Benazir Bhutto

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Constitutional Changes Spark New Battles in Pakistan

Opponents vow to undo Musharraf's revisions

(Newser) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf just retired his army uniform, but he should prepare for a fight, the AP says, as Nawaz Sharif's opposition group plans to reverse constitutional revisions he made before lifting emergency rule yesterday. Musharraf imposed limits on the press, sealed the retirements of Supreme Court judges, and...

Musharraf Lifts Emergency Rule
Musharraf Lifts Emergency Rule

Musharraf Lifts Emergency Rule

Curbs remain on media, and some lawyers and judges still under house arrest

(Newser) - Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf today lifted the state of emergency he imposed in his nation, sending crowds into the street to celebrate the change and protest Musharraf's administration. Critics say media curbs and an altered judiciary, with some judges and lawyers under house arrest, will remain in place and that...

Musharraf Set to Restore Constitution*

*But he'll tweak it first to ensure he can't be prosecuted

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf is set to lift Pakistan's state of emergency Saturday, but he's not going to take any guff for it—the president will only restore the constitution if it is first amended so he can't be tried for actions during the past 6 weeks of emergency rule. As lawyers...

Ex-Pakistan PM Tosses Hat Into Election Ring

Musharraf welcomes rival, rejects US military action against al-Qaeda

(Newser) - Former Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif launched his party into next month's elections today, dropping a boycott threat after Benazir Bhutto and other hopefuls decided to run, the AP reports. “We cannot leave the field open,” a party spokesman said. Sharif's party was one of 33 in an opposition...

Rival Ex-PMs Team Up in Pakistan
Rival Ex-PMs Team Up in Pakistan

Rival Ex-PMs Team Up in Pakistan

Bhutto and Sharif to issue joint demands, may boycott together

(Newser) - Nawaz Sharif met with rival Benazir Bhutto yesterday for the first time since they both returned from exile and began hashing out demands for the government ahead of next month's vote. Representatives of the former PMs were to meet again today to draw up their objections and set a deadline...

Sharif Barred From Pakistan Vote
Sharif Barred From Pakistan Vote

Sharif Barred From Pakistan Vote

Criminal convictions cited; ex-PM blames Musharraf's political maneuvering

(Newser) - Pakistani election officials today barred Nawaz Sharif from running in January elections, citing the ex-PM's criminal past. Sharif, who had pushed for an election boycott but registered anyway, dismissed the rejection, saying it would only strengthen his “vigor and resolve.” Sharif's record stems from trumped-up charges related to...

Pakistan Rivals Meet Tomorrow to Mull Boycott

Bhutto campaigns as Sharif tries to persuade her to sit out

(Newser) - Pakistan's opposition leaders will meet tomorrow to discuss a possible alliance to topple Pervez Musharraf, the Times of London reports. Nawaz Sharif will visit Benazir Bhutto at her home, accompanied by Imran Khan and other opposition figures, in an attempt to persuade her to boycott January's parliamentary elections. Bhutto, who...

Bhutto Launches Her Campaign
Bhutto Launches Her Campaign

Bhutto Launches Her Campaign

She will meet Sharif Monday to discuss possible boycott

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto set aside the possibility of boycotting next month's elections for the time being and launched her campaign in hostile territory today, the AP reports. She traveled to northwest Pakistan, a stronghold of hardline Islamic factions that oppose female political involvement. Bhutto plans to meet fellow opposition leader Nawaz...

Bhutto to Enter Election, Sharif to Boycott

Split opposition in Pakistan strengthens Musharraf's hand

(Newser) - Pakistan's opposition is split on participating in January's parliamentary elections following Pervez Musharraf's promise to lift emergency rule. Benazir Bhutto's party has said that, despite heavy reservations, it will take part. But Nawaz Sharif told Reuters that he and his party will boycott unless the judges Musharraf purged are reinstated.

New Pakistani Army Chief Is Nobody’s Pawn

Musharraf chose Kayani for loyalty, but general wants politics out

(Newser) - President Pervez Musharraf chose his successor as army chief for his loyalty, but observers say Ashfaq Kayani wants to excise politics from Pakistan's military and focus on security challenges, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Though military secretary under Musharraf rival Benazir Bhutto, Kayani is seen by one retired honcho as...

Musharraf, Sworn In, Will Lift Emergency by Dec. 16th

President takes oath of office in civilian clothes

(Newser) - Hours after he was sworn in for a second term as president of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf  said in a televised address to the nation that he will lift emergency rule by Dec. 16. Wearing the dark tunic he donned for his swearing-in as a civilian, he declared that emergency rule...

Musharraf Sets Date for Leaving Military

Bowing to pressure, Pakistani prez will stand down Wednesday

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf will prepare to be sworn in for a new term as Pakistan’s president by relinquishing his military post, a spokesman said today. The general has pledged to resign as head of the military before Thursday’s ceremony, the BBC reports. Musharraf has vowed to leave the military...

Sharif Joins Pakistan Fray
Sharif Joins Pakistan Fray

Sharif Joins Pakistan Fray

Musharraf's bitterest rival files for elections, vows to boycott unless emergency rule is lifted

(Newser) - Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who returned to Pakistan yesterday after 8 years in exile, today filed papers to run in January's nationwide election, although he says he will boycott the vote unless President Pervez Musharraf lifts emergency rule, the BBC reports. Sharif—who was welcomed by throngs of supporters ...

Sharif Vows to End Dictatorship
Sharif Vows to End Dictatorship

Sharif Vows to End Dictatorship

Ex-PM lands in Lahore amid thousands of supporters, will file nomination papers

(Newser) - Former Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif touched down in Lahore after eight years in exile and, amid the cheers of thousands, vowed to end the dictatorship of President Pervez Musharraf: "We want democracy and nothing else."  Musharraf blocked Sharif's last  attempted return, in September, deporting him before he...

Supporters Detained as Sharif Flies to Pakistan

Exiled Pakistani PM says he has no deal with Musharraf

(Newser) - Troops today rounded up hundreds of supporters of exiled prime minister Nawaz Sharif as he was about to land back in Pakistan. Tens of thousands of activists were expected to greet Sharif as he returned, but soldiers were to keep them at bay. "Let's see what happens," Sharif...

Musharraf Leaves Home to Mend Fences

Sudden trip to Saudi Arabia likely attempt to forge deal with old foe

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf traveled to Saudi Arabia today, and the desperate Pakistani president may attempt to broker a power-sharing deal with the PM he ousted in a 1999 coup, Reuters reports. Nawaz Sharif has said he will not meet with Musharraf while emergency rule is in effect, but Musharraf relaxed the...

Musharraf or Bhutto? Bush Decision Looms

Power-sharing deal off, Washington will likely have to pick sides

(Newser) - As Pakistan's state of emergency wears on, the Bush administration is still hedging its bets on whether to withdraw support for Pervez Musharraf, Bloomberg reports. But now that a power-sharing deal with Benazir Bhutto is almost surely off the table, Bush may no longer be able to support both sides—...

Musharraf Won't Budge for US
Musharraf Won't Budge for US

Musharraf Won't Budge for US

In further blow to power, president's political party calls for end to martial law

(Newser) - In a face-to-face meeting today with a top American diplomat, Pervez Musharraf remained tightlipped when pressed on when he would end emergency rule in Pakistan. Musharraf told John Negroponte he would cease martial law when security improves in the country, but his resistance is winning him few fans in Pakistan...

One Vote Against a Bhutto Deal
One Vote Against a Bhutto Deal
OPINION

One Vote Against a Bhutto Deal

Former PM is 'hijacking' the democratic cause, writes her niece

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto may be perceived as a champion of democracy, but a US-promoted third rise to power for the ousted prime minister would be a disaster for Pakistan, Bhutto’s niece writes in the LA Times. Bhutto “talks of democracy while asking to be brought to power by a...

Pakistan Ends Bhutto Detention
Pakistan Ends Bhutto Detention

Pakistan Ends Bhutto Detention

Musharraf lifts house arrest, prepares for US diplomat

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto has been released from house arrest and her detention orders withdrawn just hours before Pakistan's President Perzez Musharraf swears in an interim government of his choosing and a US diplomat arrives for talks, Reuters reports. "She is free to move wherever she likes," said a police...

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