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New York Times
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Nov 18, 07 9:14 AM CST
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The US has secretly spent $100 million to safeguard Pakistan's nuclear weapons, but some officials fear protections may have been undermined by Pakistan's reluctance to share information. The aid, buried in a secret part of the budget, was intended to improve nuclear safety, reports the New York Times. But Pakistan has refused to reveal exactly how purchased safety equipment has been used or the location of its warheads.
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New York Times
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Nov 17, 07 1:29 PM CST
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In a face-to-face meeting today with a top American diplomat, Pervez Musharraf remained tightlipped when pressed on when he would end emergency rule in Pakistan. Musharraf told John Negroponte he would cease martial law when security improves in the country, but his resistance is winning him few fans in Pakistan and the US, the New York Times reports.
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Reuters
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Nov 15, 07 7:29 PM CST
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Benazir Bhutto has been released from house arrest and her detention orders withdrawn just hours before Pakistan's President Perzez Musharraf swears in an interim government of his choosing and a US diplomat arrives for talks, Reuters reports. "She is free to move wherever she likes," said a police official. Bhutto had been detained—again—since Tuesday, to prevent her from attending a demonstration opposing emergency rule.
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New York Times
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Nov 13, 07 1:51 PM CST
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Pervez Musharraf defended his 10-day-old emergency rule today, rejecting the US demand to lift it quickly and saying the edict is meant to protect elections. In a Times interview, Pakistan’s president said, “I don’t know, I don’t know” when asked the duration of the suspension of the constitution and the Supreme Court, and the jailing of 2,500 opponents.
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Reuters
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Nov 13, 07 5:49 AM CST
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Benazir Bhutto demanded today that Musharraf resign as president and insisted she will never serve as prime minister under him. She also said that her party will likely boycott elections in January, the AP reports. Bhutto spoke as police again barricaded her house, ringing it with barbed wire and dump trucks to prevent her from leading a motorcade to the capital. "It is time for him to go," she told Reuters.
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Reuters
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Nov 12, 07 2:41 PM CST
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The Pakistani government today rejected Benazir Bhutto's plan to lead a "long march" from Lahore to Islamabad starting tomorrow, Reuters reports. "Rallies and protests are banned, they are not allowed," said the information minister. Bhutto has vowed to proceed with the protest of Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule even if police intervene; CNN reported this afternoon that the ex-PM was again under house arrest.
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New York Times
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Nov 11, 07 3:13 PM CST
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The inconsistencies in Benazir Bhutto's stance on Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf have stirred misgivings among many who wonder what her real intentions are. Bhutto, honored by Parliament at a reception yesterday, has exaggerated the numbers of followers at recent rallies and seems to some to have been making back-room deals with Musharraf, reports the New York Times.
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Guardian (UK)
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Nov 9, 07 1:50 PM CST
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Pakistan lifted the restraint order on Benazir Bhutto's house today hours after police prevented the ex-PM from leading a rally against Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule, the Guardian reports. Authorities immobilized her as part of a general ban on political assembly but said they were also acting for Bhutto's safety after a report of another possible assassination plot.
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BBC
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Nov 8, 07 10:53 AM CST
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Responding to pressure from President Bush to hold elections and "take off your uniform," Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf promised today to hold parliamentary elections before February 15. He reiterated an earlier offer to step down as general, but only if the Supreme Court validates his October reelection. The justices who were to rule on the reelection are under house arrest; they've been replaced by judges loyal to Musharraf.
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New York Times
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Nov 7, 07 10:01 AM CST
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The US talks a lot about promoting democracy, notes former Pakistani PM Benazir Bhutto; now she's challenging the Bush administration to follow through and confront Gen. Pervez Musharraf over what she calls a second coup, his imposition of martial law in Pakistan last weekend. "The moment has come for the Western democracies to show us in their actions, and not just in their rhetoric, which side they are on," writes Bhutto in a NY Times op ed piece.
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Reuters
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Nov 5, 07 6:06 PM CST
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Pakistan answered worldwide criticism of its military rule today by vowing to hold national elections in January, Reuters reports. "We don't want to disrupt the election process. We want a free election," the PM said. President Pervez Musharraf also promised to leave the military “once we correct these pillars in judiciary and the executive and the parliament.”
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New York Times
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Nov 4, 07 2:06 PM CST
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Pervez Musharraf is gripping not only Pakistan in a tight state of emergency, but also his allies in Washington, the New York Times reports. American officials are stuck monitoring developments as the US-backed military dictator threatens a shaky democracy and spurs civil unrest. Condoleezza Rice called Musharraf’s decision “highly regrettable,” but praised his earlier democratic efforts.
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CNN
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Nov 4, 07 7:13 AM CST
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Pakistani soldiers today began rounding up activists, lawyers and judges at gunpoint a day after President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency, suspending the constitution and banning free speech. Media and police sources say 1,500 opposition figures have been detained; Prime Minister Shaukat Aziztold reporters there have been 500 "preventive arrests," and that the measures will continue "as long as necessary."
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Associated Press
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Nov 3, 07 3:40 PM CDT
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Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan today after President Musharraf imposed emergency rule and suspended the constitution, the AP reports. Musharraf said the nation was at a "dangerous juncture" because of Islamic extremists, but Bhutto said "the problem is dictatorship—I don't believe the solution is dictatorship." Musharraf also replaced the nation's top judge, just before the court was to rule on the legality of his reelection win.
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BBC
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Nov 3, 07 9:02 AM CDT
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Pervez Musharraf today declared emergency rule in Pakistan, suspending the constitution and blacking out media other than state-run stations, the BBC reports. The move comes on the eve of the court's ruling on the legality of Gen. Musharraf's re-election as president. The court, asked to legitimize the declaration, voted 8-3 against it, the AP reports. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has been replaced, and the other justices are detained in the court building.
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