Pakistanis continue to reject US partnership

Even with the arrival of the Obama administration and the prospect of substantially increased aid, more Pakistanis–an overwhelming majority–continued to reject the United States as a partner to fight militancy in their country, a new poll finds. The survey, conducted by the Washington-based International Republican Institute, underscored the difficulties the Obama administration faced in its efforts to tamp down Islamic militancy in this strategically vital nation. The I.R.I. is a nonprofit pro-democracy group which is financed by the American government. President Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of the slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a relatively inexperienced politician, scored a 25 percent approval rating how he's handling his job, 6 points more than in March.