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September 7, 2008 5:26:10 AM CDT

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Pakistani Urges US to Oppose Elections

Posted Jan 27, 08 5:54 PM CST in World 

(Newser) – A Pakistani politician turned heads last week by touting a rare view to US policymakers: Don't back Pakistan's elections. Without an independent judiciary, elections will only hurt the country, Imran Khan warned. He urged lawmakers in New York and Washington to "back the democratic process, by insisting on the reinstatement of the judges, rather than back any individual in an election."

Pakistan's former cricket captain and leader of the Pakistan Movement for Justice party, Khan pointed to Egypt and Zimbabwe as counter-examples: “All of these people are holding elections for years and nothing happens,” he said. “Elections don't bring democracy.” Meanwhile, President Pervez Musharraf is touring Europe, vowing he can best keep the peace in Pakistan after next month's vote.

Sources Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor

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Former cricket star-turned politician Imran Khan makes a speech at the Lahore Bar Association in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday Dec. 1, 2007. Khan addressed lawyers in support of their protests against the...   (Associated Press)
Former cricketer turned politician Imran Khan, center, joins lawyers at a protest in Islamabad, Pakistan Friday Dec. 14, 2007. Khan has joined calls for a boycott of upcoming parliamentary elections,...   (Associated Press)
Former cricket star-turned politician Imran Khan listens to speeches at a meeting of the Pakistan Medical Association, held to show solidarity with Pakistan's judiciary, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan Friday...   (Associated Press)
Former cricket star-turned politician Imran Khan makes a speech at the Lahore Bar Association in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday Dec. 1, 2007. Khan addressed lawyers in support of their protests against the...   (Associated Press)
Pakistan's former cricketer and politician Imran Khan gestures as he speaks to journalists in Mumbai, India, Friday, Dec. 28, 2007. Claiming that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has failed on all...   (Associated Press)
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf gives a speech at the Royal United Services Institute in central London, Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. Musharraf arrived Friday to argue his case to Britain's large Pakistani...   (Associated Press)
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Pakistan  • Pervez Musharraf  • Zimbabwe  • Egypt  • Pakistan elections  • Pakistan judges  • Imran Khan


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