Musharraf or Bhutto? Bush Decision Looms

Seeks to thwart al-Qaeda muscle; but Pakistan won't stand for it

(NEWSER) - Bush administration officials are weighing plans for the CIA and US military to conduct new, more aggressive covert operations in Pakistan, the New York Times reports. The proposal is a response to growing al-Qaeda and Taliban efforts to destabilize Pakistan, cast in sharp focus by the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. Pakistan officials, however, say they will not allow such operations. More»

(NEWSER) - President Bush today called for action against the killers of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. “The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan’s democracy,” Bush said at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. The US had strenuously promoted Bhutto's return to Pakistan in a potential power-sharing arrangement with president Pervez Musharraf. More»

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. More»

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 and the US, the New York Times reports. More»

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 trucks to prevent her from leading a motorcade to the capital. "It is time for him to go," she told Reuters. More»