The court also upheld a challenge against the election of Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz Sharif, to a seat in the Punjab Assembly, meaning he cannot continue as head of the provincial government in the country’s most populous and wealthy region.

officials frequently travel to his house in the Punjab to meet him, the most recent being Richard Holbrooke, the American envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The prospect of Sharif and his supporters leading a campaign against Zardari will concern Washington, which wants the country to put the political turmoil of Musharraf’s final years behind it and concentrate squarely on the threat posed by al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The decisions came as top Pakistani officials, including the foreign minister and army chief, were in Washington as part of the Obama administration’s efforts to draw up a new strategy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Source: http://www.wmal.com/news.asp?c=5159&url=http:%2F%2Fhosted%2Eap%2Eorg%2Fdynamic%2Fstories%2FA%2FAS%5FPAKISTAN%3FSITE%3DWMAL%26SECTION%3DHOME%26TEMPLATE%3DDEFAULT