Zardari to discuss resumption of Nato route with Cameron

LONDON: President Asif Ali Zardari will hold talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron next week on his way back from the Nato summit in Chicago.The News has learnt that President Zardari will hold half an hour long meeting with the British prime minister to discuss with him the Pakistan government’s intention to end its six-month blockade of supplies for coalition troops in Afghanistan.
President Zardari was due to leave Pakistan on Thursday afternoon but mysteriously his plane didn’t take off on time due to security non-clearance, according to a source, but was still held up at the Benazir International Airport at the time of the filing of this report.
The preparations in London were complete on Thursday to receive the president of Pakistan and his staff who were travelling on an especially chartered aircraft on his way to attend the Nato summit in Chicago. President Zardari was scheduled to leave for Chicago on Friday to represent Pakistan in the crucial talks on the future of Afghanistan.
On his way back from Chicago, President Zardari will stop in London for two days and will meet the British Premier for half an hour, a source told The News. It is believed that President Zardari will also meet other senior British officials during his stay in London but both Pakistani and British sides are trying to keep these meetings a closely guarded secret.
Pakistan closed its Afghan border to Nato supplies in November last after American air strikes killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in Salala, which led to the breakdown in relations between the two key ‘war on terror’ allies. The two sides have been at loggerheads over the future of Afghanistan and nurture deep suspicions of each other’s intentions.
It is believed that during his visit to the UK with his cabinet colleagues, which concluded last week, Prime Minister Gilani and David Cameron held lengthy discussion during which Pakistan was urged in strong words to open the vital supply routes for the coalition troops battling Taliban.
PM Gilani, according to sources, assured the British government that the supply routes will be reopened at any cost but it required some time for Pakistan to create the right atmosphere and to diffuse the public pressure to some extent.
The two also met for nearly an honour — away from the peering eyes of their colleagues — in prime minister’s car when they were on their way to a Pakistani community event. No details of that meeting are available but it is believed that both premiers focussed on the issue of Nato supply lines and pullout from Afghanistan. Spokespersons at the Pakistan High Commission and 10 Downing Street refused to comment on Zardari-Cameron meeting.’’’