Muslim League

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Former Cricketer Declared Winner in Pakistan Election

But Imran Khan will need to form coalition government

(Newser) - Cricket star Imran Khan, who promised supporters a "new" Pakistan, won the country's election but will have to seek out allies to form a coalition government, according to official results. Pakistan election officials Friday announced Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won 109 of the 269 seats being...

Pakistan Assassination Gives Rise to Extremists

Salman Taseer fought to repeal blasphemy laws, was major PPP force

(Newser) - Yesterday’s assassination of Salman Taseer could deepen Pakistan’s political crisis, and seriously weaken the government’s ability to oppose Islamic extremists. Taseer, the governor of Punjab Province, was maybe the country’s most prominent opponent of religious parties and extremism, and a major ally of the embattled secular...

Pakistan High Court Lifts Ban on Sharif

Two-time ex-PM will be allowed to contest elections

(Newser) - The Pakistani Supreme Court has lifted a ban on opposition leader Nawaz Sharif that prevented him from running for election, clearing the way for the popular politician to vie for a third term as prime minister. Sharif had been blocked from public office because of a criminal conviction in 2000...

US Envoys Try to Defuse Pakistan Crisis

Obama administration holds talks as violence, protests continue

(Newser) - The US is attempting to defuse the escalating political crisis in Pakistan, reports the New York Times, as the police continued to beat and arrest protesters marching to Islamabad. The American ambassador yesterday visited Nawaz Sharif, the former PM whose supporters have joined the lawyers movement in anti-government demonstrations. Later...

Pakistan Protests Escalate, Sharif Alleges Death Threat

Dozens beaten and arrested as 'long march' to Islamabad begins

(Newser) - Pakistani police continued their crackdown on protesters today as Nawaz Sharif, a former PM turned opposition leader, accused the government of conspiring to kill him. Political activists and the country's lawyers defied a ban on protests, facing beatings and arrests in demonstrations from Karachi to Lahore. Sharif said he had...

Leaderless Pakistan Drifts Toward Chaos

Infighting, confusion imperil battle against militants

(Newser) - Four months after historic elections in Pakistan, the nation has descended into leaderless chaos, Western diplomats and military leaders believe. The void has serious consequences for fighting militants in Pakistan's lawless northwest on the border with Afghanistan, reports the New York Times.

Nawaz Sharif Says He'll Run for Parliament

Ex-PM plots return to political power after election victory

(Newser) - Nawaz Sharif will stand in a special election for a vacant seat in Pakistan's parliament, he said yesterday, opening the way for his return to political power. The two-time prime minister, whose Muslim League is set to form a coalition government with Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party after last week's...

Musharraf Pushes Swiss to Prosecute Foe

Alleges Bhutto widower stashed $55M in Swiss bank account

(Newser) - As the battle to control Pakistan heats up, President Pervez Musharraf's lawyers have asked the Swiss government to prosecute Asif Ali Zardari over decade-old corruption charges. Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto and leader of the victorious Pakistan People's Party, is charged with hiding $55 million in kickbacks in a...

Mass Rigging Charged Ahead of Pakistan Vote

Bhutto's party appears unstoppable but some fear fraud will rob victory

(Newser) - Pakistan's postponed parliamentary elections will finally take place on Monday, but allegations are flying that Pervez Musharraf's party has already rigged the vote. Pakistan's intelligence agencies have "pre-stuffed" ballot boxes, confiscated voter ID cards, and appointed party apparatchiks in key rural constituencies, a retired senior intelligence officer told the...

Gunbattle at Pakistan Political Rally

4 dead after Musharraf supporters open fire at Sharif event

(Newser) - A gunbattle erupted at a political rally near Islamabad today between supporters of President Pervez Musharraf and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, leaving four dead and three wounded. The shooting was the worst violence so far in the run-up to January's parliamentary election. Sharif was only a mile away when...

Exiled Ex-PM Allowed to Return to Pakistan

Court ruling another blow to Musharraf

(Newser) - Former PM Nawaz Sharif may return to Pakistan from exile, the country’s Supreme Court ruled today, dealing another blow president Pervez Musharraf. Sharif had already declared his intentions to challenge the "dictatorship" of Musharraf, who deposed Sharif in a 1999 coup, in upcoming elections. But Sharif, the BBC...

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