Word: zardari
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Although it is unclear whether Pakistan's new civilian government had a hand in his release, Khan offered thanks to President Asif Ali Zardari for lifting the restrictions imposed on him by his predecessor, Pervez Musharraf. Zardari may have been averse to the international criticism likely to come from restoring Khan's freedom of movement, but it was a government clarification that was key to the court's decision. A government lawyer told the court some weeks ago that Khan was not under formal house arrest but merely kept under tight security for his own protection. Seizing on that admission...
...another matter. "None of the things [the U.S.] cares about are in his control," says Christine Fair, a South Asia expert at the Rand Corp. Pakistan's security forces and intelligence agencies are hardly answerable to the civilian government. Still, the Obama Administration could at least try to strengthen Zardari's hand. A bill proposed last year by then Senator Joe Biden and Senator Richard Lugar calls for trebling U.S. economic assistance to Pakistan, to $1.5 billion annually for five years, with a possible extension for another five years. The bill enjoys bipartisan support and looks likely to pass. Spent...
...mildly, wise spending of such aid is not a given. Pakistan has a long history of corruption, so any leverage the U.S. has over Zardari might be used to ensure that he runs a clean administration and rebuilds Pakistan's institutions. Leaders of the reformist lawyers movement that helped undermine Musharraf, for example, say Zardari hasn't yet restored the courts' independence...
...absolutely no influence is the security of Pakistan's nukes. The military won't let the U.S. anywhere near the arsenal. So the only way to avoid the nightmare of nuclear weapons in the hands of extremists is to trust in the Pakistani military's safeguards--and pray that Zardari and Kayani get serious about eliminating the extremists...
...Both Zardari and Kayani will seek from Holbrooke an assurance that the U.S. will pressure India to resolve Kashmir. But Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is unlikely to play ball. India is intractably opposed to any outside mediation on Kashmir, and lobbied successfully to have the matter removed from Holbrooke's mandate. Especially after last November's terrorist attacks on Mumbai--blamed on a Pakistan-based group with long links to Islamabad's intelligence services--any hint of a concession to Pakistan would be hugely unpopular in India. The U.S. has some cards to play: it can offer India nuclear...