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September 7, 2008 12:15:20 AM CDT

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Bush Urges Musharraf to Relent

Posted Nov 7, 07 6:13 PM CST in World 

(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 increased pressure on Musharraf by moving ahead with plans for a massive public protest unless he acts by Friday.

"You need to take off your uniform," Bush told Musharraf. "You can't be president and head of the military at the same time." Protests continued in the streets, meanwhile, as police beat and tear-gassed supporters of Bhutto. Pakistani government officials have predicted a return to normalcy within three weeks, but Musharraf has made no such promises himself.

Sources Reuters, BBC

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Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto during her news conference in Islamabad, Pakistan on Wednesday, Nov 7, 2007. Police swung batons and fired tear gas at supporters of former Prime Minister...   (Associated Press)
Paramilitary officers prepare for the arrival of over 300 opposition Pakistan People's Party, PPP, supporters protesting President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in front of the Presidential Office in Islamabad,...   (Associated Press)
Lawyers meet before they demonstrate against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in the the city court district of Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2007. Police swung batons and fired tear gas at supporters...   (Associated Press)
Nawaz Sharif, deposed prime minister of Pakistan is surrounded by his relatives as he arrived from Karachi to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Dec. 15, 1999. Sharif,...   (Associated Press)
Riot police push back a barricade into opposition supporters of Pakistan People's Party, PPP, during a demonstration against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf in front of the Presidential Office in Islamabad,...   (Associated Press)
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George W. Bush  • Pakistan  • Pervez Musharraf  • emergency rule  • martial law


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