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US Reaches Out to Pakistani Opposition

Administration presses bitter rivals to unite against Taliban threat

By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff

Posted May 2, 2009 5:58 AM CDT
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(Newser) – The Obama administration is seeking closer ties with the Pakistani president's biggest—and most bitter—rival, the New York Times reports. The US previously shunned Nawaz Sharif because of his links to Islamists, but diplomats now believe Sharif's popularity among that group could help bolster Asif Ali Zardari's embattled government against the rapidly growing Taliban threat if the two can cooperate.

Sharif—a former prime minister who was deposed in a 1999 coup—is scoring far higher in popularity polls than Zardari, whose grip on power the Defense Department described yesterday as "very, very weak." "We told them they’re facing a national challenge, and for that, you need bipartisanship,” a senior administration official said. "They need to band together against the militants.”

A convoy of Pakistan army moves on its way to troubled Swat valley in Pakistan on Thursday, April 30, 2009.
A convoy of Pakistan army moves on its way to troubled Swat valley in Pakistan on Thursday, April 30, 2009.   (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)
Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari prays before his address to a joint sitting of parliament in Islamabad, Pakistan last month.
Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari prays before his address to a joint sitting of parliament in Islamabad, Pakistan last month.   (AP Photo/APP)
Pakistani supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif march along a street during a demonstration in Lahore, Pakistan, last month.
Pakistani supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif march along a street during a demonstration in Lahore, Pakistan, last month.   (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gestures as he talks to the media after a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan in this 2008 file photo.
Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif gestures as he talks to the media after a press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan in this 2008 file photo.   (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)
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