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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On Wednesday, The News, quoting unidentified sources, reported that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf “has offered to resign in return for indemnity by parliament for his unconstitutional steps taken on November 3, 2007.” However, what exactly were these unconstitutional steps? According to The News, which cited “legal and constitutional experts,” there were three main steps taken [...]
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On Monday, President Pervez Musharraf swore in 24 members of the new Prime Minister’s cabinet, six weeks after opposition parties swept the elections. According to the BBC News, “Twenty of those who took oath are from either the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) or the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).” Reuters, in its piece on the development [...]
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On Wednesday, Pakistan’s The News reported that the ruling party of the country’s new coalition government, the Pakistan People’s Party, “will set up a new institution for accountability after abolishing the National Accountability Bureau.” All pending cases in the NAB against [former PPP stalwarts who switched over to the PML-Q] Faisal Saleh Hayat and Aftab [...]
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On Tuesday, the new Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousaf Raza Gilani, was sworn into office in a ceremony that garnered major media attention. According to the NY Times, “a somewhat stiff” President Pervez Musharraf administered the oath of the new leader, which was a “highly emotional moment” for the followers of recently assassinated Benazir Bhutto. [...]
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Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Musharraf, PPP on March 24, 2008 | 1 Comment »
On Saturday, the Pakistan People’s Party named Yousuf Raza Gilani as their nomination for the country’s Prime Minister, [see yesterday's interview]. On Monday, the Parliament elected the nominee, a former house speaker and longtime aide of former PM Benazir Bhutto, to the post. According to The News, Gilani was elected with a “thumping majority,” receiving [...]
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Since the February 18th elections and the formation of a new coalition government in Pakistan, the issue over the country’s Prime Minister candidate has been clouded with intrigue and conflicting stories. Although the reported PM front runner following the elections was reportedly Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the PPP’s vice chairman, recent reports indicated that the senior [...]
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Pakistan will elect its first female speaker of the National Assembly today, news sources reported. According to Bloomberg, Fehmida Mirza was nominated for the position by the Pakistan People’s Party, (PPP) and will run against Muhammad Israr Tarin, the candidate from the PML-Q. The outgoing speaker, Chaudhry Amir Hussain, will call the vote at 1100 [...]
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On Monday, Pakistan inaugurated its new Parliament that the Associated Press noted was “dominated by opponents of President Pervez Musharraf who have vowed to crimp his powers and review his U.S.-backed policies against Islamic militants.” The news agency added, “At stake is the future course and political stability of this nuclear-armed nation of 160 million [...]
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