Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's "You're gorgeous" compliment to U.S. Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin in Washington last Thursday landed him in trouble, with the prayer leader of the extremist Lal Masjid mosque in the heart of Islamabad issuing a fatwa against him, media reports said.
Maulana Abdul Ghafar said the act was un-Islamic and unbecoming of a head of state of a Muslim country, adding that he shamed the entire Pakistani nation by publicly making indecent gestures, filthy remarks and repeated praise of a non-Muslim female wearing a short skirt.
He termed the manner in which Zardari shook hands with Palin and expressing his deep desire to hug her, as intolerable and shameful.
"We are fighting the American war in our country and thousands of Pakistanis were killed just to please Uncle Sam. Therefore, we demand that the military operation in the Pak-Afghan tribal areas be immediately stopped, as it is creating hatred amongst the general public against the Pakistani army", he added.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.