US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and his rival, opposition leader Nawaz Sharif, that US aid could be at risk unless they defused their country's political crisis and end protests by lawyers and activists that threatened to turn violent over the weekend, US officials said. An announcement on TV by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at dawn Monday that the government would reinstate Iftikhar Chaudhry as chief justice was cheered throughout the country as a victory for democracy and the rule of law. Clinton telephoned both Zardari and Sharif on Saturday as the “long march” that started Thursday was gaining momentum. The officials said Clinton coordinated with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband to exert strong pressure for a deal. Clinton told reporters Monday that the decision to reinstate Chaudhry was a first step for much-needed reconciliation and political compromise in Pakistan, but she avoided answering when asked if she had linked continued US aid to a deal. US officials said Clinton told both Zardari and Sharif that congressional lawmakers might balk at sending Pakistan more aid while the crisis persisted. “She warned them that congressional appropriations would be at risk,” said one US official, who asked not to be named. A senior State Department official said “many” in Congress had expressed concern over what was happening in Pakistan. “The secretary's friendly advice to the Pakistani leadership is that we have got to get this situation under control,” the official said. US special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke, also spoke several times over the weekend to Pakistani politicians. “This was all done with great respect for Pakistan's sovereignty and sensibility but with great concern for the strategic and political implications of a protracted confrontation,” a Holbrooke aide quoted him as saying. The stability of nuclear-armed Pakistan has emerged as a key worry in Washington, which also needs its help to combat a Taleban insurgency in neighboring Afghanistan The Obama administration is reviewing its strategy toward Pakistan and Afghanistan. Details, including possible future aid, are expected to emerge in the coming weeks. Immediate assistance In January, Zardari urged the United States to boost both military and non-military aid. The US has spent billions of dollars in recent years helping Pakistan fight Al-Qaeda and the Taleban in remote tribal areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a report last month calling for $4 billion to $5 billion in immediate financial aid to help Pakistan avert financial meltdown. Kerry welcomed the decision to reinstate the chief justice but said more must be done. “Now, Pakistan's civilian leadership must avoid divisions and work together to further strengthen the nation's democratic institutions,” the Massachusetts senator said in a statement. State Department officials credited Pakistani leaders for their compromise. “These were decisions that had to be taken by the Pakistani leadership. And in the end, I believe they acted in the best interests of the Pakistani people, and that's what's important here,” said spokesman Robert Wood. In Pakistan on Monday, when the government relented, Sharif, whose car was mobbed by a sea of jubilant supporters at Gujranwala, said: “It is a historic day, a great day which will change the country's destiny.” “We are now calling off this long march,” he said, following discussions with lawyers and political allies including cricket hero Imran Khan. “From here, God willing, the fate of this nation will change.” “From here, a journey of development will start. From here, a revolution will come.” Gilani in his address, congratulated the nation. “Let us celebrate this with dignity,” he said in an apparent plea for peaceful celebrations, one day after protests saw the worst street violence since the crisis unfolded nearly three weeks ago. Gilani also overturned a repressive government clampdown designed to foil the protest march, ordering authorities to release all those arrested and declaring the immediate lifting of a ban on public demonstrations.
