Pakistani Court Restores Judge

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 rally protesting martial law and the suspension of the constitution. Bhutto is expected to meet today with foreign diplomats. More»

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 will launch a massive long march from Lahore to Islamabad Nov. 13 unless civilian rule is restored. More»

(NEWSER) - An annual vigil marking the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre brought a record 150,000 people to a park in Hong Kong, the only place in China to mark the event, reports the BBC. “It is something to remember not only for our generation but for the next generation as well,” said an attendee. In Beijing, both traffic and foreign reporters were barred from the square. More»

Reinstated judge calls for end to corruption

(NEWSER) - Pakistan's chief justice triumphantly returned to the bench today, reports the BBC, as supporters showered him with rose petals outside the supreme court in Islamabad. Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry was suspended by former president Pervez Musharraf during the 2007 state of emergency. Last week current president Asif Ali Zardari finally fulfilled a campaign pledge to reinstate him after a lawyers' movement and supporters of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif joined in massive protests. More»

Zardari: stakes high in Saturday's elections

(NEWSER) - Pakistan, still reeling from Benazir Bhutto's assassination and Pervez Musharraf's resignation, can get a grip on terrorists and win the fight against dictatorship, insists Bhutto’s widower in a Washington Post op-ed outlining the stakes in Saturday's election. Asif Ali Zardari, who’s running for president, vows to continue his wife’s fight against terror, which he called a “battle for Pakistan’s soul.” More»