Stories related to: Pervez Musharraf

A political rival blasted President Pervez Musharraf today, leading a massive crowd to chant “Hang him, hang him,” the New York Times reports. In a televised address that capped off days of protest in Islamabad, Nawaz Sharif grew heated: “We asked you to quit with honor after the election but you didn’t,” he said. “Now people have given a new judgment for you.” More »

Nawaz Sharif labeled Pervez Musharraf a "traitor" today, and claimed his allies in Pakistan's coalition government had agreed to oust the president, the AP reports. "A high treason case should be registered against him and he should be given the punishment of a traitor," Sharif told members of his Pakistan Muslim League. "There is no need to give him a safe exit."  More »

Pakistan's 6-week-old government is in turmoil today after the prime minister refused to accept the resignation of nine members of the cabinet. Former PM Nawaz Sharif led the walkout in a dispute over the reinstatement of judges sacked during last year's state of emergency, reports the BBC. More »

The second-largest party in Pakistan's ruling coalition pulled out today after a disagreement over the reinstatement of judges removed by President Pervez Musharraf, Bloomberg reports. Nawaz Sharif said nine Pakistan Muslim League ministers would leave the cabinet led by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, but would not enter the opposition, supporting the Pakistan People's Party "on an issue to issue basis." More »

The new government of Pakistan is close to brokering a deal that will end hostilities with the most militant tribes in the country's dangerous northwest. A draft of the peace agreement calls for an end to violence, a prisoner exchange, and a gradual withdrawal of the Pakistani military from part of South Waziristan, reports the New York Times . It marks a break with the hardline approach favored by President Pervez Musharraf and the US. More »

Taking the attitude that "since we were now all-powerful, allies were no longer necessary," President Bush damaged the US' image and diminished its power, Fred Kaplan writes in Slate. How can the next president heal our diplomatic woes? Visit all Middle East countries; leave a full-time envoy: "It is appalling that President Bush made his first trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories in his final year." More »

The US is stepping up air strikes on suspected al-Qaeda strongholds in Pakistan, the Washington Post reports. The Predator bombings—which neither the US or Pakistan will officially confirm—aim to rattle terror leaders out of hiding before the country's new leaders are expected to demand the US scale back its operations. The "shake the tree" strategy has reportedly killed 45 foreign fighters. More »

Yousaf Raza Gilani ordered the release of 60 judges detained by Pervez Musharraf only minutes after being elected Pakistan's prime minister today, CBS reports. The president replaced the judges with a friendlier crop after imposing a state of emergency in November. If the freed justices are reinstated, a renewed legal challenge to Musharraf's election could ensue. More »

The party of ex-premier Benazir Bhutto named Yusuf Raza Gillani as its pick for prime minister of Pakistan today, the BBC reports. He is virtually guaranteed to be voted in Tuesday but won’t be PM for long, analysts say. The ex-speaker is expected to step down as soon as Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower, is eligible for the job. More »

Pakistan's new coalition government says it will negotiate with the militants thought to be behind a wave of recent suicide bombings, the New York Times reports. The change in strategy will alarm US officials, who have recently stepped up strikes on suspected al-Qaeda strongholds using pilotless Predator drones. Pakistanis blame American strikes for the surge in bombings—17 since the beginning of 2008.  More »

The party of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said today it will name Pakistan's next premier this weekend, AFP reports. After former PM Nawaz Sharif's party pulled their  candidate as a "goodwill gesture," the PPP candidate will likely be sworn in Tuesday without much debate, the AP reports. Bhutto widower Asif Ali Zardari is a popular choice but remains ineligible; analysts say he may replace a temporary leader later on. More »

A Pakistani intelligence chief whom slain leader Benazir Bhuttto suspected to be plotting against her is leaving his post with Bhutto's party poised to take power Monday, Reuters reports. Bhutto identified Ijaz Shah as one of four people who should be investigated if she were to be killed; many Pakistanis suspect the country's spy agencies were behind Bhutto's Dec. 27 assassination. More »

Pakistan's newly anti-Musharraf National Assembly was sworn in today, a month after politicians hostile to the president swept the general election. The new coalition has promised to reinstate the judges that the president booted when he declared a state of emergency in November. These judges would likely challenge the validity of Musharraf's reelection in October, reports Reuters. More »

A series of airstrikes on a Pakistan compound believed to be sheltering Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters killed at least 16 today, AFP reports, a day before the country's incoming government is to be sworn in. The declining security comes after a bomb exploded last night in an Islamabad restaurant crowded with foreigners, killing at least one person and wounding 11 others, including five Americans.  More »

Two suicide explosions killed at least 20 people in Lahore early today, Reuters reports. One bomb devastated the city's federal police headquarters. "We're trying to evacuate the wounded trapped under the debris," said an official. The second blast occurred when two men blew themselves up in a pickup truck outside a house, killing two children and wounding at least 60 other people. More »

Pakistani opposition parties formed a coalition today that snubbed President Pervez Musharraf. The alliance of ex-PM Nawaz Sharif and the late Benazir Bhutto's party will also reinstate the judges deposed by Musharraf last year. Having opposed Musharraf's reelection bid, the judges are also likely to challenge his presidency in court, Reuters reports. More »

Benazir Bhutto's party deferred its choice for PM candidate today, adding greater uncertainty to Pakistan's volatile political landscape, Bloomberg reports. Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the Pakistan People's Party's No. 2 and a longtime Bhutto loyalist, had been expected to take the top job today. But a meeting of the party's newly elected MPs split up without even discussing whom they would nominate. More »

An Indian prisoner has finally come home after spending 35 years on death row in Pakistan on spying charges, the BBC reports. Trader Kashmir Singh was greeted by his family and hundreds of well-wishers as he crossed the border back into India. "I have got a new life," he said. Pakistan's human rights minister persuaded President Pervez Musharraf to free Singh after learning of the case. More »

A suicide attack at one of Pakistan's premier military academies has left at least seven people dead and 19 injured. The blast in the parking lot of Lahore's Naval War College set off explosions in the gasoline tanks of neighboring cars and sparked a fire, Reuters reports. Today's bombing, the fourth in five days, poses a serious challenge to the incoming government, reports AFP. More »

A suicide bomber killed at least 39 people today gathered at an outdoor meeting of tribal elders in northwest Pakistan, Reuters reports, in the volatile country's latest bout of violence. The attack, which left scores of others wounded, occurred as the elders finalized security plans to “take steps against miscreants and help the government,” said an official. More »