On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Supreme Court postponed the by-election in the constituency where PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif would have run, before the controversial Lahore High Court ruling on Monday, [see previous post]. Following Monday’s development, supporters of Nawaz’s party reacted with outrage, and PML-N lawmakers staged a walkout from the National Assembly on Tuesday. According to [...]
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Today, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari announced that “he would decide when the judges sacked on November 3, 2007 would be reinstated.” Interesting, coming from a man who isn’t an elected member of Parliament, but who still calls the shots. I couldn’t help but be reminded of the iconic 70’s film, The Godfather. Granted, Zardari is not [...]
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Posted in News Briefs, Op-Eds, tagged Terrorism, Coalition, Musharraf, Taliban, Judiciary, U.S., NATO, Balochistan, Afghanistan on June 16, 2008 | 7 Comments »
It has been quite an eventful few days for Pakistan. First, following the end of the lawyers’ “Long March” [see related post] this past week, the movement’s top leader, Aitzaz Ahsan promised more protests today. Although he did not provide a future date for these protests, “his comments indicated that the lawyers did not intend [...]
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About 1,000 Pakistani lawyers and political activists gathered on Monday for the beginning of the widely-covered cross country rally, dubbed the “Long March.” This march “was heralded by gatherings in major cities and is expected to culminate later this week with a rally and sit-in outside parliament” in Pakistan’s capital, noted the Associated Press. [...]
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Last week, media coverage in Pakistan was dominated by political developments following the PML-N resignation from the federal cabinet. While news outlets were in-depth in their coverage, I was curious to read the reactions of President Pervez Musharraf to these developments. How would he react to the PML-N exit and the speculations surrounding the future [...]
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With the unfolding political developments currently dominating media coverage of Pakistan, it is difficult for me to not provide daily updates on the PML-N exit from the federal cabinet and the judiciary restoration issue. However, following this post, I do promise to update you on the other (mainly security-related) issues affecting the country.
On Wednesday, Pakistani media [...]
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So it’s official - on Monday, PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif announced that ministers from his party will resign from their posts tomorrow over differences regarding the restoration of the judiciary, [PML-N currently has nine ministers in the 24-member federal cabinet]. Media coverage yesterday predicted this development, following news that the ruling parties had not come to an agreement [...]
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With the deadline to restore the judiciary slated to pass on Monday, media outlets on Sunday reported that Pakistan’s ruling coalition have yet to reach an agreement on the issue. As a result of this development (or lack thereof), most news coverage focused on what this could mean for the future of the coalition. The [...]
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Following speculations of a fracturing coalition government and “last-ditch” talks between top leaders to address the judiciary issue, [see previous post] media outlets Friday reported that PML-N head Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari set May 12 as the final date for restoring Pakistan’s ousted judges. At a news conference, Nawaz told reporters,
I [...]
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The restoration of the judiciary continued to dominate news coverage of Pakistan on Wednesday, and media outlets reported that PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari met for “a decisive round of talks” on the issue in Dubai. According to the Associated Press, “Pakistani leaders were up against a key deadline Wednesday [...]
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