Pakistan Opens Hearings on U.S. Memo in Threat to Zardari

Pakistan’s Supreme Court will open hearings today on claims that an aide to President Asif Ali Zardari sought U.S. help to prevent a possible coup, an account that widened a rift between civilian and military leaders.The court’s probe into a memo requesting U.S. assistance was triggered by opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and has been backed by army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. It threatens Zardari’s tenure as he struggles to revive an economy hampered by the worst-ever energy shortages and militant violence, said analysts including Imtiaz Gul, chairman of the Islamabad-based Center for Research and Security.“The memo has practically unified the Supreme Court, Sharif and the army,” Gul said in a phone interview Dec. 16. “They are all against him. This is the most serious challenge to Zardari’s position so far.” Bailey Button Ugg BootsDeepening political instability in nuclear-armed Pakistan risks undermining efforts to improve security in South Asia just as President Barack Obama withdraws troops from Afghanistan and bids to repair ties with Pakistani authorities after a year of setbacks, including a Nov. 25 strike by NATO forces that killed 24 Pakistani troops.Pakistani-American businessman Mansoor Ijaz says he helped Pakistan’s then ambassador to Washington, Husain Haqqani, send a May plea for U.S. pressure against Pakistan’s military, as the army stood humiliated for failing to detect or halt the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden.