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September 5, 2008 7:02:43 PM CDT

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Started by G Atwan; Last updated Feb 29, 08 4:43 AM CST by K Schwartz | View history

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Pakistan at Crossroads

Will moderation or extremism triumph in this bellwether nation?

Pakistan is one of the Islamic world's hottest hotbeds of fundamentalism. But it's also a country with an almost entirely secular (if mildly autocratic) government, headed by strongman Pervez Musharraf, who faces acerbic opposition both from reformers on his left and fundamentalist clerics on his right, and has struggled to preserve an uneasy friendship with the United States by promising to root out terrorism. The December assassination of Benazir Bhutto only adds to the country's unrest, postponing elections that a top Bhutto aide charges were "thoroughly rigged."

Stories

Stories 41 - 60 of 292

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  • June 2008

    • Afghans Accuse Pakistan of Karzai Plot

      New York Times  |  Jun 25, 08 1:08 PM CDT

      Afghans Accuse Pakistan of Karzai Plot

      (Newser) - Afghanistan publicly accused Pakistan of plotting the April assassination attempt on President Hamid Karzai, saying it has evidence linking Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence to the deed. A spokesman said phone records, documents, and confessions from suspects proved the ISI harbored "the real schemers and organizers" behind the attack. More »

    • US Can't Be Sure Pakistan's $5.6B Went to Fight Terror

      CNN  |  Jun 25, 08 12:28 PM CDT

      US Can't Be Sure Pakistan's $5.6B Went to Fight Terror

      (Newser) - The Defense Department cannot show that nearly $6 billion the US has sent to Pakistan since 2001 has been used, as intended, to fight terrorism. In a report yesterday, the Government Accountability Office said the Pentagon hadn’t properly tracked the funds, CNN reports, blindly signing off on questionable charges—leading critics to charge that Pakistan bolstered its own defense capability at US expense. More »

    • Leaderless Pakistan Drifts Toward Chaos

      New York Times  |  Jun 24, 08 5:10 AM CDT

      Leaderless Pakistan Drifts Toward Chaos

      (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. More »

    • Karzai Warns Pakistan He'll Send Troops Over Border

      BBC  |  Jun 15, 08 2:33 PM CDT

      Karzai Warns Pakistan He'll Send Troops Over Border

      (Newser) - Citing the right to self defense, Afghan President Hamid Karzai warned that his country may send troops across the border with Pakistan to fight militants who have killed Afghans, BBC reports. "When they cross the territory from Pakistan to come and kill Afghans and to kill coalition troops it exactly gives us the right to go back and do the same." More »

    • Rival Calls for Musharraf's Head

      New York Times  |  Jun 14, 08 5:56 PM CDT

      Rival Calls for Musharraf's Head

      (Newser) - 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 »

    • US Releases Pakistan Border Clash Video

      Associated Press  |  Jun 12, 08 7:50 AM CDT

      US Releases Pakistan Border Clash Video

      (Newser) - US-led coalition forces have released a video shot from a surveillance drone showing a controversial clash on the Afghan-Pakistan border. Pakistan claims the engagement led to an airstrike that killed 11 of its troops, but the coalition says the footage proves that US and Afghan forces were simply returning fire after being attacked, the AP reports. More »

    • Pakistan Condemns US Air Strike That Killed 11 Troops

      Washington Post  |  Jun 11, 08 9:46 AM CDT

      Pakistan Condemns US Air Strike That Killed 11 Troops

      (Newser) - At least 11 Pakistani soldiers and 10 other people were killed today in an ugly border incident that could strain US/Pakistani ties. US fighters reportedly launched an air strike inside Pakistan’s mountainous tribal area, backing up Afghan troops fighting Taliban forces. The matter was complicated, however, because Pakistani troops were apparently fighting alongside the Taliban, the Washington Post reports. More »

    • Pakistan Cuts Off Talks With Militant Tribes

      Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 5, 08 9:16 AM CDT

      Pakistan Cuts Off Talks With Militant Tribes

      (Newser) - Pakistan is suspending talks with militant tribes along its lawless border with Afghanistan, the Wall Street Journal reports, a move that could bolster relations with the US. Negotiations won’t resume until the warlords agree to new conditions, including an end to activities within Afghanistan, Pakistani officials told the Bush administration. In the meantime, the military will resume operations against the tribes. More »

    • Danish Embassy Bomb Kills 8 in Pakistan

      BBC  |  Jun 2, 08 7:00 AM CDT

      Danish Embassy Bomb Kills 8 in Pakistan

      (Newser) - At least eight people were killed and more than a dozen wounded when a car bomb exploded outside the Danish embassy in Islamabad today, reports the BBC. At least one embassy worker was among the dead, but no Danish nationals. The attack may be linked to a series of threats on Danish embassies since a cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad, considered offensive to Islam, was reprinted in Danish newspapers in February. More »

  • May 2008

    • 'Traitor' Musharraf Should Be Tried: Sharif

      Associated Press  |  May 28, 08 2:14 PM CDT

      'Traitor' Musharraf Should Be Tried: Sharif

      (Newser) - 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 Truce Cedes Region to Militants

      Associated Press  |  May 21, 08 2:15 PM CDT

      Pakistan Truce Cedes Region to Militants

      (Newser) - Pakistan struck a peace deal today with Islamic militants in northwestern Pakistan, the AP reports. Under the pact, the military will slowly pull out of Swat, a region along the Afghanistan border, and allow radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah to install limited Islamic law there. In exchange, the militants will recognize government authority, halt attacks, and turn over any foreign members. More »

    • Pakistan Teeters After Ministers Quit Coalition

      BBC  |  May 13, 08 10:00 AM CDT

      Pakistan Teeters After Ministers Quit Coalition

      (Newser) - 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 »

    • Judges' Dispute Sunders Pakistan's Ruling Coalition

      Bloomberg  |  May 12, 08 1:38 PM CDT

      Judges' Dispute Sunders Pakistan's Ruling Coalition

      (Newser) - 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 »

    • Pakistan's New Leaders Balk at Giving US Free Rein

      Reuters  |  May 9, 08 12:13 PM CDT

      Pakistan's New Leaders Balk at Giving US Free Rein

      (Newser) - If the US was hoping the new government would give it leeway to strike at al-Qaeda within Pakistan, those hopes were dashed today, as the ruling coalition said such attacks would be “counter-productive.” Pakistan had been a US ally in the war on terror under President Pervez Musharraf, but his hold on power has weakened in recent months, Reuters notes. More »

    • Pakistan Parties Agree on Judges' Return

      BBC  |  May 1, 08 12:46 PM CDT

      Pakistan Parties Agree on Judges' Return

      (Newser) - Pakistan’s ruling political parties have reached a deal to reinstate the judges Pervez Musharraf fired during his state of emergency, the BBC reports today. The agreement leaves intact the anti-Musharraf coalition that almost splintered over the issue. Asif Ali Zardari, head of the Pakistan Peoples Party, wanted reinstatement tied to broader reform; partner Nawaz Sharif insisted it remain a separate issue. More »

  • April 2008

    • Al-Qaeda Is Still Worst Terrorist Threat: US

      Reuters  |  Apr 30, 08 4:21 PM CDT

      Al-Qaeda Is Still Worst Terrorist Threat: US

      (Newser) - Al-Qaeda remains the terrorist group that most threatens the US, Reuters reports. An annual State Department survey of worldwide terrorist activity, out today, said the group killed 5,400 civilians—50% Muslims—in 2007. Though weaker now than in 2001 due to multilateral anti-terrorism efforts, the group has used the lawless tribal areas of northwest Pakistan to rebuild its strength. More »

    • Pakistan Nears Peace Deal With Militants

      New York Times  |  Apr 25, 08 5:37 AM CDT

      Pakistan Nears Peace Deal With Militants

      (Newser) - 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 »

    • Pakistan Near Ceasefire Deal With Militants

      Reuters  |  Apr 24, 08 2:33 PM CDT

      Pakistan Near Ceasefire Deal With Militants

      (Newser) - Pakistan’s new government is near a ceasefire deal with militants, the New York Times reports, as a top rebel commander has ordered his forces to stop attacks. Baitullah Mehsud, thought to have organized the December assassination of Benazir Bhutto, ordered a ban on “provocative activities for the sake of peace," in leaflets distributed in the Afghan border region, Reuters notes. More »

    • US Hesitates to Strike Inside Pakistan

      New York Times  |  Apr 20, 08 2:25 PM CDT

      US Hesitates to Strike Inside Pakistan

      (Newser) - US commanders are itching to strike tribal militants in Pakistan, but Washington fears such a move could anger Islamabad's new leaders, the New York Times reports. American intelligence officials say the region is a growing threat, and warn that militants are forging alliances with al-Qaeda. But Pakistan is in talks with tribal leaders and doesn't want them scuttled by US attacks. More »

    • Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Diplomacy

      Slate  |  Apr 3, 08 4:10 PM CDT

      Next Prez's To-Do: Fix Diplomacy

      (Newser) - 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 »

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  (Getty Images)
  (Associated Press)
t has ignited a political crisis was unconstitutional. (AP Photo/K.M.Chaudary)   (Associated Press)
Pakistani lawyers shout slogans as they travel on the top of a bus, during a protest in Lahore, Pakistan, Thursday, June 12, 2008.   (AP Photo)
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Related Threads

Pervez Musharraf  •  Benazir Bhutto  •  Return of the Taliban  •  War on Terror  •  Afghanistan  •  The Hunt for Osama  •  Bilawal Bhutto Zardari  •  Red Mosque Crisis  •  Obama 2008  •  Politics As Usual

Background

Pervez Musharraf
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

Pervez Musharraf 1943-, Pakistani army officer, president of Pakistan (2001-), b. Delhi. After the partition of British India, his family resettled in Karachi, Pakistan; he spent (1949-56) some of his childhood in Turkey, where his father was posted as a diplomat. He entered the Pakistan Military ...

» Read more about Pervez Musharraf at Encyclopedia.com

Pakistan
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

Pakistan , officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, republic (2005 est. pop. 162,420,000), 310,403 sq mi (803,944 sq km), S Asia. Pakistan is bordered by India on the east, the Arabian Sea on the south, Iran on the southwest, and Afghanistan on the west and north; in the northeast is the disputed ...

» Read more about Pakistan at Encyclopedia.com

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