Pakistan Votes In Parliamentary Elections

Bhutto's PPP (Pakistan People's Party) Headed Towards Big Victory

Can Musharraf survive? The PPP vows to remove him.

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD, Feb 19 (Reuters)- Early Pakistani election results show supporters of President Pervez Musharraf struggling, television stations reported on Tuesday.
Monday's election was relatively peaceful after a bloody campaign that will be remembered for the assassination of former prime minister and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto in a suicide attack on Dec. 27.

Overall trends were unlikely to become clear until later on Tuesday but small groups of opposition supporters celebrated in the streets of Lahore and Rawalpindi.
In a major blow for the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) which backs Musharraf, its president, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, a former prime minister, was defeated in his Punjab province constituency by a rival from Bhutto's party, television networks said, citing unofficial Election Commission tallies.
Several other senior PML members appeared to be losing their seats, television stations reported.

Musharraf said on Monday he would work with whoever won to build democracy in a country that has alternated between civilian and army rule throughout its 60-year history.

"This is the voice of the nation," Musharraf said on state-run Pakistan Television lat on Monday. "Everyone should accept the results, that includes myself."
A hostile parliament could try to remove Musharraf, who came to power as a general in a 1999 coup and emerged as a crucial Muslim ally of the United States in a "war on terror" that most Pakistanis think is Washington's, not theirs.
The death of Bhutto, the most progressive, Western-friendly politician in a Muslim nation rife with anti-American sentiment, raised concern about the stability of the nuclear-armed country.

Musharraf's popularity has plunged over the past year because of measures including his purge of the judiciary and the imposition of six weeks of emergency rule.
Many Pakistanis also blame him and his PML-led government for rising prices, food shortages and power cuts.

"If they lose, then I feel I'm winning," said Imtiaz Ali, a lawyer in the northwestern city of Peshawar, as he watched early results on television.
"I'm optimistic because the way people have voted shows that they want democracy, not dictatorship."

FEAR AND SYMPATHY
Fear kept many Pakistanis away from the polls, despite 80,000 troops backing up police.

A suicide bomb campaign waged by al Qaeda-inspired militants has added to a mounting sense of insecurity. More than 450 people have been killed in militant-related violence this year.
Election violence on Monday, though bad in places, was not as severe as many had feared.

At least 20 people were killed in poll-related violence, including 15 activists from Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), her widower Asif Ali Zardari said.
A Pakistani poll watchdog group said there had been a few incidents of polling irregularities. Main opposition parties which had earlier warned of rigging by Musharraf's allies had no immediate comment on the fairness of the vote.
Sarwar Bari of the Free and Fair Election Network, an umbrella organisation of 40 non-governmental organisations, said initial estimates suggested a turnout of nearly 42 percent, almost matching that of the 2002 election.

A sympathy vote is expected to help Bhutto's PPP become the largest party in the 342-seat National Assembly, but most analysts doubt it can win a majority.
Analysts say Musharraf wants a coalition between the PPP and the PML.

An alliance between the PPP and the other main opposition party, led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif who Musharraf ousted in 1999, is what Musharraf dreads, as together they could force him out through impeachment or other ways.
By quitting as army chief in November to extend his presidency until 2012, Musharraf weakened ties with his greatest source of support.
Western allies hope for a stable Pakistan focused on fighting militancy, as do investors in a stock market that rose 40 percent last year but has shed about 3 percent since Bhutto's death.

Source- The Guardian

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In a related development... a top Pakistani official was overheard saying that the vote would be rigged.
I think Musharraf will have a hard time getting away with stealing this election. Polls have showed Bhutto's Party way ahead. Followed by Nawaz Sharif's supporters... with Musharraf backers coming in at a distant third place.

The U.S. Moving Ahead With Sale of Fighter Jets To Pakistan

The U.S. is being played like a fiddle by Pervez Musharraf.

Senator Joe Biden questions the sale in this AFP Report

Top senator hits US sale of F-16s to Pakistan

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A senior US senator lashed the administration of President George W. Bush Wednesday for its decision to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan, calling it a sign of a "dangerously misguided" policy toward Islamabad.

The Pentagon announced late December 31 that it had approved the nearly 500 million dollar deal for 18 F-16s for Pakistan, with the deal awarded to Lockheed Martin Corp.
Senator Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a Democratic Party presidential hopeful, branded the move as "reckless," and said it contradicted new Congressional legislation designed to block such moves.
The decision to go ahead with the sale "shows how dangerously misguided President Bush's policy is," Biden said in a statement.

"How can the White House even think of green-lighting such a sale at such an incredibly sensitive time?" he said, referring to the political turmoil in Pakistan in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, who hoped to become prime minister.
"This is the time we should be putting the pressure on the government and military to fully investigate the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and to hold free and fair elections -- not let them off the hook," Biden said.

Although the terms of the sale were not yet public, he noted that the recently passed Defense Appropriations bill "bars any assistance to Pakistan for weapons sales that are not for counter-terrorism purposes."

"If any US aid is involved, the sale is illegal," he said.
"If the sale involves no US assistance, it is technically legal but fundamentally misguided."

And why is the U.S. balking on the request for a UN investigation of the assasination of Benazir Bhutto? It gives the message to observers that the U.S. is more concerned with protecting their dictator, than finding the truth about the assassination of Bhutto. This will only serve to further alienate the U.S. in Pakistan and throughout the region, and it will weaken U.S. credibility even more.

It also shows that the U.S. uses the UN for its own political aims, and not for the purpose of finding the truth or improving the lives of people. After the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, the U.S. led the way in calling for a UN investigation. In fact, Condoleeza Rice let it be known that no other investigation would be accepted. Why the aggressive calls for a UN investigation then? Because the U.S. was in the middle of its own dispute with Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. The U.S. wanted to use the Hariri killing (for which Syria was suspected of being involved in) as a way to embarrass, isolate and pressure Syria. Part of the aim was to free Lebanon from Syria's control, after many decades of proxy rule from Damascus.

But when an even larger figure like Bhutto is assasinated, the U.S. doesn't even mention a UN investigation. They say they will play along with an investigation led by Musharraf, who has already proven that he can't be trusted to look into the murder. So, in other words, the U.S. is sending the message that when it's Washington's dictator, then everything is alright. No impartial, independent UN investigation is needed. The U.S. has decided that in the interest of keeping things quiet in Pakistan, it is better to sweep the Bhutto death under the rug in an effort to keep damaging information from getting out. By all accounts, it doesn't appear that Bhutto's security was as tight as it should have been. Although she probably shoulders blame for not taking proper precautions. But hiding the truth may only cause the situation to boil hotter over time, leading to more speculation and eventually more unrest.

The U.S. seems willing to do anything to protect the current dictatorship.

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See A Previous Post with An Iran/Pakistan Comparison

Read an older analysis of the F-16 Sale, and See How BushCo. and the Military Industrial Complex is playing India and Pakistan against one another in order to hype tensions and create a market to then sell hardware to both Countries. A huge opportunity for U.S. Defense Contractors.

Benazir Bhutto Assassinated

I'm watching this on CNN right now. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today at a rally in Pakistan. There was a suicide bomber at the rally. Ms. Bhutto was shot in the neck AFTER the bomb. Fifteen others were killed at the rally.

I'll update later.

Ms. Bhutto leaves behind a husband and three children.

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The Angry Independent

Benazir Bhutto killed in Suicide Attack

Pakistan in Chaos

UN Security Council To Go Into Emergency Session.

One of the most powerful leaders in Pakistan and in the Muslim world, Bhutto was the first female Prime Minister of the Country and one of the first female leaders of a major Muslim Country. She was also leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party, one of the largest Parties in Pakistan. She was the daughter of former Pakistani President & Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Pervez Musharraf will have his hands full trying to keep a lid on this situation. Many will wonder if he was involved.

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The Angry Independent

Nawaz Sharif also under attack. Could this assasination have been part of a larger coordinated plot?

Meanwhile, unrest is spreading in Pakistan with riots reported across the country. Civil conflict is now a possibility.




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From CNN.com

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday after addressing a large gathering of her supporters.

Bhutto died of a gunshot wound to the neck, the Pakistani Interior Ministry said. The attacker then blew himself up. The bomb attack killed at least 22 others, doctors said.

Video of the scene just moments before the explosion showed Bhutto stepping into a heavily guarded vehicle to leave the rally.

John Moore, a photographer for Getty Images, said Bhutto was standing through the sunroof of her vehicle, waving to supporters, when two shots rang out.

Bhutto fell back into the vehicle, and almost immediately a bomb blast rocked the scene, sending twisting metal and shrapnel into the crowd, he added.

Police sources told CNN the bomber, who was riding a motorcycle, blew himself up near Bhutto's vehicle.

Bhutto was rushed to Rawalpindi General Hospital -- less than two miles from the bombing scene -- where doctors pronounced her dead.

Her body was removed from the hospital -- carried above a crowd of supporters -- late Thursday night, about six hours after the assassination.

Chaos erupted at the hospital when former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived to pay his respects to Bhutto less than three hours after her death.

Hundreds of Bhutto supporters crammed into the entrance shouted and cried, some clutching their heads in pain and shock. Sharif called it "the saddest day" in Pakistan's history. "Something unthinkable has happened," he said

Sharif said his party will boycott Pakistan's January 8 parliamentary elections in the wake of the assassination.

President Pervez Musharraf said the killers were the same extremists that Pakistan is fighting a war against, and announced three days of national mourning.

Police warned citizens to stay home as they expected rioting to break out in city streets in reaction to the death.

Rioters burned tires and blocked roads in Karachi and other cities, police sources said. Police fired on an angry mob, killing two people, in the city of Khairpur in the Sindh province, Geo TV reported.

Bhutto's husband issued a statement from his home in Dubai saying, "All I can say is we're devastated, it's a total shock." He arrived in Pakistan late Thursday.

President Bush said those responsible "must be brought to justice" and praised Bhutto as a woman who had "fought the forces of terror." He said: "She refused to allow assassins to dictate the course of her country."

The number of wounded was not immediately known. However, video of the scene showed ambulances lined up to take many to hospitals.

The assassination happened in Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh Park, named for Pakistan's first prime minister -- Liaquat Ali Khan -- who was assassinated in the same location in 1951.

The attack came just hours after four supporters of former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif died when members of another political party opened fire on them at a rally near the Islamabad airport Thursday, Pakistan police said.

Several other members of Sharif's party were wounded, police said.

Bhutto, who led Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and was the first female prime minister of any Islamic nation, was participating in the parliamentary election set for January 8, hoping for a third term.

A terror attack targeting her motorcade in Karachi killed 136 people on the day she returned to Pakistan after eight years of self-imposed exile. View timeline. »

CNN's Mohsin Naqvi, who was at the scene of both bombings, said Thursday's blast was not as powerful as that October attack.

Thursday's attacks come less than two weeks after Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf lifted an emergency declaration he said was necessary to secure his country from terrorists.

Bhutto had been critical of what she believed was a lack of effort by Musharraf's government to protect her.

Two weeks after the October assassination attempt, she wrote a commentary for CNN.com in which she questioned why Pakistan investigators refused international offers of help in finding the attackers.

"The sham investigation of the October 19 massacre and the attempt by the ruling party to politically capitalize on this catastrophe are discomforting, but do not suggest any direct involvement by General Pervez Musharraf," Bhutto wrote.

I think of her 3 children; only one is ' of age.' How they were worried for her. I read about her; how she had her frivolous years at Harvard and Oxford. But, somewhere along the line, frivolity went away, and she grew up. She took the mantle from her father and brother and stepped up to the plate. Not liking what she saw, she came back to Pakistan, because of that pull of duty to her people. Was she perfect? Of course not. But, she believed in 'The Pakistani People' and wanted to help fight for her country against those that would clap down on her as a woman and strip her of any and all freedoms. She WAS a ' Moderate Muslim', and sadly, I believe she was killed because of it.

I have been writing about Pakistan for a few months. Pointing out that it really is the most dangerous place on Earth right now. As usual, the U.S. backed the wrong guy, Musharraf, for too long. By propping him up as long as we have, we have been eroding the middle ground of Pakistan. The longer we continue to prop him up, the LESS LIKELY it will be that the person who replaces him will be as friendly to the United States. Make no mistake; there are a lot of shady characters in the world - we deal with a lot of them. But, better a shady character that we can work with, rather than the militant Islamists who wouldn't hesitate to give their fellow Militant Islamists one of the nukes that Pakistan controls.

Musharraf: State of emergency will end before elections

From CNN.com

Musharraf: State of emergency will end before elections
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced Thursday that he will end a state of emergency on December 16 ahead of upcoming elections -- a key demand by the United States and opposition leaders.

Musharraf made the announcement shortly after taking an oath of office for a third time as president, a day after abandoning his position as military chief.

"At the moment, the dust is settling down and everything is in control," Musharraf said. "The election will take place according to constitution on the eighth of January."

He called on all opposition parties to "follow the rules ... and all the directives of the election commission."

The president had previously insisted that the state of emergency, imposed on November 3, must remain until the January 8 vote was completed, saying it was needed to ward off attacks from Islamic extremists.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Washington welcomed the move. "We look to the candidates and the people of Pakistan to fully participate in these free and fair elections," she said.

Perino urged Pakistan's government to ensure that citizens "be able to voice their opinions, that they be able to assemble, and that they be able to have the freedom of the press that they had before the emergency order was in place."

Earlier, Musharraf declared his new term as a civilian leader "a milestone in the transition of Pakistan to the complete essence of democracy."

"There has been great turbulence. We have never had a dull moment," he said. "We will succeed, and we will come out of this and lead Pakistan on the path that we are already following."

Opposition leaders had threatened a boycott to the upcoming elections to protest Musharraf's emergency order, arguing it has been used by him to consolidate power.

Musharraf's exit from the military as its leader on Wednesday capped a 46-year career in the nation's armed forces and ended eight years of military rule.

He defended his decision to declare emergency rule, calling it "extraordinary," but necessary.

"This derailment of this democratic process ... never on one occasion did I ever waiver from the path that we need to follow for this democratic transition," he said. "I feel this derailment could have led the nation into chaos."

In his acceptance speech, Musharraf praised his chosen successor as military chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, who recently stepped down as head of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence agency.

"Gen. Kiyani ... will lead the army as well if not better than what I did," Musharraf said. "I have full faith and trust in him."

It was as Pakistan's army chief that Musharraf led the 1999 bloodless coup that overthrew his predecessor, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Sharif returned to Pakistan Sunday, ending seven years of exile in Saudi Arabia and succeeding after a failed attempt in September.

Rest of article here.

Well, with both Sharif and Bhutto back in Pakistan, and Musharraf 'stepping down' from the Army, maybe the elections can go forth. The USA needs to cut him loose, and let him fall. The more we back this thug, the less likely his replacement will be amenable to The United States.

A Roundup of the Weeks Events

Hear discussion and analysis of the past weeks political events from On Point Radio.

Listen To Program

Bush To Musharraf - "Take Off The Uniform"

Take Off The Uniform?

This appears to be a lukewarm response from Bush & Co. at best, since simply taking off a uniform doesn't deal with the question of the continuing dictatorship in Pakistan. It's as if Musharraf would be less of a dictator in civilian clothes.

No... this seems to be part of an effort by the Bush Administration to give tacit approval to Musharraf maintaining his current position. They want him to get rid of the uniform because it would then be easier for them to say that Pakistan is returning to civilian Democratic control.

Bush and Co. has been purposely providing mixed signals in public, as a way to cover themselves. At the same time that Bush called for Musharraf to drop his uniform and called for elections, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte called Musharraf "an indispensable ally in the War Against Terrorism".... despite the fact that Musharraf has not been as aggressive as he could be in certain anti-terror efforts. Pakistan has often granted a pass to anti-American forces near the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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Related Posts

Pakistan - Most Dangerous Place On Earth

Sharif Deported After Returning from Exile

The Continuing Crisis in Pakistan and the Parallels with (and Possible Lessons from)Iran.

Bhutto Facing House Arrest

Benazir Bhutto Placed Under House Arrest

From CNN.com

Bhutto in standoff as blast hits minister's home

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Benazir Bhutto was involved in a standoff with security forces Friday as Pakistan suffered its first deadly attack since the declaration of emergency by President Pervez Musharraf.

A blast, possibly a suicide bomb, at the house of a federal minister in northwestern Pakistan killed four people Friday, police told CNN.

The attack happened at the home of Amir Muqam, the political affairs minister, who survived unharmed, police sources quoted by The Associated Press said
"This is what we were expecting -- that militants or the people in the tribal areas, wherever they are, would be targeting something related to the government," CNN's Mohsin Naqvi said, reporting from the field.

"We can't say how this is linked to the protests or whether it's a message to the government because militants have been targeting the government for the last two years."

Meanwhile opposition leader and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto faced off against security forces, who placed barbed wire and barricades around her Islamabad home, preventing her attending a rally banned by the government, she told CNN.

When about 50 of her Pakistan People's Party supporters attempted to cut through the cordons of wire, riot police began beating both them and journalists.

An armored car carrying Bhutto approached the breach, where she -- speaking with a megaphone -- told several hundred police and security forces: "We are not the enemy; give us way."

Bhutto told the security forces: "Don't stop us, we are not the enemy. Even you in uniform are my brothers." However, the security forces refused to back down or let her through, and Bhutto returned to her home.

But she did manage to address her supporters, saying she did not want the situation in Iraq to be repeated in Pakistan and adding: "This barbed wire is against the hopes and peoples of Pakistan."Bhutto was trying to leave her compound to attend a rally in nearby Rawalpindi -- a city outside Islamabad where Pakistan's military is based -- against the state of emergency.

The former prime minister has been hoping fellow opposition parties will put their differences aside and participate as a challenge to Musharraf's government.

But in Rawalpindi Pakistani security forces fired tear gas and wielded batons to disperse opposition supporters for defying a ban on public gatherings, police sources told CNN.

"There are blockades and there are barbed wires," Bhutto said, speaking earlier by phone from her home in Islamabad.

"Police cannot expect us not to overcome the physical barrier. They're watching us as (supporters of her Pakistan People's Party) break the barbed wire with their bare hands."
Bhutto dismissed reports that she had been placed under house arrest and prevented from leaving her house by force.

She said she could not leave due to the cement blocks and fences on either side of her home, which are backed by 3,000 police officers.

Earlier, CNN's Elise Labott in Islamabad reported seeing several being dragging away and pushed into waiting vans. Some chanted slogans "down with Musharraf...bullets and batons will not last...Benazir for prime minister."

PPP spokeswoman Sherry Rehman said in a statement that the area was in a "virtual lockdown" and about 5,000 of Bhutto's supporters have been rounded up in efforts to foil the attempted mass protest against emergency rule.

Only members of the provincial assembly have been permitted to see the former prime minister, Rehman said.

"Thousands of PPP workers have gone underground. Roads are blocked," the statement said, adding more than 25 PPP parliament members have been detained in various police stations in Rawalpindi as they arrived from other provinces.

In addition Friday, the government also took CNN and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) off air for a second time as part of a media blackout, CNN's Mohsin Naqvi in Islamabad reported.

The re-imposition of a blackout on CNN and BBC comes just 24 hours after the ban on the two broadcasters was lifted.

Rest of article is here.

This is getting ugly pretty fast. What happens here in Pakistan SHOULD be of importance to every American, because who wins out will have impact on the Middle East, and here.

Cartoons That Caught My Eye This Week

The Continuing Crisis in Pakistan and The Ominous Parallels With Iran

The Crisis in Pakistan has shown no signs of calming. Protesters are beginning to fill the streets in larger numbers, and the Chief judge is calling for Pakistani's to "rise up". Benazir Bhutto is also vowing to fight the Martial Law.

Meanwhile, some believe that the Bush Administration is supporting, and will continue to support dictator & ally Pervez Musharraf, as he tries to tighten his grip on power. Watch/Listen to report from Democracy Now.

Ironically, it is the Bush Administration support for Musharraf that is fueling much of the discord in Pakistan and threatening Musharraf's grip on power.

I can see a situation in Pakistan similar to Pre-Revolution Iran, when the U.S. supported the Shah. The consequences of the U.S. bringing a dictator (the Shah- Mohammad Reza Pahlavi) to power in Iran in the 1953 Coup that removed Mohammad Mossadegh (A Democratically elected Prime Minister), eventually led to the Iranian Revolution in 79. As a result, a much more radical religious fundamentalist leadership took power in Iran. The parallels between Pakistan and Iran cannot be ignored. Hear an NPR discussion with Stephen Kinzer about his book All The Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror.

In Pakistan, the U.S. is stirring up similar religious fundamentalist elements, along with the small number of pro-democracy groups. The U.S. is also uniting all of the anti-Musharref groups there (just as they did in Iran).

See the following summary of Irans history after the 1953 Coup from Iranchamber.com:

In the context of regional turmoil and the Cold War, the Shah established himself as an indispensable ally of the West. Domestically, he advocated reform policies, culminating in the 1963 program known as the White Revolution, which included land reform, the extension of voting rights to women, and the elimination of illiteracy.

In 1967 he crowned himself as King of the Kings (Emperor of Iran) and his wife, Farah Diba, as Shahbanoo (Eperess), which caused discontentment amongst different levels of society.

These measures and the increasing arbitrariness of the Shah's rule provoked both religious leaders who feared losing their traditional authority and students and intellectuals seeking democratic reforms. These opponents criticized the Shah for violation of the constitution, which placed limits on royal power and provided for a representative government, and for subservience to the United States. The Shah saw himself as heir to the kings of ancient Iran, and in 1971 he held an extravagant celebration of 2,500 years of Persian monarchy. In 1976 he replaced the Islamic calendar with an "imperial" calendar, which began with the foundation of the Persian empire more than 25 centuries earlier. These actions were viewed as anti-Islamic and resulted in religious opposition.

The shah's regime suppressed and marginalized its opponents with the help of Iran's security and intelligence organization, the SAVAK. Relying on oil revenues, which sharply increased in late 1973, the Shah pursued his goal of developing Iran as a mighty regional power dedicated to social reform and economic development. Yet he continually sidestepped democratic arrangements and refused to allow meaningful civic and political liberties, remaining unresponsive to public opinion.

By the mid-1970s the Shah reigned amidst widespread discontent caused by the continuing repressiveness of his regime, socioeconomic changes that benefited some classes at the expense of others, and the increasing gap between the ruling elite and the disaffected populace. Islamic leaders, particularly the exiled cleric Ayatollah Khomeini, were able to focus this discontent with a populist ideology tied to Islamic principles and calls for the overthrow of the shah. The Shah's government collapsed following widespread uprisings in 1978 -1979 and consequently an Islamic Republic succeeded his regime.

Seem familiar?

Could Pakistan be moving towards a repeat of Iran in 1979? It's almost as if Musharraf is reading from the Shah's script...and it's as if the U.S. never learned from that history. The militants in Pakistan have already tried to kill Musharref at least 3 times... coming close at least once. If the religious radicals do manage to take control in Pakistan, the U.S. will be looking at an unmitigated nightmare.

Pakistan: The Most Dangerous Place on Earth

So said Newsweek Magazine last week. But, I've been saying this for the past few months.

So while this Administration continues its LIES to try and justify an upcoming attack on IRAN, the REAL threat to GLOBAL SECURITY - PAKISTAN, remains low on the American's public radar - a MISTAKE.

What happened today in Pakistan should trouble people who worry about Global Security.

Pakistani PM: State of emergency to last 'as long as necessary'

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan will be under a state of emergency for "as long as it is necessary," Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Sunday, a day after Pervez Musharraf suspended the constitution and widened his powers as president and military chief.

In a commentary written for CNN on Sunday, opposition leader Benazir Bhutto called Musharraf's plan "a step to entrench his dictatorship" and called for elections under an independent caretaker government.

But Aziz said it could be months before parliamentary elections -- scheduled for January -- will take place.

"The parliament could give itself more time, up to a year, in terms of holding the next elections," Aziz said. "However, at this point, no decision has been made."

The state of emergency had been imposed to "bring more harmony to the pillars of state" and to protect against extremism in the country, Aziz said.

Hundreds of people have been detained.

Earlier in the day, Musharraf's spokesman, Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan, said on Dubai-based GEO TV that parliamentary elections would be delayed indefinitely.

Aziz stressed that despite the emergency measure, Musharraf's government is "committed to pursuing our parliamentary form of government" and "making sure elections are held."

Before imposing the state of emergency, Musharraf had vowed to hold elections no later than January 15.

The move has put the United States in a precarious position and has raised fears about widespread chaos in Pakistan, a nuclear nation.

Rest of Article Here.


Bhutto's commentary on CNN.com-No Time for Dictatorship

Secretary of State Rice has indicated that there will be U.S. Review of Aid given to Pakistan, which has topped 10 Billion Dollars. I don't expect for this to be anything more than some saber rattling from the USA. While they don't have to like what Musharraf has done, the USA deals with a lot of not-so-nice folks. But, whatever his faults, Musharraf is OUR present devil that we know. If the USA could be assured that one of Musharraf's opponents, who also happen to fall into the Moderate Muslim Category that goes against Islamist Extremism, like Mrs. Bhutto, could get complete control over the country, they'd back that person in a heartbeat. But, good or bad, Mr. Musharraf's tenuous control is still control, and the alternatives could be worse for the USA. Keep an eye out for the happenings in Pakistan.

One of the reasons why we shouldn't even be talking about IRAN, is because, whatever we have left of our Armed Forces, needs to be able to do something in Pakistan, in case it falls.

At least 110 dead in blasts near Bhutto's convoy in Pakistan

Hat tip: CNN.com:

At least 110 dead in blasts near Bhutto's convoy in Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan (CNN) -- Two explosions killed at least 110 people and injured at least 200 Thursday night near a motorcade carrying former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who returned to the country earlier in the day after eight years of self-imposed exile, police sources told CNN.


The chaotic, bloody scene Thursday after two blasts killed at least 110 people in Karachi, Pakistan.

Bhutto and those with her were uninjured, and her companions said she reached her family home safely. Video footage shows her exiting the vehicle after the blasts.

"I can see body parts strewn all over the road," said CNN's Dan Rivers, at the scene. "There are dead bodies everywhere. ... It is a large-scale attack, by the looks of things."

There were conflicting reports on whether there were one or two blasts and whether the bomb was in a car.

Authorities have found what they believe is the body of a suicide bomber, police told Rivers.

"We are still working details, but it seems that there was a suicide bombing there," Tariq Azim Khan, Pakistani information minister, told CNN. "Although the truck that Benazir Bhutto was riding on was surrounded by police cars -- so the suicide bomber could not get onto the truck and could not get anywhere near it, so he blew himself up and that has caused many casualties, mostly among the policemen who were riding beside the truck."

Other officials said at least one bomb apparently had been placed in a car on the street, where Bhutto's supporters had gathered to see her convoy pass. One eyewitness told Rivers he saw a car explode with three people inside.

Video footage from the scene showed the street jammed with emergency vehicles, and injured victims writhing in the middle of the road.

Rivers and his crew were filming the motorcade just before the explosions. They had each noticed there appeared to be little security near the motorcade. That seemed odd, Rivers noted, considering the sizable security risk Bhutto presents. Bhutto's return angered some sectors in Pakistan because she was a female head of state who is perceived as being aligned with the United States.

"We remarked on how lax security was around her," Rivers told Blitzer after the explosions. "We got within touching distance of her vehicle. There was no security around, nobody stopping vehicles getting close to [the motorcade]."


The windshield of the vehicle in which Bhutto was riding was smashed by the blasts, Rivers said, and a vehicle following hers was totally burned out. The scene, he said, was "absolutely horrendous," with blood literally running in streams down the street.

Because the streets were crowded with Bhutto's supporters, who had turned out to greet her, ambulances had difficulty reaching the scene immediately after the blasts. Onlookers resorted to ferrying the injured to hospitals in private cars.

People's Party Leader Qasim Zia, who was riding on Bhutto's truck, told CNN one of his bodyguards was seriously injured.

The blasts confirmed fears of instability linked to Bhutto's return, which came after she reached an agreement with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf allowing her to seek re-election as prime minister. Many were bitterly opposed to that deal.

"This is what everyone feared," Rivers said.

A senior U.S. State Department official in regular contact with Pakistani security forces told CNN that if such a convoy had been in the United States, security officials would have planned safe havens and alternate routes throughout the journey.

However, he said, Pakistani security was unable to do so because of the sheer number of people who turned out.

"We did try to provide the maximum security that was possible and, in fact, that's why the majority of the casualties are among the police and the security forces," Khan told CNN.

Bhutto was provided with bullet-proof vehicles, he said, extra police vehicles and electronic jammers. But "with a very large crowd, obviously, there is no such thing as fool-proof security."

Khan said officials warned Bhutto to delay her return to Pakistan after she made comments about Pakistan working with the United States against terrorism and the Taliban. Bhutto decided not to delay.

"We had all suggested and advised Benazir Bhutto to delay her arrival because there were reports after her comments in Washington; there were reports here in the Pakistani press that some extremist elements were bent on hurting her, because she was seen as coming with an American agenda ... and she had been saying that she might allow Americans to operate from Pakistani soil," he said.

"Those comments were not taken very kindly here, certainly not in the border areas bordering with Afghanistan. And they had issued threats to her life. And she was given friendly advice that she must delay her arrival. But, obviously, she did not pay any attention to that advice," said Khan.

Bhutto told CNN just before returning to her homeland that she was aware of the risks and knew some people wished her harm, but "I'm prepared to take them."

She did, however, tell CNN Wednesday that she wrote Musharraf a letter naming those she feared would make an attempt on her life.

Threats against her, she said, were made by "certain people who have gained a lot through dictatorship. They have presided over the rise of extremism, they have created safe havens in the tribal areas of Pakistan for the Taliban and other militants and they fear my return."

The United States was swift to condemn what it called "terrorist attacks in Karachi during peaceful political demonstrations."

"There is no political cause that can justify the murder of innocent people," State Department spokesman Tom Casey said in a written statement. "Those responsible seek only to foster fear and limit freedom. The United States stands with the people of Pakistan to eliminate terrorist threats, and to build a more open, democratic, and peaceful society."

White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said, "extremists will not be allowed to stop Pakistanis from selecting their representatives through an open and democratic process."


Bhutto had vowed to help return democracy to Pakistan. She ended eight years of self-imposed exile and returned Thursday to her native country, where she was greeted by a massive crowd of supporters.

"I am aware of the threats for my security, and this has been discussed with [President] General Pervez Musharraf," Bhutto told CNN's Syed Mohsin Naqvi Wednesday.

I was afraid something like this might happen. Pakistan is the most dangerous place on Earth right now, and if things go horribly wrong, then it's not inconceivable that some of our terrorist buddies could get their hands on nuclear weapons. We're bogged down in Iraq, and have a lunatic threatening WWIII over Iran, all the while Pakistan - who should be at the top of our concern list - is unraveling.

Nawaz Sharif Deported Soon After Arrival In Pakistan

Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif
Musharraf Nearing His Last Days As Dictator?

I believe that Pervez Musharraf may be entering his last days as Dictator of Pakistan. His actions over the past few years have awakened a genuine Democratic movement in the Country. Today's deportation of Nawaz Sharif is just the latest in a long list of moves by Musharraf that have been unpopular with ordinary Pakistani's and seem to run contrary to basic Democratic principles. Also see Report from Bloomberg. This is bad timing for Musharraf, because people were already getting tired of him, even without Nawaz Sharif in the picture. He also has his hands full with Muslim radicals who want to see him gone for other reasons.

Now Benazir Bhutto says that she will return to challenge Musharraf... and she may get the same greeting that the other former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif received when he arrived. She will likely be detained as well. This will only turn more people against Musharraf and will further weaken his grip on power.

Musharraf is feeling pressure from 3 different sides at the moment:

1). The radical Muslims who are against his crackdown of Taliban and Al Qaeda elements in the Country.

2). From the U.S. which wants to see him do more to fight radical elements in his Country, but also wants to see him remain as dictator because he is convenient for them (so they think). It would seem like a more sensible approach for the U.S. to support Democracy in Pakistan and to support elected leaders like Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, but the U.S. has decided to support stability instead... or what they think is stability.

3). From a strong and growing Democracy movement from ordinary Pakistani's who are tired of his dictatorship and who want to see a return of some semblance of freedom & Democracy in their country. Although Sharif and Bhutto are enemies, what Pakistani's are more concerned with is a return to a more Democratic system.

This Democracy movement is backed by the National Courts in Pakistan... and the stage appears to be set for another clash between Musharraf and the Supreme Court over the Sharif deportation.

It appears that Musharraf will try to do everything he can to see that at least two major leaders of the Democracy camp (Bhutto and Sharif) don't interfere with his rule over the country.

In the end, I believe it will come down to who the Army actually decides to support. This always seems to be the case in Pakistan since gaining their Independence. Whoever gets the support of the military will lead the Country. In this case, things will probably get to a point where the Army will have to choose between sticking with Musharraf, or supporting the groundswell of ordinary Pakistani's and returning the Country to some sort of Democratically elected civilian leadership.

I just find it ironic that the U.S. is supporting the Dictator...instead of Democracy. The Pakistani people are paying attention to the U.S. on this... in fact, the World is watching... and I know they see the hypocrisy. But it wouldn't be the first time that the U.S. supported Dictators over Democracy. The list of U.S. supported Dictators is long... including Saddam Hussein.