It's been a tumultuous first year in office for President Zardri, though not one without progress. Following decades of economic misrule and appeasement of religious extremism, Zardari faced a significant uphill battle when he took office. At the time, many were ready to write off Pakistan as a "failed state," and conversations often turned to questions of whether Pakistan would be the first Islamist nuclear power.

While the road has been rocky, Zardari has managed to keep the ship upright, and in recent months has made progress towards greater democratization and cooperation with the world community. This has not come without significant political costs as Zardari faces a political opposition and media fueled by rumor and innuendo, as well as a ruthless political climate.

Pakistan Assembly member and PPP spokesperson Farahnaz Ispahani notes the following Zardari successes:

Prudent policies implemented after President Zardari's election are yielding results. By end-June 2009, fiscal deficit had declined from a high of 7.4% to 4.3% of GDP, current account balance has declined from 8.4% to 5.3% of GDP and inflation had decelerated from a high of 25.3% in August 2008 to 13.1% by end-June 2009 year-on-year basis. Home remittances from Overseas Pakistanis reached a historic high of $ 7.811 billion and the trade deficit declined by 16.5% compared to last year. Foreign Direct Investment started to pick up again and stands at $3.721 billion despite adverse domestic and global environment. Gross foreign exchange reserves have moved back to three months imports (over $ 12 billion).

President Zardari's principal achievement, however, is that he has proven wrong the prophets of doom and gloom. Pursuing the spirit of reconciliation articulated by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto in her final days, the president has reached out across the political spectrum. Unlike some who prefer to seek approval by doing what is temporarily popular, President Zardari is willing to take difficult decisions and make tough choices. He has been elected for a five-year term and he need not seek applause on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. As a democrat he remains tolerant of criticism and has put up with a constant chorus trying to run him down.

As we know too well, though, Zardari's successes have not come without setbacks. Tuesday, Taliban militants in Pakistan opened fire on schoolchildren, murdering four and critically wounding six others. Despite the government's willingness to legitimately fight Islamic terrorists, militants remain a significant threat to security and stability. Clearly, Zardari has a long road ahead.

At the end of his first year, we award Zardari a grade of B+. While many might see this as too high a mark considering Pakistan's continuing challenges, we believe that these challenges create the context in which Zardari's efforts and achievements must be judged.

This is not to say that things cannot go sour. Zardari continues to face political resistance to cooperation with the West, while having to deal with the growing security threat from Taliban and al Qaeda militants.

In addition, there is some room for improvement - particularly with regard to relations with India over Kashmir, Afghanistan, and trade. Historical animosity on both sides make this a delicate situation, but progress cannot be achieved without Zardari making the tough choice to demonstrate that cooperation works better than antagonization.

What happens in Year Two will largely be the result of Zardari's ability to maintain a strong will in the face of these challenges, as well as the continued support of Western powers like the US and EU nations.

After years of looking the other way, the Pakistani government has been taking it to the Taliban in a significant way. Today, Taliban leaders have finally confirmed that the terrorist leader of Pakistani Taliban Baitullah Mehsud is dead as the result of joint US-Pakistan operations. This is a huge victory and deals a great blow to the militant organization, throwing the succession fight into deadly chaos.

Pakistani intelligence officials also said there were indications of violent infighting over who would succeed him, and reported briefly that one of his possible successors, Hakimullah Mehsud, had been killed. But on Tuesday, Taliban leaders tried to dispel reports of Hakimullah Mehsud’s death or the impression of a rift in their leadership. Two men claiming to be Hakimullah Mehsud and Waliur Rahman, another Taliban commander, contacted several media outlets to confirm Baitullah Mehsud’s death and put up a unified front. They also announced that Hakimullah Mehsud would take over leadership of the Pakistani Taliban, while Mr. Rahman would lead the Taliban in South Waziristan, the rugged tribal region that had been Baitullah Mehsud’s stronghold. But Pakistani officials immediately cast doubt on the claims and about whether Hakimullah Mehsud was alive or dead. The Pakistani interior minister, Rehman Malik, contends that Hakimullah Mehsud is dead. Analysts said the public admission of Baitullah Mehsud’s death came after it became increasingly difficult for the Taliban to continue denying it.

The Washington Post reports today that the Pakistani military is not letting up, increasing attacks on militant forces in Southern Waziristan.

Pakistani helicopter gunships stepped up attacks on Taliban positions in the South Waziristan region on Wednesday, a day after militants confirmed that their leader was dead and announced his successor. ... Security forces have made significant gains in an offensive against the Pakistani Taliban in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, since late April, and have also been attacking Mehsud's men in South Waziristan. Helicopter gunships attacked militant hideouts in Madi Jam, an area 20 km (12 miles) east of South Waziristan's main town of Wana, on Wednesday after Taliban attacked a military convoy, killing two soldiers, intelligence officials and residents said. Residents in Wana saw armoured personnel carriers heading toward Madi Jam. "Helicopters dropped leaflets asking people to leave the fighting area," Mohammad Aslam, a resident of Madi Jam, told Reuters by telephone.

In addition to fighting militancy, the Pakistani government is working towards real reform to increase democratization in their own government.

Pakistan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Wajid Shamsul Hasan has said PPP was committed to the implementation of Charter of Democracy in letter and spirit as the document was the best way to consolidate democracy in the country.

Pakistan is building momentum and acting as an example to other nations struggling with religious extremism and anti-democratic forces. Democratic nations like the US must continue supporting the Pakistani government, which has shown a willingness to make the hard decisions necessary to move towards playing a vital role in the international community.

The attacks on Christians in the Gojra region of Pakistan over the weekend shocked the world. Especially troubling was the reaction – lack thereof – on the part of Nawaz Sharif and the PML-N. Today, though, new allegations have arisen that Sharif wasn't just silent, he may have been complicit. Today's Asia Times reports that the attacks were carefully planned by Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists in the region. Bishops in the region have leveled allegations against Nawaz Sharif, the politician who controls the area, as an accomplice in the attacks.

A leading bishop, Almas Hameed Masih, however, takes a different view and he has registered a complaint case with the police against the district's entire administration, which was handpicked by the province's ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), led by former premier Nawaz Sharif. ... "There are so many question marks in this whole event," Rahman Malik, an advisor to the prime minister on interior matters, told Asia Times Online. "I will not say anything because a judicial inquiry is being set up. But our biggest fear is that the whole event could have been engineered for some vested interests," Malik said. Malik refused to comment on Bishop Masih accusing the PML-N of complicity. "Like all other aspects, we are reviewing this aspect and I will not say anything before an inquiry finishes." Investigations by Asia Times Online indicate that the attackers in Gojra comprised two main groups - Muslim clerics of different schools of thought, and non-political actors including traders' associations. The PML-N, the largest political force in the town, appears to have been the binding force, led by local party president Abdul Qadir Awan

As I've well noted before, Nawaz Sharif has a troubling history of kow-towing to radical Islamists including Osama bin Laden himself. Most people don't really believe that Sharif is an Islamist at heart - he's much too much of a playboy. But there is historical evidence that Sharif has in the past been willing to use radical Islamism as a means of seizing power, and, despite his recent assurances that he's done with that, new concerns are arising in connection with these attacks on Christians. In fact, the government has issued a warning to Sharif not to attempt to use Islamic radicals to destabilize the current government and seize power.

If indeed the PML-N is implicated in the attack on the Christians, one can only speculate on its motives. A few weeks back, Nawaz Sharif created a political storm when he suggested that presidential powers be curtailed. The military's General Headquarters in Rawalpindi and a Washington envoy have immediately intervened, warning Sharif against taking any action that could destabilize the government and its battle against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

Nawaz Sharif has been cozying up to diplomats and representatives of the current American Administration in an attempt to gain favor. This is a dangerous situation. We cannot allow Nawaz Sharif to become the next Ahmadinejad, especially in a country that is already a demonstrated nuclear power.

The latest violence in Pakistan has targeted not the state, but religious minorities in the country. Over the weekend, Christian residents of Gojra were targeted by an angry mob of Islamic activists who sought revenge for alleged acts of desecration of the Qur'an. When the dust cleared, there were at least seven dead and dozens of homes burned to the ground. Amidst the destruction, one person has been strangely silent -- Nawaz Sharif. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the violence, immediately dispatching the Minister for Minority Affairs along with police and Rangers to protect Christian citizens.

Zardari said the state must protect civilians under attack from a handful of vengeful and armed groups, APP reported, citing presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar. A judicial inquiry will be held into the incident that will “give some comfort to the victims that the state is not biased,” the president said. Units of the Rangers security force are in the Gojra area keeping order, Zardari said.

It was quickly discovered that the alleged desecration was fabricated, and that no anti-Islamic provocations had occurred.

Punjab Chief Minister Rana Sanaullah has ruled out purported ‘desecration’ of the Quran by people of Christian community, which is seen as the prime reason behind Saturday’s communal violence in Gojra town in which seven Christians, including three women, were burnt alive and over dozen wounded. “Authorities had investigated the allegation of a Quran being defiled, and our initial reports say that there has not been any incident of desecration,” Sanaullah said.

Particularly troubling, though, is the seeming absence of Nawaz Sharif, leader of the PML(N) which controls Punjab. New information is emerging that suggest that the violence may have been exacerbated, at least in part, by PML(N) officials.

The reaction was further inflamed by a person Qadeer Awan (who is an official of PML-N) who sent people to Jhang to import activists, some of whom came masked and surrounded the Christian village. There was firing into the village and some christians defending the village by firing in the air to scare away the people. Police was present but took only evasive action and used teargassing. This continued for 5 hours and then busloads of people joined the mob, with the police backing away, ransacked the entire village and burnt six Christians alive and shot dead one.

Witnesses claim that the PML(N) controlled local police failed to protect the minority community as the violence broke out. With PML(N) leader Nawaz Sharif's recent attempts to remake himself as a political moderate following his history of cooperation with Islamic radicals, one would think he would want to quickly make statements condemning the attacks and stand up for the rights and defense of Pakistan's minority communities. Instead, his silence speaks volumes.

Economic protectionism does more than threaten economic recovery these days, it also threatens national security. Economists agree that economic protectionism is a losing strategy for strengthening GDP. Barriers to free trade and commerce actually harm native economies by proliferating protectionism globally as nations respond by passing defensive barriers of their own. But the domestic economy is not the only thing threatened by some protectionism under consideration in the US Congress right now. The Kansas City Star reports, a new trade measure proposed by the White House would provide for "Reconstruction Opportunity Zones" in Pakistan, a lynchpin in the war on terror.

The administration strongly supports the zones, which if successful, could generate employment and help quell the terrorist threats to the U.S. and its forces fighting the Taliban-al-Qaida insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan. "If this (bill) was amended, it could really turn things around," said Afan Aziz, the chairman of the Northwest Frontier Province wing of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association. "It could, we estimate, provide employment for 700,000 to 800,000 people, and think of all the families that would support. Then, no one would want to turn to the gun." Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special envoy for the region, said the last month the aim of the bill is to rebuild the lives of refugees displaced by the Pakistan army's clashes with local Taliban insurgents and al-Qaida. "An opportunity for them to have this kind of chance through this bill is all the more important," Holbrooke said.

Of course, domestic interests groups are up in arms about the threat of having to compete on a level playing field, and are putting their own advantage above that of the security of the nation.

On the other side of the debate are U.S. textile manufacturers, who said that any easing of the restrictions approved by the House last month will threaten American workers in a sector that's already lost tens of thousands of jobs.

As we have learned from the past few years, economic desperation too often plays a role in the recruiting of low-level terrorists. The recent confession of Mohammad Ajmal Kasab, a gunman in last year's terrorist assault on Mumbai, shows that he was lured into the world of Islamic terrorism by the idea that he would make more money.

"I don't think I am innocent," he told the court Monday, and then proceeded to tell the story of how he went from being a poorly paid shop assistant in small-town Pakistan to the face of the carnage in Mumbai. At first, he said, all he wanted was to be a bandit. So he and a friend headed for Rawalpindi, a city near Pakistan's capital and the country's military headquarters. They searched for bearded men, figuring Islamist militants could train them to use weapons and fight, according to the court's record of Mr. Kasab's confession, which offered no indication of when the events took place.

Allowing Pakistan to grow its domestic economy and provide jobs and economic opportunity for Pakistanis is a vital effort to building on recent successes and defeating militants. Failing to pass the measure to provide "Reconstructino Opportunity Zones" in Pakistan is just too great.

Just when you thought Taliban couldn't get any more sick, new reports from Pakistan that terror chief Baitullah Mehsud has been buying and selling children for suicide bombing missions. Baitullah Mehsud is associated with al Qaeda and the Taliban and is considered the architect of the assassination of PM Benazir Bhutto, wife of current President Zardari. The current Pakistani government appears to be taking this threat seriously after years of neglect by previous administrations of Mufharraf and Nawaz Sharif, both of whom coddled and supported the Taliban and other homegrown terrorist organizations. Current President Asif Zardari said this week that his government views religious extremism as the single greatest threat to the country, and he will not stop until it is defeated.

"Military operations are all across the board against any insurgent whether in Karachi, Lahore or whether he is in any part of Pakistan," said Mr Zardari. "My problem is terror. I have focused myself on terror. The PPP has focused itself against the extremist mindset. Terror is a regional problem, it cuts across borders. "I would love to be remembered for creating a Pakistan where militancy – I know it can't totally be diminished – is defeated." A day earlier Mr Zardari gained important support when Pakistan's army chief, Gen Ashfaq Kiyani, said that the "immediate internal threat" of Taliban militancy was greater than any "external threat" – code for India. Diplomats took comfort that Mr Zardari appeared to speak for the most important power brokers in Pakistan.

President Zardari has reversed course in Pakistan in more ways than one, embracing the Karzai government and ending the practice, perfected by Nawaz Sharif, of holding the hands of religious extremists in Afghanistan.

Another apparent taboo that Mr Zardari has breached is to disregard the hankering within the Pakistani establishment for a religious-based government in Afghanistan that would be hostile to India and the West. In recent months, he has been one of the few Pakistani leaders to befriend Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai. "Karzai and myself are friends," he said. "Our military chiefs have met, our intelligence chiefs have met."

Zardari and the PPP appear to be a legitimate partner to the West in a region overrun with opportunists and thinly veiled Talibani. For years, democratic nations have been receiving lip service from the likes of Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif, only to see these same individuals cutting backroom deals with the sort of terrorist that buy and sell children to use as bombs. There remains a long and hard fight in Pakistan and Afghanistan - two nations that have suffered neglect by their leaders, if not outright cooperation with Taliban and al Qaeda militants. There does appear to be a dawn on the horizon, though, thanks to Zardari and Kiyani's actions over the past few months. Let's pray this progress continues.

A new poll shows that Pakistanis overwhelmingly see the Taliban and al Qaeda as a critical threat to the country. According to the report, "An overwhelming majority think that Taliban groups who seek to overthrow the Afghan government should not be allowed to have bases in Pakistan." This should come as no surprise, Pakistanis have had a close look at what life would be like under Taliban rule both in neighboring Afghanistan and, more recently, at home. It also makes more important a critical look at Nawaz Sharif as he continues to try to rebuild his political machine. Not only has Sharif been critical of attempts to capture or kill terrorist leader Baitullah Mehsud, he has a long history of working with religious extremists. A former ISI official even arranged for Nawaz to meet with Osama bin Laden, who gave Sharif cash to support his political aspirations. According to the ISI official, Sharif told bin Laden, "I love jihad."

“Nawaz Sharif insisted that I arrange a direct meeting with the Osama, which I did in Saudi Arabia. Nawaz met thrice with Osama in Saudi Arabia. The most historic was the meeting in the Green Palace Hotel in Medina between Nawaz Sharif, Osama and myself. Osama asked Nawaz to devote himself to “jihad in Kashmir”. Nawaz immediately said, ‘I love jihad.’ Osama smiled, and then stood up from his chair and went to a nearby pillar and said, ‘Yes, you may love jihad, but your love for jihad is this much.’ He then pointed to a small portion of the pillar. ‘Your love for children is this much,’ he said, pointing to a larger portion of the pillar. ‘And your love for your parents is this much,’ he continued, pointing towards the largest portion. ‘I agree that you love jihad, but this love is the smallest in proportion to your other affections in life.’”

More recently, Nawaz Sharif has been found in Afghanistan working with with the Taliban. Sharif has been called an "old hand" in Afghanistan who "had developed good working relations with almost all the Afghan Mujahideen leaders." Pakistanis recognize that religious extremists - the Taliban and al Qaeda in particular - represent an existential threat to the nation. Nawaz Sharif, apparently, feels otherwise.

The eyes of the world have been on Iran in recent weeks as the hardline Ahmedinijad regime, with the backing of the Ayatollah's, appears on the brink of stealing a national election to keep hardline fundamentalists in power. While the world reacts in horror to the utter contempt for democratic practice, the rule of law, and basic human rights, one might wonder what, if anything, this event tells us about Pakistan. As it turns out, quite a bit.

The Promise of Progress
The Iranian election should serve as a stern warning for peacful citizens who ask nothing more than to elect their own governments and be free from the tyranny of fundamentalist oppression. While it remains a far cry from the restricted society that exists under the iron fist of the Ayatollahs in Iran, Pakistan is currently undergoing an internal struggle that will decide if continues on its path of development and joins the modern, free world; or if it is shackled to the repressive tendencies of dictators hiding under the robes of clerics.

Iran's current opposition leader, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, has opened up the first opportunity for democratic reform that Iran has seen in years. Similarly, in Pakistan, President Zardari has reversed the self-destructive course that Pakistan had been on for years under Musharraf. Neither of these men are perfect, by any means, but they both represent new beginnings and fresh opportunities for stronger democracy, increased development, and a greater connectivity with the modern world.

The Nawaz Sharif Threat
Despite the impressive gains in Pakistan recently, the bright future of the country is under serious threat. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been trying to put himself in the spotlight again, and trying to rebuild his personal political empire. Nawaz Sharif is considered an "old hand" in Afhganistan's religious extremism. As reported by ANI in 2008,

During his two stints as prime minister, Nawaz Sharif had developed good working relations with almost all the Afghan Mujahideen leaders...

In fact, Nawaz Sharif built his political career on religious extremism, calling his opponents part of an "Indo-Zionist lobby." Nawaz Sharif has already tried to impose Sharia law on Pakistan twice so far, in 1991 and 1998.

A former official from Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) - the nation's premier spy agency - has alleged that Nawaz Sharif met with and received funding from Osama bin Laden in 1990.

Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal president Qazi Hussain Ahmed had said in a recent interview that Sharif had repeatedly met bin Laden, who had offered him money to topple the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) government in 1990.

Khawaja, who developed a friendship with bin Laden while fighting against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, told AKI that the Al Qaeda head wanted the "secular" PPP government overthrown to ensure that Pakistan continued supporting the Afghan jehad.

Khawaja claimed that bin Laden gave him funds, which he personally delivered to Sharif, AKI reported.

"Sharif insisted that I arrange a direct meeting with the 'sheikh', which I did in Saudi Arabia. Nawaz met Osama thrice in Saudi Arabia," Khawaja said. However, he did not indicate when precisely the meeting took place.

Even today we see Nawaz Sharif protecting Talibani militants who wish to overthrow and destroy Democratic Pakistan.

Lessons Learned
If we have learned any lesson from the recent elections in Iran, it is that religious fundamentalists are not honest political partners. Judging by his own political career, and his own words and actions today, Nawaz Sharif presents a real threat to the recent democratic gains in Pakistan. The world has turned its attention to the fundamentalist threat in Iran. Will it ignore the same threat in Pakistan?

Pakistani journalist Nadeem Paracha, in a superbly referenced post on The Dawn Blog, takes his colleagues in the Pakistani media to task for their self-serving coddling of Islamic extremists.

It is a rather stunning experience watching certain TV talk show hosts, journalists and assorted ‘experts’ continuing to find newer and more bizarre ways to stick to an obviously reactionary and, if I may, paranoid line in this respect, especially at a time when a majority of Pakistanis, including well known religious scholars, have started to freely exhibit anger and bitterness towards phenomenon like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The question arises, is this a matter of defending an ideology for which these TV and press men are ready to face ridicule? Or is this peculiar attitude about something else?

The danger comes not from a brainwashing of the lower classes – those people who feel the brunt of the Taliban's ways quickly turn against their form of Islamism – but the more educated middle classes who are still insulated from the punishing reality of the Taliban's regime.

It can be safely assumed that since a bulk of the classes that make up the ‘common people’ are the ones who are directly facing and being bludgeoned by the frightening terrorist attacks in the cities, most of them are now rapidly changing their perceptions about the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.

The above may also suggest that the ideological divide between Pakistan’s middle-classes and the classes bellow them may have grown - even though, by largely responding affirmably to TV shows based on conspiracy theories and reactionary populist rhetoric, sections of the country’s middle class actually believe they are sympathising with the common people.
...
Thus, these televangelists are achieving what the conventional mullah failed to. That is, to make the notion of looking and sounding Islamic acceptable among the so-called educated elite. These evangelists – from Aamir Liaquat to Farhat Hashmi, Zakir Naik, and even Juniad Jamshed - with their brand of dressed-up evangelism are actually the softened versions of the scary, ferocious mullah.

The message remains the same, though: One needs the services of a wise, holy agent to reach the wise, Divine Saviour. Of course, this is something your neighbourhood mullah has also been insisting for years but only looking and sounding a lot cruder.

All hope is not lost with the Pakistani media. There are some who are starting to see the light and speaking out against the extremist forces.

Recently, especially after the fallout of the Swat peace deal, some Urdu columnists and TV hosts have decided to drop out of the closet and take the extremists and their ‘pro-jihad’ colleagues head-on. Two journalists immediately come to mind in this respect: Imtiaz Alam and Hassan Nisar.

Out of the two, Nisar has been a lot more aggressive, becoming an iconoclast of sorts in the spheres of the largely rightist Urdu media.

This is an important development because since the language they are communicating in is Urdu, the much-needed alternative to the largely convoluted quasi-Islamist narrative their colleagues have constructed will now have a better chance of being heard on a much larger scale.

These journalists must be supported. The stakes are too high for us to sit back and let the airwaves be controlled by cynical opportunists who play at mullah at the expense of freedom and Pakistani culture.

Did Nawaz Sharif approve Kargil attacks? Back in 2006, then Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif told the world that he did not know about plans to attack Indian forces in Kargil. In fact, Sharif accused Musharraf of derailing potential peace accords between Pakistan and India.

Through the Kargil operation Musharraf, the then Chief of the Army Staff, had "sabotaged" the understanding reached by him with Vajpayee at Lahore to resolve all Indo-Pak problems including Kashmir, Sharif said.

But new evidence has appeared that suggests Sharif not only knew about the plans, but gave tacit approval for the attacks in Kargil. The evidence comes from PAF Air Commodore (retd) Kaiser Tufail in a recent issue of 'Vayu Aerospace and Defence Review' magazine.

Now based in Lahore, Tufail says the entire operation was planned by Musharraf but had the tacit approval of then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who, after a presentation, said "'General sahib, Bismillah karein'... not withstanding the denials we hear from him every new moon.""

Nawaz Shari has shown himself to be two-faced in the past with his embrace Islamic radicalism. As Nawaz Sharif announces that he plans to run in Pakistani by-elections, it is important that we get to the bottom of this latest Sharif scandal.

That ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India present a serious obstacle to long-term peace and stability in the region is well known. In addition to straining relations between two nuclear powers (Pakistan and India), the dispute over Kashmir resulted in Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) supporting Taliban and possibly al Qaeda militants in the region as a "strategic asset" in their struggles with India. This resulted in the blowback we see today, as militants shed any pretense of control by the ISI and began taking over Pakistani villages and declaring Shari'a rule. As such, diplomats and international security experts have been long saying that an important part of a successful strategy in the Af-Pak region is to heal old wounds between Pakistan and India. While this will not come easily, it's good to see that Pakistan President Zardari is making the important move of extending a hand to India:

President Asif Ali Zardari urged India on Monday to resume the process of composite dialogue ‘unconditionally’ to jointly address common problems, including terrorism. Violence and militancy were no solution to political problems, the president said during a meeting with Dr Ghulam Nabi Fai, the executive director of Kashmir Centre in Washington. The president said the ‘merchants of war’ promoted violence for settling political disputes, but this had to be resisted through recourse to peaceful indigenous political movements.

Talks with India had begun to reach important breakthroughs, but were derailed following the terrorist attacks in Mumbai last year. This effort by the Pakistani government to extend an invitation to resume the talks, especially as the government shows it is serious about defeating militants at home, is an important step forward. Next week, both Pakistan President Zardari and India PM Manmohan Singh will be in Russia for the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) Summit. Hopefully the two will meet with one another there and begin the important work of bringing together their two countries in cooperation to strengthen their security and economies.

Nicholas Schmidle asks, Can the U.S. really trust Nawaz Sharif?. Looking at Sharif's past - a messy mix of political strongarming and kowtowing to radical Islamists - and his recent return to the political scene, Schmidle wonders whether or not American politicians are playing with fire by giving Sharif so much attention. But as much as Sharif has been playing coy with the U.S. lately, his actions speak louder than his words. Take, for instance, his recent opposition to the use of drones in fighting the Taliban in Pakistan's tribal regions - one of the most effective tools in the war to date. What does Sharif say? Nawaz Sharif is trying to stop the use of drones in Pakistan:

In a luncheon meeting with EU Ambassadors here, in the context of forthcoming first EU-Pakistan Summit meeting being held in Brussels on 17 June. He said the US drone attacks were causing massive civilian casualties and also violating Pakistan’s sovereignty.

Sharif says that without handicapping the fight against the Taliban, the people will not support the efforts. But what do we see happening today in Pakistan? Pakistani tribesman are taking up arms against the Taliban, supporting government efforts, and cleaning up their own villages.

Nearly 400 tribesmen attacked five villages in the Dhok Darra area locally which are thought to be militant strongholds, the Associated Press news agency quoted district official Atif-ur-Rehman as saying. The citizens' militia had occupied three of the villages since Saturday and was trying to push the Taliban out of two others on Sunday, he said. Some 20 houses of local tribesmen suspected of harbouring Taliban fighters were destroyed, the official said.

Nawaz Sharif is using his demonstrable political machine to drum up support for his own personal vanity. Let us not forget that, as Schmidle remembers,

In May 1998, he tested a nuclear weapon (ignoring pleas from the Clinton White House). Shortly after that, he tried to impose sharia law nationwide, drawing sharp condemnation from women and religious minorities. "We made a nuclear explosion in May," said Sharif, who nearly provoked a war with India a year later. "Now we will make another social explosion with this bill." Sharif was toppled in the October 1999 coup that brought Musharraf to power. A year later, he and his family went into exile in Saudi Arabia. He spent the next seven years shuttling between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom, scheming a way to return to office--and his home.

Sharif's scheming for his own personal power threatens to undo not only the important-but-fragile progress in Pakistan's efforts to fight its own domestic terrorists.

If you want to see why Pakistan is being supported, check out this profile.

...As the Obama administration struggles with another darkening crisis in Pakistan, Mr. Haqqani has become an influential figure in Washington...

The crisis has given Mr. Haqqani, 52, access to the highest levels of the Obama administration and Congress, the latest twist in a lifetime spent navigating Pakistan’s treacherous political shoals.

He speaks several times a week with Richard C. Holbrooke, the administration’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who calls him “one of the most skilled ambassadors I have ever seen.” He figures he has met with 90 members of Congress. And he is a fixture on CNN, the op-ed pages of newspapers and at research groups around Washington.

...Mr. Haqqani speaks in lucid, well-rounded sentences that suggest his background as a journalist and commentator. He is catnip for American journalists, offering a mix of high-minded analysis and street-corner gossip.

...His book “Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military” offered a nuanced analysis of how the armed forces and Islamist groups have used one another in an effort to build influence in the country.

...Mr. Holbrooke, himself no slouch in the media-mastery department, said, “Some ambassadors’ influence is derived logically from the country they represent; Husain Haqqani’s influence is derived from his absolute mastery of the American media.”

Mr. Haqqani’s ties to the Bhutto family run deep. On the day Ms. Bhutto was killed, Mr. Haqqani recalls taping interviews with television stations for 12 hours. At times, he broke down in tears on camera.

Mr. Haqqani’s wife, Farahnaz Ispahani, is a member of the Pakistani Parliament and a spokeswoman for Mr. Zardari.

...“I see my role as helping Americans understand that Pakistan is undergoing a transformation,” he said. “Then I have to persuade Americans to help Pakistan with that transformation.”...

When Iran's Mahmoud Ahmedinejad was running for President of Iran, he was fawned over in Iranian and regional media as a simple man, a man of the people, and a real populist. In short, no critical examinations of his policies or beliefs occurred, much to the later dismay of the Iranian people and the the international community. Rather than pursue policies to build an effective Iranian state, Ahmedinejad pursued funding international terrorism, a spewing virulent anti-semitism directed towards Israel, and the jewish community in general. He turned out to be hostile to the West, and posing a serious threat to regional peace and stability.

Now, this sort of political amnesia and lack of scrutiny is rearing its ugly head again as Nawaz Sharif imposes himself on the political landscape of Pakistan. With the many challenges facing President Zardari and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), the pro-Islamist Sharif is now being uncritically labeled Pakistan's most popular leading figure, even though his party (Pakistan Muslim League -PML) was defeated electorally by the PPP in last years elections. In fact, Sharif's entire political focus has been on Islamic populism fused with vigorous anti-Western sentiments, pandering to extremist views, and labeling his opponents in the 1990 election campaigns as agents of an "Indo-Zionist" lobby.

Sharif's embrace of extremism is political poison for Pakistan. He simultaneously fans the flames of anti-semitism, and whip up needless hostility towards India. While Pakistan and India have had more than their share of conflict over the years, what is needed is leadership that peacefully engages India, not saber-rattling and poison-pen rhetoric from Nawaz Sharif. Sharif's embrace of extremism and bigotry are bad enough, but when it is coupled with his proven track record of nuclear-brinksmanship with India (recklessly engaging in nuclear detonation "test" in the late 1990's), it spells instability and a real threat to the continued peaceful existence of the nation. Pakistan does not need a return to the bigotry and anti-semetism under Nawaz Sharif that the country labored under during the 1990's, and that Iran was saddled with for the last several years.