Benazir's Party Courting Islamists

So this is how the PPP is going to deal with Islamists. Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto and leader of Pakistan People's Party PPP, is trying to bring Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam into his coalition. The leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, is openly pro-taliban

"Those talking of a broad-based government in Afghanistan have failed in the past…The Taliban brought peace, law and order in Afghanistan and banned poppy cultivation. They established good governance in more than 95 per cent of the country…Many Pakistanis are already taking part in Jihad and several others are ready to go to Afghanistan."

He also has a fondness for Osama bin Laden

Maulana Fazlur Rahman asserted that the “ummah” should rise against the “hegemonic designs” of the US, with his supporters carrying placards proclaiming: “Bush is a terrorist, Osama is our real hero.”

Finally, it was Maulana Fazlur Rahman's madressahs that incubated the taliban movement, also providing fighters for the movement.

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani opposition parties that inflicted a big defeat on President Pervez Musharraf's allies in last week's election are trying to woo Islamists to build a coalition that could threaten the rule of the U.S. ally.

Asif Ali Zardari, widower of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and leader of her party, on Thursday night met Fazl-ur-Rehman, a hardline Islamic cleric and discussed the possibility of forming a "government of national consensus".

Representatives of both leaders were due to meet again on Friday evening for more discussions.