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Hillary phones Zardari, Nawaz to defuse tension

* US secretary of state calls on Nawaz to show flexibility
* Tells Zardari US wants stable and democratic Pakistan

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: Amid the prevailing tensions between the PPP and the PML-N – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday called President Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif over the telephone in a bid to bring them to a workable cooperation formula, Daily Times has learnt.

Hillary’s separate conversations with Zardari and Nawaz marked the most senior foreign intervention yet in the crisis.

Flexibility: Sources said that Hillary used her “good family relations during her talks with Nawaz Sharif to persuade him to show flexibility in reconciling differences with Zardari, so that issues can be settled amicably”.

Essential: According to a private TV channel, Hillary told Nawaz that reconciliation between the two parties was essential for Pakistan’s stability. She said stability in Pakistan was inevitable for peace and completion of US policies in the region.

Nawaz told Hillary that the lawyers’ march and the sit-in were part of a ‘peaceful struggle’ for the democratic system and the restoration of the judiciary.

The sources said the US was very much concerned because of the tensions between the two parties – which could not only further deteriorate the political and law and order situation in Pakistan, but also severely affect the US-led war on terror.

They said that Hillary also brought up the same issues in her conversation with Zardari, in a bid to keep the democratic process in Pakistan on track.

However, a press release by the Presidency said that Hillary and Zardari discussed the regional situation, bilateral issues and an upcoming ‘Friends of Pakistan’ meeting in Tokyo. Hillary assured the president that the US would help his government in stabilising Pakistan. She said the US was keen to see a stable and democratic system strengthened in the country.

US special envoy Richard Holbrooke also reportedly called Nawaz over the telephone on Friday.

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