Pakistan President Snubs Cameron’s Invitation to Chequers
MAIL ONLINE: Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari has turned down an offer of hospitality at David Cameron’s coun­try retreat Chequers.

Mr Zardari rejected an invitation to spend a night at the Buckinghamshire mansion, saying he was too busy as the diplo­matic row continued over his coun­try’s approach to tackling terrorism.

But he will visit Chequers for dinner this evening for informal talks with the Prime Minister, which are set to be dominated by Mr Cameron’s assertion last week that Pakistan is ‘exporting terror’.

He will then travel back to his hotel in London before returning to Chequers tomorrow for for­mal talks with the Prime Minister, who also accused Pakistan of ‘looking both ways’ on terror.

Mr Zardari will on Saturday address a rally in Birmingham at which he is expected to launch his son with Benazir Bhutto, Bilawal, onto the political stage.

Bilawal, 21, is the young heir to the most important political dynasty in Pakistan and has been at his father's side in France and the UK this week.

He became chairman of the Pakistan People's Party after his mother's assassination and has just graduated from Oxford and will now take to politics full-time.

Mr Cameron’s comments, made during a visit to India last week, have unleashed fury in Pakistan and angered some members of Britain’s million-strong British Pakistani community.

Pakistani sources have said Mr Zardari will use this week’s talks to ‘educate’ Mr Cameron on the suffering that terrorism has caused to his country. >>> Jason Groves | Thursday, August 05, 2010

Cameron Terrorism Row: High Commissioner in Pakistan Summoned to Meeting
THE TELEGRAPH: The British High Commissioner has been summoned to meet Pakistan's foreign minister as the effects of David Cameron's remarks on terrorism continue to be felt.



Adam Thomson will meet Shah Mehmood Qureshi after David Cameron said he would not apologise for his comments about Pakistan exporting terrorism when he meets the country’s president for talks this week.

Relations between London and Islamabad soured last week when Mr Cameron said Pakistan could not be permitted to "look both ways" in promoting the export of terror while publicly working for stability in the region.

His comments were made in India, which added to the negative reaction across the border.

President Asif Ali Zardari has been facing pressure to cancel the talks with Mr Cameron at Chequers, which he has so far resisted.

Last Wednesday, while In Bangalore, Mr Cameron said: "We cannot tolerate in any sense the idea that this country [Pakistan] is allowed to look both ways and is able, in any way, to promote the export of terror."

A Downing Street spokeswoman said the high commissioner and Pakistan foreign minister had covered a "broad range of issues".

"They discussed a broad range of issues including preparations for President Zardari's visit," she said. >>> Andrew Porter, Political Editor, and Andy Bloxham | Monday, August 02, 2010

Taliban Vow to 'Eliminate' Pakistan's Top Leadership
Students from Swat Valley chant slogans during a rally against the ongoing military operation in the valley in Pakistan. Photo courtesy of The Times of India
THE TIMES OF INDIA: ISLAMABAD: Angered by Pakistan government's decision to launch an all out war against them, the Taliban has vowed to "eliminate" country's top leadership including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and their close family members.

"We thought that being a member of a religious family, Gilani will support our demand of implementing Sharia in the Malakand division but instead he has announced an all-out war against us, which has angered our commanders as well as fighters," an unnamed Taliban commander told The News daily.

The militant commander, who spoke to the newspaper by phone, said after Gilani declared during an address to the nation on Thursday that the Taliban would be wiped out from the Swat Valley and adjoining areas, the militants had started planning to "eliminate the top leaders of the ruling alliance, including President, Prime Minister and their close family members and aides". >>> | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Pakistan President Sees 'War' against Taliban
THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has pledged to mount an all-out war against Taliban extremists, vowing to kill the militants in a military offensive.

"This is an offensive -- this is war. If they kill our soldiers, then we do the same," Zardari told PBS public television Friday, during a visit to Washington.

Pressed on whether Pakistan's stated goal of "eliminating" militants meant killing them, Zardari replied in the affirmative.

"Eliminate means exactly what it means," he said. >>> AFP | Saturday, May 9, 2009

Guest Voice Mansoor Ijaz: Pakistan's Zardari Goes to Washington
WASHINGTON POST: Pakistan has a split personality problem. Its citizens can rise up en masse on one day to depose a military dictator and reinstate honest judges, but the next day seem helpless to stop politicians from ceding strategic territory to enemies who publicly flog a 17-year old woman as a show of justice. Most American taxpayers, who are being asked to finance aid even as the country disintegrates, don't have the faintest idea how to decode what's really wrong there or where to begin to help. President Zardari could change that during his upcoming visit to Washington - but it would require his bold domestic leadership and a new direction for Pakistan and its relationship with the U.S.

Pakistan's central problem today is the systemic failure of its federal, provincial and local governments to provide for its citizens' basic needs, whether public safety, healthcare, education or employment. The Taliban is stepping in to fill that void. Hamas did the same in Palestinian enclaves throughout Israel when PLO leadership failed to offer disenfranchised Palestinians a structured way of life. You've heard it before: security is assured, albeit through intimidation and brutality. Basic daily staples like food and clothing come from Arab-financed hawala cash transfers. Education comes from Saudi-funded madrassa schools. Legal disputes are settled through harsh Islamic laws. Only geography makes the Pakistani case different from that of the Palestinians.

To make matters worse, America's visible role in Pakistan's internal affairs only helps the Taliban's cause. Pakistan's woefully inadequate leader, President Asif Ali Zardari, has been privately lectured and publicly admonished by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen. Those lectures have made him look like an American stooge playing to the often conflicting ways in which Washington wants Islamabad to act.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials order more drone attacks on Taliban and al-Qaeda hideouts, knowing their exhortations are falling on deaf (or worse, impotent) ears. Unannounced U.S. military actions make Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, army chief of staff, appear weak in his anti-terror campaign when in fact he is simply waiting for the civilian government to order him to take action. Unannounced drone attacks also raise serious questions about Pakistan's sovereignty. Innocent civilian life lost in each strike creates more Pakistani anger and frustration, almost all of which is galvanized by Pakistan's political opposition and unleashed on the cowering Zardari. He then runs to Washington for more aid to shore up defenses designed to attack his people even more savagely and indiscriminately.

This is not what American taxpayers signed up for. We need a different approach. >>> By Mansoor Ijaz | Thursday, April 30, 2009

Pakistan, Libya Agree to Strengthen Bilateral Ties
DAWN: TRIPOLI – President Asif Ali Zardari and Libyan Leader Moammar Al Qaddafi resolved to further strengthen their multifaceted ties and agreed on adopting practical measures to boost economic cooperation.

The two leaders agreed on continuing mutual cooperation in diverse fields besides exploring avenues for increased two-way trade, collaboration to explore energy resources and exchange of skilled manpower. Photo courtesy of Dawn
President Zardari, who is on his first official visit to Libya, held detailed discussions with Moammar Qadaffi, hours after his arrival to the north-African country.

The talks late in the night covered a broad spectrum of issues including ways to boost trade, initiate joint ventures and investment besides covering regional and issues of mutual interest.

The two leaders agreed on continuing mutual cooperation in diverse fields besides exploring avenues for increased two-way trade, collaboration to explore energy resources and exchange of skilled manpower.

President Zardari in his talks with Moammar Qaddafi said there was vast scope for investment between the two countries in several areas including infrastructure development, railways, housing, oil and gas besides export of skilled and unskilled manpower in information technology, engineering, telecom and medicine.

The Libyan leader said the two countries can launch an ambitious and gigantic programme of economic cooperation, to bring the two countries further close. He also sought assistance from Pakistan on sharing expertise for improvement of banking sector and training facilities for students, teachers and experts in different areas.

President Zardari also briefed the Libyan leader about Pakistan’s efforts to curb terrorism and extremism and the role it was playing in maintaining peace and harmony in the region.

The two leaders also talked about the security situation in the region, Afghanistan, Iraq and the Palestine issue. >>> | Friday, May 1, 2009

Pakistan's President Says Osama bin Laden Could Be Dead
THE TELEGRAPH: Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari has raised the prospect that Osama bin Laden could be dead after he said that intelligence officials could find "no trace" of the al-Qaeda chief.

He said that neither his own advisers in Pakistan nor US intelligence agencies had detected any trace of the al-Qaeda leader since Al Jazeera television broadcast an audio recording of his voice in March.

But even then, unlike on previous occasions the authenticity of the voice purporting to be bin Laden was not confirmed by the CIA.

There have been regular reports of bin Laden's ill health, notably speculation about his kidneys failing. Mr Zardari said his own advisers believed there was substance to the rumours.

"The question is whether he is alive or dead. There is no trace of him," he said. >>> By Dean Nelson and Emal Khan in Peshawar | Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Pakistani Peace Deal Gives New Clout to Taliban Rebels
Map courtesy of The Wall Street Journal
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: MINGORA, Pakistan -- Thousands of Islamist militants are pouring into Pakistan's Swat Valley and setting up training camps here, quickly making it one of the main bases for Taliban fighters and raising their threat to the government in the wake of a controversial peace deal.

President Asif Ali Zardari effectively ratified the government's deal with the Taliban Monday by signing a bill that imposes Islamic law in Swat, a key plank of the accord, hours after legislators overwhelmingly approved a resolution urging it. Pakistani officials have touted the deal, reached in February, as a way to restore peaceful order in the bloodied region -- which lies just a few hours' drive from the capital -- and halt the Taliban's advance.

Yet a visit to the Taliban-controlled valley here found mounting evidence that the deal already is strengthening the militants as a base for war. U.S. officials contend the pact has given the Taliban and its allies in al Qaeda and other Islamist groups an advantage in their long-running battle against Pakistan's military.

The number of militants in the valley swelled in the months before the deal with the Taliban was struck, and they continue to move in, say Pakistani and U.S. officials. They now estimate there are between 6,000 and 8,000 fighters in Swat, nearly double the number at the end of last year.

Taliban leaders here make no secret of their ultimate aim. "Our objective is to drive out Americans and their lackeys" from Pakistan and Afghanistan, said Muslim Khan, a spokesman for the group, in an interview here. "They are not Muslims and we have to throw them out."

Militant training camps are springing up across the valley's thickly forested mountainsides. "Young men with no prospect of employment and lack of education facilities are joining the militants," said Abdur Rehman, a schoolteacher in Swat. >>> By Zahid Hussain and Matthew Rosenberg | Tuesday, April 14, 2009