New Delhi: The US has put pressure on the Pakistan government to defuse the current crisis in the country, according to media reports.
The arrangement calls for the removal of Zardari ally and Punjab Governor Salman Taseer who is accused of playing a key role in the departure of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif recently.
Concerned over the rapidly spreading political turmoil in Pakistan, the US has swiftly moved to ensure that the volatile situation in the country does not escalate to a point of no return and sought assurances from the military leadership of non-intervention.
The Special US Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke talked to Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani over phone and discussed with him the situation in the country.
The US Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W Patterson, also spoke to Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif in Lahore.
"We have no intention to bring down the government. We only want to strengthen democracy but a real democracy not the one inherited by a dictator," said Sharif.
Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen said he doesn't believe there is a "high probability right now" of the crisis prompting Pakistan military to intervene.
In an interview with PBS's Charlie Rose broadcast late on Thursday night, Mullen said his Pakistani counterpart Gen Ashfaq Kayani is "committed to a civilian government" and doesn't want to take over as his predecessor Pervez Musharraf did in 1999.
"The situation in Pakistan continues to deteriorate very, very slowly under a political leadership which is very challenged because of the totality of the crisis," Mullen said and added "officials are closely monitoring opposition protests" in Pakistan.
The official Associated Press of Pakistan reported from Islamabad that Zardari had a three-way teleconference with Patterson and Holbrooke.
"A host of issues of mutual interest to both Pakistan and the US came under discussion in the teleconference that lasted for about thirty minutes," President's Spokesman Farhatullah Babar was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the Taliban has won another battle in Pakistan. Sharia law has re-opened in the country's troubled Swat valley. The law is being implemented in as many as four regions starting Friday.
Unable to manage peace, the Pakistani government had caved in and signed a ceasefire with the Taliban in the North West Frontier Province on February 17, and by implementing the stringent Islamic law they have now fulfilled their side of the deal.
It however remains to be seen if peace will follow.
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