Deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other judges sacked under emergency rule two years ago were reinstated by President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday, a day after the Pakistan People's Party government defused the standoff with opposition leader Nawaz Sharif.
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 President Asif Ali Zardari has claimed that "certain elements" and undemocratic forces want to remove him because of his support for the rights of the people of Balochistan province.
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.
United States has stepped up diplomatic efforts to defuse the deepening political crisis in Pakistan, with Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke asking the country's top leadership to resolve differences with the PML-N so that they could focus on the war against militancy.
Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar contradicted media reports about Zardari going to Dubai from Tehran, where he is participating in a summit of the Economic Cooperation Organisation, instead of returning to Islamabad. "The reports of his staying in Dubai and postponing his return to Islamabad are absolutely false, mischievous and seem deliberately designed to cause confusion," Babar said in a statement.
Pakistan's deteriorating political and security situation has fuelled media speculation that the powerful army may be forced to intervene amid reports it has even asked President Asif Ali Zardari to quickly set things right with his political rival and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif.
The kidnapping of United Nations High Commision for Refugees official John Solecki and setting up of UN inquiry commission to probe former Pakistan premier Benazir's Bhutto assassination were among the issues that the world body chief .
A change in Pakistan, however, is inevitable in the weeks ahead. The big question will be whether such a change will make Pakistan a more stable country or push it further towards a failed state.
Pakistan's main political parties on Monday stepped up their war of words, with opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif asking the people to rise up and join him in a 'revolution' against President Asif Ali Zardari's regime and the ruling Pakistan People's Party criticising the politics of confrontation. PML-N president and former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif ruled out any reconciliation with Zardari till he gave up his controversial powers.
Former president Pervez Musharraf, who has announced his intentions to return to Pakistan before the 2013 general elections, will formally launch his new political party and unveil its programme in London on October 1.
Keeping up his tirade against his bete noire Asif Ali Zardari, Opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Nawaz Sharif on Sunday compared the President to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf and accused him of compromising Pakistan's sovereignty by acting on the dictates of the US.
Addressing a rally of hundreds of his supporters at Sheikhupura in Punjab province, Sharif said Zardari had used "hand-picked judges" appointed by former President Pervez Musharraf to deliver the verdict barring him and his brother, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, from contesting polls and holding public office.
Under attack from the global community for its inability in containing terrorism emanating from its soil, Pakistan said on monday that the country is not threatened by nations but by the "non-state actors" and sought China's help in eradicating the menace.
In a bargaining tactic, Pakistan has urged the United States to push India for a 'diplomatic rapprochement' with it, in lieu of its crackdown on terror groups, particularly in tribal areas where top Al Qaeda and Taliban leaders are hiding. This tactic of Pakistan -- for which, observers say, its leaders have been known for -- is clearly being articulated by President Asif Ali Zardari in his three-page letter written to his US counterpart Barack Obama.
The Pentagon does not believe that the shaky civilian government of Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will be deposed by a military coup anytime soon.United States' Central Command Commander General David Petraeus assured the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that "as one who's been in Pakistan, and had a lot of conversations with military leaders as well as the civilian leadership, I actually don't think that the current challenges imperil civilian rule,".
United States President Barack Obama and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday agreed to start an active engagement to resolve problems facing the region through a 'holistic strategy'. The decision was made when Obama spoke with Zardari on phone. This was Obama's first interaction with Zardari after taking over as President.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban ki Moon on Tuesday said he had impressed upon top Pakistani leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that they should fully cooperate with India and thoroughly investigate the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Addressing a press conference on returning from his visit to India and Pakistan, he said the Pakistani leaders had 'committed to me that they will fully cooperate' with India in the investigation
Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is under tremendous pressure from different quarters to step down, which probably is the reason why he handed over the 'nuclear button' to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, but analysts believe Zardari has tightened his clutch on the presidency for the time being.
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.
US President Barack Obama will brief Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with other world leaders about his new policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan, the White House said on Tuesday.
Dismissing the possibility of a coup in Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari has said the situation in the country was too grave to inspire the military for such a move. "I don't think anybody in his right mind will be wanting to take this responsibility. It's only democracy that can carry this yoke," Zardari told a group of foreign journalists in Islamabad.
Pakistani terrorist Omar Saeed Sheikh made the hoax calls to Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani after last year's terror attacks on Mumbai, investigators have told Pakistan's Dawn newspaper.
In a serious turn of events, a Senate Committee recommended President Asif Ali Zardari to remove Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt from his post after finding him guilty in two privilege motions.
'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.
Making light of Sunday's incident, in which a shoe was flung towards his son Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Union Minister Farooq Abdullah said it was "wonderful" that he has joined the elite club of former US President George Bush, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and other leaders.
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.
Unites States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has spoken to President Asif Ali Zardari to share with him the vision of President Barack Obama's administration and its policies towards the region and Pakistan.During a brief telephone conversation with Zardari on Thursday night, Clinton discussed the situation in the region and Pakistan-US relations.Zardari congratulated Clinton on assuming the post. He also welcomed Obama's desire to seek 'a new way forward' with Muslims.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari is committed to shed some constitutional powers well before March 30, the deadline he set for materializing his plan, well-placed official sources have said.
The Pakistan People's Party-led government is considering a proposal to seek Interpol's Red Corner notice against ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf, in a bid to bring him back from abroad to face treason charges, days after he called party chief and President Asif Ali Zardari 'a criminal and a fraud'. Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani had even hinted that it might not be possible to put Musharraf on trial, after main opposition PML-N stepped up demands for action against him.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari allegedly received millions of dollars in kickbacks for the purchase of three French submarines for the Pakistani navy in 1994, a French daily has reported. Citing documents acquired by it, the daily Liberation in Tuesday's edition claimed Zardari received $4.3 million in kickbacks from the sale of three Agosta-90 submarines for 825 million euros (currently $1.23 billion).
Defence Minister Chaudry Ahmad Mukhtar, a close aide of President Asif Ali Zardari, informed US Ambassador Anne Patterson about the defence requirements of Pakistan, particularly the provision of F-16 aircraft.
The bitter relationship between Asif Ali Zardari and his predecessor Pervez Musharraf hit its nadir when the former dictator called the Pakistan President a 'criminal, fraud and third rater' during a recent interview. He added that the Pakistan army was not capable of carrying out a mutiny. "There are people with fundamentalist ideas in the army, but I don't think there is any possibility of these people getting organised and doing an uprising," he said.
Saudi Arabia's intelligence chief on Wednesday arrived here for talks with Pakistan's top political leadership for discussions on various issues, including the tension with India in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks.
Amid the tensions between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, Indian High Commissioner Satyabrata Pal attended a dinner hosted by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari for envoys of the non-Muslim countries in Islamabad.The dinner hosted by Zardari on Saturday night at the Presidential palace was also attended by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.Apart from the Indian High Commissioner, envoys of the United States, China, Britain, Russia were present.
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.
Inter State Intelligence chief Lt Gen Shuja Pasha has cancelled a scheduled visit to Britain in protest against Prime Minister David Cameron's remarks that Pakistan must stop promoting "export of terror," though President Asif Ali Zardari will go ahead with a planned trip to London next week.
A political storm appeared to be brewing in Pakistan on Monday with Asif Ali Zardari's ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement asking him to quit over a controversial law that allowed the President to return home in 2007 by scrapping graft cases and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Nawaz Sharif threatening to challenge the legislation in court.
Visits at the top level help in imparting the required momentum to bilateral relations, says B Raman
With international pressure mounting on Pakistan to cooperate in bringing the Mumbai attack perpetrators to justice, President Asif Ali Zardari and powerful army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani today discussed the security situation across the country and tensions with India.There was no official word on the meeting, though Dawn News channel said
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