Islamabad, May 9 : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Thursday condemned the kidnapping of the son of former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani after an attack on a political gathering, a presidential spokesman said.

Ali Haider Gillani, son of Yusuf Raza Gilani and candidate from a provincial assembly seat in Multan, was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen after they opened fire and killed one person and injured several others, reported Xinhua.

Islamabad, March 31 - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has sought a report on the molestation of women of Pakistani-origin in Libya, a government spokesperson said.

The activists, two of whom are sisters, were reportedly participating in an aid convoy bound for Gaza that intended to try to break the Israeli blockade, Xinhua reported.

President Zardari has expressed serious concern over the molestation reports and called for a report from the concerned ministry, said Farhatullah Babar, spokesperson to President Zardari.

Islamabad, Feb 23 : Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari has claimed war is not the solution to end terrorism, calling for unity and harmony among the people to address the challenges of extremism and terrorism.

While addressing a national conference, which was organised by the Ministry of National Harmony at the Presidency, Zardari said there was a need to adopt the approach of peace and reconciliation to eliminate the menace of extremism and terrorism, the Daily Times reports.

Islamabad, Feb 22 : Calling drone attacks in Pakistan as `counterproductive', the country's President Asif Ali Zardari has stressed the need for an alternate solution.

Zardari voiced concerns over continued militant attacks on the Pakistani army and paramilitary troops from the Afghanistan side of the border.

Islamabad, Jan 8 : Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has directed officials of an income support programme to train 150,000 Pakistani youths in different trades and vocations and generate overseas jobs for them.

Zardari asked the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to accomplish the task in consultation with the ministries of overseas Pakistanis and foreign affairs, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

Islamabad, Dec 29  : Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari stopped the country's Interior Minister Rehman Malik from revealing the Benazir Bhutto assassination investigation report before the Pakistan Peoples Party's (PPP) Central Executive Committee (CEC), it has been revealed.

Zardari issued the instructions to Malik just hours before the commemorative PPP rally at Garhi Khuda Bux on Benazir's fifth death anniversary.

Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari had invited Prime Minister Manmohan Singh early this year to pay a visit to Nankana Sahib Gurdwara near Lahore on the occasion of Guru Nanak's birth anniversary on 28th of November, but the Indian prime minister is reportedly unlikely to visit the neighbouring country anytime soon.

Pakistan once again raised the lingering Kashmir dispute on the international platform of United Nations.

In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Pakistan President Asif Zardari alleged that Kashmir remained a symbol UN system’s failure.

On the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s 65th session, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that the Kashmiri people had been given their fundamental right to self-determination, and added that their movement had gained a new momentum.

India’s External Affairs Minister SM Krishna, who is on a three day visit to neighboring Pakistan, has said that India wants a stable and prosperous Pakistan.

After arriving in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad on Friday, he said that he brings “message of goodwill from India for the people of Pakistan”. He affirmed that solutions for all issues can be found through peaceful dialogue.

London, Oct 12 : Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari asked US President Barack Obama to stop Pakistan Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani from staging a coup to oust the weak civilian government, days after Osama bin Laden’s killing in Abbottabad, according to an exchange of secret messages revealed by a British newspaper.

Islamabad, Sep 30 - Tennis star Sania Mirza and her cricketer husband Shoaib Malik Thursday met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to discuss launching a fund-raising campaign for the flood victims in the country.

The couple expressed grief over the devastation caused by the floods in Pakistan, the official APP news agency reported. They met him at Aiwan-e-Sadr (his official residence here).

They told the president that they would play exhibition matches both within and outside the country to help raise funds for the affected people.

Islamabad, Sep 2 : President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai have reviewed bilateral relations and the regional situation, it was reported here.

The two leaders met in Tajikistan capital Dushanbe on the sidelines of the third Quadrilateral Summit of Tajikistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Russia.

Zardari and Karzai exchanged views on the situation in Afghanistan, geo-strategic scenario after the withdrawal of the US troops from Afghanistan, bilateral cooperation in fighting the menace of narco-trade, extremism and terrorism.

Islamabad, Aug 27 : Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has urged the business community to suggest ways for overcoming the country's economic crisis.

Zardari Friday told a delegation of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) that the business community should help the government restore confidence of the people in the strength and vitality of the national economy.

Islamabad, Aug 26 : President Asif Ali Zardari will visit China from Aug 30 to Sep 1 to take part in an exposition and meet the Chinese vice premier.

Zardari's visit comes close on the heels of Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's trip to China.

Foreign Office Spokesperson Tehmina Janjua Thursday said Zardari would meet Chinese Vice Premier Li Kequang at Urumqi during his stay there. The China-Eurasia Expo is being held in Urumqi.

Zardari will also meet leaders of Chinese corporate sector in Urumqi, she added.

Islamabad, August 24 : Islamabad has cautioned Washington that any move to reduce US aid would not only ruin Pakistan’s already troubled economy, but also hurt the United States’ image in the country.

Islamabad, Aug 23 : President Asif Ali Zardari has summoned a provincial minister who lost his cool and told Interior Minister Rehman Malik not to frequently visit violence-hit Karachi. Malik retorted he won't visit the port city, if that's what the minister wanted.

Zardari Tuesday summoned Sindh Senior Minister Zulfiqar Mirza to Islamabad, reported Geo News.

During the Sindh cabinet meeting, Zulfikar Mirza became angry and told Rehman Malik to stay in Islamabad and leave Karachi to the provincial setup.

According to the authorities, Pakistan's president called an acid-throwing attack on three young girls "barbaric" and demanded provincial authorities find the suspects.

Pakistan's The Nation newspaper has reported that three sisters, ages 20, 14 and 8, were targeted Thursday in the town of Kalat and had acid thrown in their faces. All three were rushed to a local hospital, where one of the victims was in serious condition.

An application challenging President Asif Ali Zardari's eligibility to contest the presidential election has been dismissed by Pakistan Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Hamid Ali Mirza in light of the Supreme Court's detailed verdict on the controversial amnesty law, the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO).

Mirza said in his judgment," In the circumstances, as no prima facie case has been made out by the petitioner his petition, being not maintainable, is dismissed."

The Pakistani Law Ministry looks determined to block the reopening of Swiss corruption cases against President Asif Zardari and others, despite being warned by the Supreme Court about the implementation of the NRO verdict.

NAB chairman is facing the wrath of the Supreme Court for not implementing the two-month-old NRO verdict, reported The News.

Law Ministry is sitting on the issue of reopening of foreign cases and is not responding to NAB’s request on the matter.
 

Washington, Jan : An American newspaper columnist has described the failure of campaigns to remove Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani as “good news”, saying that their ouster would have hampered efforts to fight the militants.