Pitched Power Battle Triggered by Bhutto Death

The assassination of Benazir Bhutto will exacerbate already fraught tensions between competing Pakistani political parties, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bhutto's secular, generally pro-Western Pakistan Peoples' Party was expected to do well in upcoming parliamentary elections, but the future of the PPP is now uncertain in the aftermath of Bhutto's death. Numerous Pakistani political factions will now battle for political standing.

Possible interim leaders for the party include its former vice chairman, as well as Bhutto's own husband. Meanwhile, the conservative Islamic opposition groups of varying sizes and clout, as well as some militant groups with direct ties to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, will face fierce competition from Pakistan’s military, which wields considerable political influence. (More Benazir Bhutto stories.)