Pakistan – News Stories About Pakistan - Page 69

Nov 10, 2007 9:10 AM CST

Bhutto Ratchets Up Pressure

She rallies with journalists but is blocked from seeing ousted top judge

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto took advantage of her newfound freedom today to join a journalists' rally against Pakistan's media blackout, but police prevented her from visiting the ousted chief justice of the Supreme Court, who is under house arrest, Reuters reports. "He is the chief justice," she shouted over a...

Pakistan Emergency to End 'Within
One Month'

Nov 10, 2007 6:05 AM CST

Pakistan Emergency to End 'Within One Month'

Bhutto allowed to leave her home

(Newser) - The state of emergency will be lifted within a month, the government of Pakistan vowed today, as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was allowed to leave her villa to meet with supporters at the offices of her party. Police moved aside barricades used yesterday to prevent her from attending a planned...

Bhutto Restraint Order Lifted

Nov 9, 2007 1:50 PM CST

Bhutto Restraint Order Lifted

Ex-PM's supporters rally, meet police, tear gas

(Newser) - 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...

Bhutto Fails to Break Barricade

Nov 9, 2007 8:57 AM CST

Bhutto Fails to Break Barricade

Police block her from driving out to lead rally

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto tried unsuccessfully to break through the police blockade outside her Islamabad home today to lead a rally in a nearby city, the AP reports. "We are trying to pass through because we want to reach Rawalpindi," Bhutto said after trying to drive through the blockade. "...

Bhutto Under House Arrest

Nov 8, 2007 11:19 PM CST

Bhutto Under House Arrest

Crackdown comes hours before she was to lead Pakistan march against Musharraf

(Newser) - Police surrounded the home of Benazir Bhutto today hours before she planned to lead a massive anti-government march. "She is being placed under house arrest," a senior government official told Agence France Presse as soldiers surrounded her house with barbed wire. Bhutto had intended to lead a...

Musharraf Vows Elections

Nov 8, 2007 10:53 AM CST

Musharraf Vows Elections

Police continue to arrest hundreds of opposition party members

(Newser) - 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...

700 Bhutto Supporters Arrested

Nov 8, 2007 5:45 AM CST

700 Bhutto Supporters Arrested

Bhutto claims 'thousands' of activists have been arrested

(Newser) - More than 700 supporters of opposition leader Benazar Bhutto were arrested overnight, her party claims, in anticipation of a mass rally planned for tomorrow in Rawalpindi to protest emergency rule in Pakistan. In Karachi, five people arrested earlier were charged with treason for making speeches critical of the government; if...

With TV Cut
Off, Pakistanis Turn to the Web

Nov 8, 2007 2:07 AM CST

With TV Cut Off, Pakistanis Turn to the Web

Musharraf can’t keep people offline in newly tech-savvy country

(Newser) - When Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule, he turned off all news outlets but his own, but couldn't stop Pakistanis from flocking to the Internet for independent news. The website of private news outfit GEO-TV was so flooded by traffic that the channel had to upgrade servers and remove non-text content...

Bush Urges Musharraf to Relent

Nov 7, 2007 6:13 PM CST

Bush Urges Musharraf to Relent

President calls on Pakistan leader to hold elections, give up uniform

(Newser) - President Bush today spoke to Pervez Musharraf for the first time since the declaration of emergency rule and urged the Pakistani leader to quit his military post and hold elections promptly, Reuters reports. "I had a very frank discussion with him," Bush said. The move comes as Benazir...

Bhutto to West: Choose Dictator or Democracy

Nov 7, 2007 10:01 AM CST

Bhutto to West: Choose Dictator or Democracy

Calls for US to force Musharraf's hand on Pakistani elections

(Newser) - 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...

Bhutto Steps Up Challenge to Emergency Rule

Nov 7, 2007 5:14 AM CST

Bhutto Steps Up Challenge to Emergency Rule

Protesting lawyers arrested for third day

(Newser) - The crisis in Pakistan escalated today as opposition leader Benazir Bhutto vowed to go ahead with a protest rally against emergency rule in Rawalpindi Friday, and lawyers battled police in the streets for a third day. Bhutto challenged President Pervez Musharraf to end military rule before Nov. 9, saying she...

Critics Blast Bush on Pakistan

Nov 6, 2007 7:49 PM CST

Critics Blast Bush on Pakistan

Bush team can't back up its talk of democracy, writers say

(Newser) - Bush is leveling only tepid criticism of Pervez Musharraf’s state of emergency, showing the same “hypocrisy” and “knee-jerk support for authoritarianism” that has always defined his relationship with Pakistan, argues Salon’s Juan Cole. Musharraf’s move shatters even the pretense of a commitment to democracy, but...

Bhutto Returns to Islamabad

Nov 6, 2007 2:45 PM CST

Bhutto Returns to Islamabad

Police continue to lock up thousands of Pakistani lawyers

(Newser) - Benazir Bhutto has arrived in Islamabad, where she is meeting with other opposition leaders to determine how best to respond to Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency in Pakistan. "I think we should all come down as strongly as we can for the restoration of democracy,"...

Bhutto Plans Mass Rally;
Lawyers Clash With Police

Nov 6, 2007 5:57 AM CST

Bhutto Plans Mass Rally; Lawyers Clash With Police

State of emergency continues as ex-PM calls for protests

(Newser) - As lawyers continue to clash with police in Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto has vowed to lead massive public protests to force Pervez Musharraf to restore the constitution and hold elections as scheduled. The Times of London reports that Bhutto is traveling to the capital, Islamabad, today to meet with fellow opposition...

Pakistan Promises Election

Nov 5, 2007 6:06 PM CST

Pakistan Promises Election

Musharraf vows to leave military as emergency rule continues

(Newser) - 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...

Pakistan Aid Not Fighting Terror

Nov 5, 2007 11:05 AM CST

Pakistan Aid Not Fighting Terror

US funds go to forces more suited for battle with India

(Newser) - The US has given Pakistan $7 billion in military aid over the past 6 years, yet the paramilitary forces fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban militants are armed with little but “sandals and bolt-action rifles,” a military official tells the LA Times. With militants on the rise because the forces...

Pakistani Police Battle Lawyers

Nov 5, 2007 5:12 AM CST

Pakistani Police Battle Lawyers

Hundreds more arrested as cops storm courthouse rally protesting emergency rule

(Newser) - Baton-swinging Pakistani police clashed violently today with lawyers across the nation demonstrating against President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule and suspension of civil rights. Hundreds were were arrested, joining 1,500 activists detained yesterday. In the largest confrontation security forces rushed 2,000 demonstrators outside the high court in...

Musharraf's Chaos Leaves US Twisting in Wind

Nov 4, 2007 2:06 PM CST

Musharraf's Chaos Leaves US Twisting in Wind

Musharraf power grab a 'big embarrassment' for the White House

(Newser) - 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 “...

Pakistani Troops Grab Activists

Nov 4, 2007 7:13 AM CST

Pakistani Troops Grab Activists

Media forbidden to express opposition views after Musharraf declares emergency

(Newser) - 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...

Bhutto Returns Amid Crisis

Nov 3, 2007 3:40 PM CDT

Bhutto Returns Amid Crisis

(Newser) - 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...