Pakistan – News Stories About Pakistan - Page 68

Nov 15, 2007 12:54 PM CST

Musharraf Names Close Ally Interim PM

Bhutto rules out alliance, turns to Sharif; 2 killed in protests

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf today named close ally Mohammedmian Soomro as Pakistan's caretaker PM, effective at midnight tonight reports the BBC. The move came as Benazir Bhutto ruled out a power-sharing agreement with Musharraf, and turned instead to rival opposition leader Nawaz Sharif—even as the country's attorney general said he expects...

US Seeks 'Plan B' in Pakistan

Nov 15, 2007 4:08 AM CST

US Seeks 'Plan B' in Pakistan

American officials cast around for a new leader should Musharraf totter

(Newser) - As Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf continues to crack down on opponents, the US is losing faith in his ability to survive, the New York Times reports. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte will meet with Musharraf tomorrow in an effort to help calm the situation, but administration officials are already...

Pakistan Arrests Imran Khan After Escape

Nov 14, 2007 5:57 AM CST

Pakistan Arrests Imran Khan After Escape

Cricketer-turned-MP detained after he flees house arrest

(Newser) - Pakistani police today arrested Imran Khan, the former cricket star turned opposition politician, Bloomberg reports. Khan was initially detained in his house in Lahore, but he escaped to rally students against Pervez Musharraf, whom he calls "the dictator." Khan's arrest comes as a blow to attempts by Benazir...

Musharraf Says Edict Protects Elections

Nov 13, 2007 1:51 PM CST

Musharraf Says Edict Protects Elections

General reiterates refusal to lift emergency, jibes back at Bhutto

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf defended his 10-day-old emergency rule today, rejecting the US demand to lift it quickly and saying the edict is meant to protect elections. In a Times interview, Pakistan’s president said, “I don’t know, I don’t know” when asked the duration of the suspension of...

Bhutto Demands Musharraf Quit

Nov 13, 2007 5:49 AM CST

Bhutto Demands Musharraf Quit

International condemnation grows against general as crackdown grows

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto demanded today that Musharraf resign as president and insisted she will never serve as prime minister under him. She also said that her party will likely boycott elections in January, the AP reports. Bhutto spoke as police again barricaded her house, ringing it with barbed wire and dump...

Musharraf to Bhutto: Stay Put

Nov 12, 2007 2:41 PM CST

Musharraf to Bhutto: Stay Put

Ex-PM's 'long march,' set for tomorrow, will test emergency rule

(Newser) - The Pakistani government today rejected Benazir Bhutto's plan to lead a "long march" from Lahore to Islamabad starting tomorrow, Reuters reports. "Rallies and protests are banned, they are not allowed," said the information minister. Bhutto has vowed to proceed with the protest of Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule...

Bhutto Inspires Hope, Doubts

Nov 11, 2007 3:13 PM CST

Bhutto Inspires Hope, Doubts

Is the prodigal PM Pakistan's saving grace, or simply power hungry?

(Newser) - The inconsistencies in Benazir Bhutto's stance on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf have stirred misgivings among many who wonder what her real intentions are. Bhutto, honored by Parliament at a reception yesterday, has exaggerated the numbers of followers at recent rallies and seems to some to have been making back-room deals...

Bhutto Ratchets Up Pressure

Nov 10, 2007 9:10 AM CST

Bhutto Ratchets Up Pressure

She rallies with journalists but is blocked from seeing ousted top judge

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto took advantage of her newfound freedom today to join a journalists' rally against Pakistan's media blackout, but police prevented her from visiting the ousted chief justice of the Supreme Court, who is under house arrest, Reuters reports. "He is the chief justice," she shouted over a...

Pakistan Emergency to End 'Within
One Month'

Nov 10, 2007 6:05 AM CST

Pakistan Emergency to End 'Within One Month'

Bhutto allowed to leave her home

(Newser) - The state of emergency will be lifted within a month, the government of Pakistan vowed today, as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was allowed to leave her villa to meet with supporters at the offices of her party. Police moved aside barricades used yesterday to prevent her from attending a planned...

Bhutto Restraint Order Lifted

Nov 9, 2007 1:50 PM CST

Bhutto Restraint Order Lifted

Ex-PM's supporters rally, meet police, tear gas

(Newser) - Pakistan lifted the restraint order on Benazir Bhutto's house today hours after police prevented the ex-PM from leading a rally against Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule, the Guardian reports. Authorities immobilized her as part of a general ban on political assembly but said they were also acting for Bhutto's...

Bhutto Fails to Break Barricade

Nov 9, 2007 8:57 AM CST

Bhutto Fails to Break Barricade

Police block her from driving out to lead rally

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto tried unsuccessfully to break through the police blockade outside her Islamabad home today to lead a rally in a nearby city, the AP reports. "We are trying to pass through because we want to reach Rawalpindi," Bhutto said after trying to drive through the blockade. "...

Bhutto Under House Arrest

Nov 8, 2007 11:19 PM CST

Bhutto Under House Arrest

Crackdown comes hours before she was to lead Pakistan march against Musharraf

(Newser) - Police surrounded the home of Benazir Bhutto today hours before she planned to lead a massive anti-government march. "She is being placed under house arrest," a senior government official told Agence France Presse as soldiers surrounded her house with barbed wire. Bhutto had intended to lead a...

Musharraf Vows Elections

Nov 8, 2007 10:53 AM CST

Musharraf Vows Elections

Police continue to arrest hundreds of opposition party members

(Newser) - Responding to pressure from President Bush to hold elections and "take off your uniform," Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf promised today to hold parliamentary elections before February 15. He reiterated an earlier offer to step down as general, but only if the Supreme Court validates his October reelection. The...

700 Bhutto Supporters Arrested

Nov 8, 2007 5:45 AM CST

700 Bhutto Supporters Arrested

Bhutto claims 'thousands' of activists have been arrested

(Newser) - More than 700 supporters of opposition leader Benazar Bhutto were arrested overnight, her party claims, in anticipation of a mass rally planned for tomorrow in Rawalpindi to protest emergency rule in Pakistan. In Karachi, five people arrested earlier were charged with treason for making speeches critical of the government; if...

With TV Cut
Off, Pakistanis Turn to the Web

Nov 8, 2007 2:07 AM CST

With TV Cut Off, Pakistanis Turn to the Web

Musharraf can’t keep people offline in newly tech-savvy country

(Newser) - When Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule, he turned off all news outlets but his own, but couldn't stop Pakistanis from flocking to the Internet for independent news. The website of private news outfit GEO-TV was so flooded by traffic that the channel had to upgrade servers and remove non-text content...

Bush Urges Musharraf to Relent

Nov 7, 2007 6:13 PM CST

Bush Urges Musharraf to Relent

President calls on Pakistan leader to hold elections, give up uniform

(Newser) - President Bush today spoke to Pervez Musharraf for the first time since the declaration of emergency rule and urged the Pakistani leader to quit his military post and hold elections promptly, Reuters reports. "I had a very frank discussion with him," Bush said. The move comes as Benazir...

Bhutto to West: Choose Dictator or Democracy

Nov 7, 2007 10:01 AM CST

Bhutto to West: Choose Dictator or Democracy

Calls for US to force Musharraf's hand on Pakistani elections

(Newser) - The US talks a lot about promoting democracy, notes former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto; now she's challenging the Bush administration to follow through and confront Gen. Pervez Musharraf over what she calls a second coup, his imposition of martial law in Pakistan last weekend. "The moment has come for...

Bhutto Steps Up Challenge to Emergency Rule

Nov 7, 2007 5:14 AM CST

Bhutto Steps Up Challenge to Emergency Rule

Protesting lawyers arrested for third day

(Newser) - The crisis in Pakistan escalated today as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto vowed to go ahead with a protest rally against emergency rule in Rawalpindi Friday, and lawyers battled police in the streets for a third day. Bhutto challenged President Pervez Musharraf to end military rule before Nov. 9, saying she...

Critics Blast Bush on Pakistan

Nov 6, 2007 7:49 PM CST

Critics Blast Bush on Pakistan

Bush team can't back up its talk of democracy, writers say

(Newser) - Bush is leveling only tepid criticism of Pervez Musharraf’s state of emergency, showing the same “hypocrisy” and “knee-jerk support for authoritarianism” that has always defined his relationship with Pakistan, argues Salon’s Juan Cole. Musharraf’s move shatters even the pretense of a commitment to democracy, but...

Bhutto Returns to Islamabad

Nov 6, 2007 2:45 PM CST

Bhutto Returns to Islamabad

Police continue to lock up thousands of Pakistani lawyers

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto has arrived in Islamabad, where she is meeting with other opposition leaders to determine how best to respond to Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan. "I think we should all come down as strongly as we can for the restoration of democracy,"...