Pakistan People's Party

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Bhutto's Son Launches Own Political Career

Bilawal gives rousing speech in Pakistan

(Newser) - Five years to the day of Benazir Bhutto's assassination , her only son arrived on the political scene in Pakistan, reports AFP . Bilawal Bhutto Zardari gave what the AP calls a "fiery" political speech, his first. "How ever many Bhuttos you kill, more Bhuttos will emerge from every...

Pakistan Court Threatens to Oust Prime Minister Again

They demand he open corruption investigation into Zardari

(Newser) - Don't get too comfortable, Raja Pervez Ashraf. Pakistan's new prime minister may only be on the job for a matter of weeks, thanks to the ongoing showdown/constitutional crisis/farce between his party and the Supreme Court. The court today ordered Ashraf to reopen the long-festering corruption case against Asif...

Pakistan Picks Another PM
 Pakistan Picks Another PM 

Pakistan Picks Another PM

But Raja Pervez Ashraf already accused of corruption

(Newser) - It's been a wild few days for Pakistan's leadership. First the country's high court gave Yousuf Raza Gilani the boot; then the ruling party's new nominee for prime minister was hit with an arrest warrant over alleged drug trafficking. Now, the party has nominated a new...

Pakistan Nominates New Prime Minister

...and a warrant is immediately issued for his arrest

(Newser) - No sooner had Pakistan's ruling party nominated a new prime minister today than a warrant was issued for his arrest on drug trafficking charges. The PPP picked Makhdoom Shahabuddin to replace the recently ousted Yousuf Gilani, the AP reports. Shahabuddin is a longtime PPP stalwart, having held various positions...

Pakistan Indicts PM Gilani
 Pakistan Indicts PM Gilani 

Pakistan Indicts PM Gilani

Prime minister pleads not guilty to contempt charges

(Newser) - As expected , Pakistan's highest court charged Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani with contempt today as helicopters swirled overhead and riot police warily watched his arrival. Gilani pleaded not guilty to the charges, reports the BBC , which stem from his refusal to re-open corruption cases against President Asif Ali...

Pakistan PM Will Be Charged With Contempt

Yousaf Raza Gilani's trial will begin Feb. 13

(Newser) - It's official: Pakistan's Supreme Court says it's following through on its threat to charge Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani with contempt for failing to pursue corruption cases against President Asif Ali Zardari and others, the New York Times reports. The trial will begin Feb. 13, and could...

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...

Former Clinton Pollster Quits as Lobbyist for Pakistani Party

Campaign still owes Mark Penn $5 million

(Newser) - It could get awkward for the secretary of state to be deeply in debt to a flack for the political party running one of the most incendiary countries in the world. That could be why pollster Mark Penn has ended his company's relationship with Pakistan’s ruling People’s Party,...

Zardari Breezes Into Pakistani Presidency

Bhutto's widower backed by Parliament, US

(Newser) - Asif Ali Zardari, widower of assassinated Benazir Bhutto, easily won Pakistan’s presidential election today in an unsurprising outcome favored by the US, the New York Times reports. Zardari, who has little governing experience, gains significant authority, including the ability to dissolve Parliament—a power he has pledged to forego....

Pakistan Prez Comes With Lots of Baggage

Bhutto's widower, the prisoner playboy, takes reins tomorrow

(Newser) - Asif Ali Zardari was once merely Benazir Bhutto’s polo-loving playboy of a husband, who was jailed for corruption and suspected of much worse. But tomorrow, he’ll become president of Pakistan. Bhutto’s death made Zardari an almost accidental leader of his party, and friends say his ignominious past...

Pakistani Democracy Is Achievable: Bhutto Widower

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...

Pakistan PM Escapes Convoy Attack

Gilani and others unharmed as leader continues campaigning for Zardari

(Newser) - Three days before Pakistan is to elect a new president, PM Yousuf Gilani escaped an assassination attempt on his caravan outside Islamabad, the BBC reports. No injuries were reported, officials said, citing “robust and comprehensive security measures,” but CNN reports it's unclear whether Gilani was present in the...

Bhutto Widower Plagued by Mental Illness

Presidential contender Zardari has suffered from dementia, PTSD

(Newser) - The leading candidate to succeed Pervez Musharraf as president of Pakistan has a long history of mental illness and was suffering from severe psychiatric problems as recently as 2007, reports the Financial Times. Asif Ali Zardari, who took over the Pakistan People's Party after the assassination of his wife Benazir...

Party Quits Pakistan Coalition
 Party Quits Pakistan Coalition

Party Quits Pakistan Coalition

People's Party, government's senior partner, likely to remain, with new allies

(Newser) - Pakistan’s coalition government collapsed today, the Wall Street Journal reports, with the Pakistan Muslim League—led by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif—breaking with the Pakistan People’s Party. Sharif said his party was quitting the alliance because it wouldn’t restore judges sacked by just-ousted president Pervez Musharraf....

Democracy to Avenge Bhutto's Death: Zardari

Prez nominee says no deal was cut with departing Musharraf

(Newser) - Democracy will avenge Benazir Bhutto's death and diminish rising extremism in Pakistan, Bhutto's widower tells Newsweek. Asif Ali Zardari, now a presidential nominee, says he cut no deal with departing president Pervez Musharraf and hopes he will stay to witness rule by the people. “Personally I would like him...

US Weighs Direct Pakistan Strikes

But unilateral action could heighten tension between countries

(Newser) - Frustrated with what some see as unproductive new leadership in Pakistan and fearing a strengthening al-Qaeda, Pentagon officials are considering a unilateral mission to root out militants hiding in the country, the Los Angeles Times reports. The CIA has backed such a move for months, but some officials remain concerned...

Bhutto Widower Moves Closer to Presidency

Pakistan's Zardari wins key opposition support to succeed Musharraf

(Newser) - A major opposition party has backed Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's widower and the leader of the Pakistan People's Party, to succeed Pervez Musharraf as president, reports the AP. Zardari's support from the MQM, a party once loyal to Musharraf, will strengthen his hand in a struggle with coalition partner...

Coalition Moves to Impeach Musharraf

Party leaders agree terms to oust president

(Newser) - Pakistan's opposition leaders reached an early-morning deal to impeach embattled president Pervez Musharraf unless he voluntarily steps down, reports the Times of London. A list of charges is being drawn up, and will give the president options to defend himself before Parliament. Musharraf vowed to fight his ouster, saying, "...

Musharraf Will, Won't, Will Attend Olympic Kick-Off

He flip-flops on trip amid impeachment talk

(Newser) - Pervez Musharraf will be in Beijing tomorrow for the Olympics' opening ceremony, the foreign ministry said today, reversing an earlier announcement that he had canceled the trip. The president is battling possible impeachment at home, the BBC reports, and opposition leaders met yesterday, reportedly to discuss an ouster. The cancellation...

Bhutto Investigation Going Nowhere

Though her party now rules Pakistan, Dec. assassination 'a forgotten chapter'

(Newser) - There doesn’t seem to be much urgency behind the hunt for Benazir Bhutto’s killers, the Los Angeles Times reports, though her party has come to power in Pakistan since the Dec. 27 assassination. The government still hasn’t commissioned an independent investigation, and police have all but abandoned...

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