Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, second from right, speaks with his counterpart, Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta, not pictured, as they meet for talks in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Clinton: Afghans and Pakistanis to meet regularly (click here)
20 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senior U.S., Afghan and Pakistani officials ended three days of talks Thursday on the next steps in the war against Islamic extremists, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said the three-way format was so fruitful it would be used regularly in the months ahead.
Clinton told reporters that the next meeting of U.S, Afghan and Pakistani government delegations would be in late April or early May.
This week's talks produced no known breakthroughs, but Clinton said they were in-depth and forthright. They were designed to gather suggestions and ideas from the Pakistanis and Afghans as the administration reviews its approach to the war, which has turned more problematic over the past few years....
There are some days one wishes Pakistan would throw out the Pakistani Constitution and start over again, especially considering the recent strain on the populous in Punjab (The land of five rivers).
The spirit of the law is good, but, the practical application after Musharraf isn't getting support. At risk is the stability of a large region of eastern Pakistan with the citizens that feel there 'break through' elections displacing Musharraf will cost them ultimately their representation at the political levels of government.
I don't blame them for being upset. They pinned their hopes for political freedom on Sharif brothers only to have the Supreme Court trash that possibility. The Sharifs also joined the current President to displace Musharraf. To say they aren't important political figures in Pakistan is to say displacing Musharraf wasn't important. It was very important and certainly to the people of Punjab as well.
While the Pakistani Constitution has a focus to 'protect' the people from potential criminals, it was 'designed' by and used by Musharraf to imprison and displace his opposition in elections. To be arrested, charged and found guilty while a political agent was to mean to lose any possibility to displace Musharraf.
So, the Pakistani Constitution has to be examined for its 'extremism' by the Legislature. In the meantime, while the President doesn't want to oppose the Supreme Court and they have ruled within Constitutional Law, he needs to recognize a valueable political ally that can quell the concerns of the citizens of Punjab.
That is difficult. It is Punjab that his wife, Benazir was assassinated. But, he is President and needs to speak to the people of Punjab noting other leaders of these citizens and promise to find solutions to Constitutional issues that serve no purpose but to divide them.
Pakistani supporters of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif shout slogans against the government as they set up barricades of burning tires during a protest in Karachi, Pakistan, on Thursday, Feb. 26, 2009. Anti-government demonstrators attacked banks and shops and lawmakers scuffled with police amid gathering political turmoil Thursday triggered by a court ruling barring two opposition leaders from elected office. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, left, and his brother Shahbaz Sharif in Lahore, Pakistan, Feb. 18, 2008. Pakistan's Supreme Court declared the country's main opposition leader and his brother ineligible for office today, threatening to create political instability as this nuclear nation copes with a rising Taliban insurgency.
