy was weakened and demoralised, but because they were deliberately created and nurtured as a policy to achieve some short-term tactical objectives,' The Daily Times quoted Zardari, as saying.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is likely to visit Ajmer on April 8 to pay obeisance at the famous Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti.
Zardari assumes Pakistan's presidency at a time when the very survival of the nation is at stake. There is nothing in his past to suggest that he will be successful in overcoming the challenges that Pakistan faces and there is every likelihood that a fresh round of political instability is just round the corner. India should hope for the best but get ready to face the worst in Pakistan in the coming months.
This came after the beleaguered Zardari was put on notice by the US, which reportedly gave him a 24-hour ultimatum to ease the simmering political crisis in Pakistan amid speculation that a deal brokered by Washington and the UK in consultation with the Pakistan army had been conveyed to the government.
President Asif Ali Zardari enjoys full immunity from prosecution in criminal cases in Pakistan and abroad, one of the country's top lawyers said on Wednesday ahead of a crucial hearing in the Supreme Court on the issue of reopening graft cases against the president.
Amid main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's demand that Pervez Musharraf be tried for treason, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said the fate of the former military ruler will be decided by the people and Parliament and ruled out using his powers on "frivolous issues of the past".
President Asif Ali Zardari, who was treated for a heart condition in Dubai, could return to Pakistan late on Sunday night, according to a media report.