Al-Qaeda Gets a New Target

KARACHI - Within two weeks of United States officials laying down the law to key Pakistani players - including President Asif Ali Zardari, chief of army staff General Ashfaq Kiani and opposition leader Nawaz Sharif - that they must join forces against the Taliban, a committee has been formed to decide on the modalities for Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) to join the federal government.

This coincides with a public warning by US Central Command chief General David Petraeus that the next two weeks will be critical in determining whether or not the Pakistani government survives, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen's comment on Monday that he was "gravely concerned" about Pakistan. Zardari is due in Washington this week for a