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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistanis don't often see their country the same way as American presidents, but the fear spread by Taliban fighters turning up a few hours drive from Islamabad has finally put them on the same page. When Barack Obama said on Wednesday that the situation in the nuclear-armed Muslim nation warranted "grave concern" there was no dispute in Pakistan. Politicians of every hue, the media and the public have all been seized by the urgent need to fight back. "The national mood is changing," said a senior Pakistani official with knowledge of foreign policy and security matters. "People...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The administration of US President Barack Obama is reaching out to former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the chief rival of President Asif Ali Zardari, in hopes to find a way to strengthen the country's government, The New York Times reported. Sharif, who served as Pakistan's prime minister twice during the 1990s, represents the Pakistan Muslim League-N. Citing unnamed administration officials, the newspaper said on its website that because of his ties to Islamists, the US government has long held Sharif at arm?s length. But now some Obama administration officials say those ties could be useful in...

Osama bin Laden is dead, according to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari. This week he stunned the world with the exciting news that Pakistan's intelligence services have "obviously" concluded that bin Laden "does not exist any more, that he is dead."

Three months from now the first signs of state collapse in Pakistan will become evident. That is the doomsday scenario sketched by a consultant to no less than President Obama. The consultant David Kilcullen has warned that if collapse happens --"It will dwarf anything we've seen so far. Pakistan has a military intelligence establishment that refuses to follow the civilian leadership. Pakistan has 100 nuclear weapons, an army bigger than America's and the headquarters of al-Qaeda sitting in two-thirds of the country which the Government does not control.” And doomsday appears to be on course. President Zardari has signed the...

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan's Supreme Court ordered the release on bail Monday of a hard-line cleric who had been detained since shortly before soldiers stormed his mosque in 2007, killing scores of people and energizing the country's Islamist insurgency. Maulana Abdul Aziz was granted bail while the court considers the charges against him in relation to the siege of the Red Mosque in the capital, Islamabad, his lawyer Shaukat Siddiqui told reporters outside the court. Prosecutors were not available for comment. Aziz was arrested as he tried to sneak out of the mosque dressed in an all-covering burqa worn by some Muslim women....

ISLAMABAD: On a day of fast moving developments, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari late on Monday approved the imposition of Sharia law in parts of the country's restive northwest, including Swat, in return for a controversial deal with the Taliban for laying down their arms. ( Watch ) Zardari signed the Nizam-e-Adl Regulation after parliament approved the measure earlier on Monday, Geo TV quoted senior North West Frontier Province (NWFP) Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour as saying. The regulation will see the imposition of Sharia laws in the Malkhand division of NWFP that comprises seven districts, including Swat, where the writ...

Weekly StandardNY TimesThe recent media coverage in Pakistan regarding the film of a young woman being beaten by religious fanatics of Swat district has shocked and angered many around the world and within Pakistan. As a nation, Pakistan is a study in modernity and backwardness existing side by side, and coming into contact and conflict. The plight of the woman is one where the Taliban have come to dominate her area, and she was beaten for being in unescorted by a male family member while in the presence of an unrelated male. Of course, this was after she refused the...

Pakistan's leaders have told visiting US envoy Richard Holbrooke there must be trust between the nations as "nothing else will work". Pakistan's foreign minister also said there was a "gap" in opinion over US drone attacks on Pakistani territory. Mr Holbrooke has met President Asif Ali Zardari, who told him that Pakistan was "battling for its own survival". Mr Zardari said Pakistan needed "unconditional support" to fight terrorism and extremism. Mr Holbrooke, the joint US envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, and Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, arrived in Islamabad after talks with Afghan...

ISLAMABAD: PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and his brother have been placed under house arrest by the Pakistan government, according to reports. Tehreek-e-Insaaf chief Imran Khan has also been placed under house arrest, according to reports. Imran Khan was arrested in Rawalpindi. The Sharif brothers have been put under 3-day house arrest. The arrests come a day before the proposed long march. On Saturday, under mounting pressure from the United States and amidst escalating political standoff at home, Pakistan government had decided to challenge the disqualification of PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz from contesting elections in a bid...

Last week's trilateral meeting in Washington between U.S. leaders and the foreign ministers, military and intelligence leaders of my country and Afghanistan was a crucial step forward in the war on terrorism and fanaticism in South and Central Asia. For the first time, Pakistan, the U.S. and Afghanistan agreed on a coherent military and political strategy to isolate and deal with those intent on destabilizing our region and terrorizing the world. ... We have not and will not negotiate with extremist Taliban and terrorists. The clerics with whom we have engaged are not Taliban. Indeed, in our dialogue we'd made...

A deal with the Taliban provides a measure of the challenge facing the Obama administration.Pakistan's political system is being pulled apart by conflicts between the civilian government of President Asif Ali Zardari and rival political movements. But from Washington's point of view, the most alarming development is the Taliban takeover of its territory in the Swat Valley, less than 100 miles from Islamabad. Pakistan's foreign minister and army commander have been contending that the deal is not as bad as it sounds. The Swat region is distinctive, they say; a mild version of sharia will be applied; extremists who have...

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – US President Barack Obama and his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari agreed Wednesday to embark on a policy of "active engagement" to turn the tide in the war on extremism in South Asia. The new US president, who has called for a joint effort to eradicate Al-Qaeda safe havens in both Afghanistan and the border region with Pakistan, telephoned Zardari on Wednesday for the first time since taking office. The two leaders conferred as Obama's regional troubleshooter, Richard Holbrooke, pressed talks with Pakistan's military and civilian leaders as part of a major US policy review, seven years...

Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan’s president, on Sunday warned that escalating tensions between Pakistan and India would be disastrous for the war on terror by sapping his nation’s effort against militants on its Afghan border. Pakistan is worried that suspected foreign involvement in the terror attacks on Mumbai will lead to a sharp deterioration of relations with India. Deepening hostility between the two adversaries could lead Pakistan to defend its border with India more heavily. (snip) On Saturday, Pakistan’s government and military officials warned that India was beginning to mobilise its armed forces. One senior Pakistani military official in Islamabad said...

RT Monitoring Desk ISLAMABAD: India has threatened of dire consequences to Pakistan after Mumbai terror attacks and the coming 48 hours are very important, military sources said on Saturday. According to the ARY report the war can not benefit any side but if India imposed war Pakistan will go to the last limit for its defence, the sources said. In case of war no weakness will be shown at the western border, the sources added. On the other hand President Asif Ali Zardari warned India Saturday against any ‘over-reaction’ after the militant attacks in Mumbai and vowed the ‘strictest’ action...

Zardari for joint efforts against terrorism ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari telephoned Indian Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and said countries of the world should join hands to tackle terrorism. He condemned the Mumbai terrorist attacks and asked Sonia Gandhi to convey the sympathies of the people of Pakistan to the families of the victims. “The killing of innocent people is most detestable and I condemn the attacks in the strongest possible terms,” he told the Indian leader. “Militancy and extremism in have to be eliminated.” In a separate message, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani also “strongly condemned the...

With some overly friendly comments to Gov. Sarah Palin at the United Nations, Asif Ali Zardari has succeeded in uniting one of Pakistan's hard-line mosques and its feminists after a few weeks in office. A radical Muslim prayer leader said the president shamed the nation for "indecent gestures, filthy remarks, and repeated praise of a non-Muslim lady wearing a short skirt." Feminists charged that once again a male Pakistani leader has embarrassed the country with sexist remarks. And across the board, the Pakistani press has shown disapproval.

Lahore, Pakistan - After the flirtation came the fatwa. ADVERTISEMENT With some overly friendly comments to Gov. Sarah Palin at the United Nations, Asif Ali Zardari has succeeded in uniting one of Pakistan's hard-line mosques and its feminists after a few weeks in office. A radical Muslim prayer leader said the president shamed the nation for "indecent gestures, filthy remarks, and repeated praise of a non-Muslim lady wearing a short skirt."

Pakistan will prevail against terrorism By Asif Ali Zardari | September 25, 2008 THERE ARE MOMENTS in history that define nations, and also define men. For Pakistan, we have reached a critical crossroad that will determine the nature of our future, or if we will have one. I have the opportunity to help my people secure that future, by implementing the vision of my late martyred wife, Benazir Bhutto. Benazir gave her life fighting the terrorism and fanaticism that haunt the entire civilized world. I fight the terrorist threat in Pakistan not only as an elected democratic leader but also...

Pakistan’s fledging democracy faced its first and greatest challenge last weekend. A suicide bomber driving a truck loaded with more than 1,000 pounds of explosives blew himself up early Saturday evening outside Islamabad’s luxury Marriott Hotel, killing 53 people and wounding several hundred. Most of the dead were Muslim guests who were breaking their day-long, Ramadan fast in the hotel restaurant when the bombing occurred.

Terror tears through capital By Raja Asghar, Irfan Raza, Muhammad Asghar and Munawer Azeem Suicide bomber blows up 1000kg explosives: At least 40 killed, over 250 injured: Fireball consumes Marriott: Zardari vows to eradicate terrorism ISLAMABAD, Sept 20: An explosive-laden truck rammed into the front gate of a premier hotel in a high-security zone of Islamabad on Saturday, setting off what police called the most devastating suicide attack in the capital that killed at least 40 people and wounded more than 250. The attack outside the five-star Marriott Hotel — not far from key government buildings such as the parliament...