Posted in Op-Eds, tagged PPP, Coalition, Zardari, Judiciary on June 17, 2008 | 7 Comments »
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 [...]
Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Judiciary, Musharraf, Nawaz, Zardari on June 9, 2008 | 7 Comments »
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. [...]
Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Musharraf, Zardari, Sharif, ] on May 28, 2008 | 7 Comments »
UPDATE [1240 EST]: The Associated Press cited statements by Farzana Raja, a spokesman for Asif Ali Zardari, who told the news agency that there was “no specific talk” of impeaching Musharraf in Tuesday’s discussions. The AP added, “She said her party wanted to avoid a confrontation with the presidency and was focused on a package [...]
Posted in Op-Eds, tagged Taliban, Zardari on May 24, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Beitullah Mehsud, the head of the militant umbrella organization, Tehreek-e-Taliban, told a group of reporters on Saturday that their jihad would continue in Afghanistan, since “Islam does not recognize boundaries.” His announcement comes just days after Pakistani authorities and militants signed a peace agreement, [see previous post] in Swat. Although Mehsud emphasized his Taliban-linked militants [...]
Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Musharraf, Zardari on May 23, 2008 | 3 Comments »
On Thursday, Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, in an interview with the Press Trust of India, “launched a tirade” against President Pervez Musharraf, reported Pakistani news outlets. According to the Daily Times, Zardari called Musharraf “a relic of the past,” standing between the people of Pakistan and democracy “and there is tremendous pressure [...]
Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Judiciary, Nawaz, Zardari on May 14, 2008 | 4 Comments »
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 [...]
Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Nawaz, Zardari on May 13, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Nawaz Sharif’s dramatic announcement yesterday that his party, PML-N, was resigning from the cabinet garnered much news coverage and raised doubts about the fate of the six-week-old coalition government. Following the development, Pakistani media outlets reported on the reactions of PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, although coverage of his response varied slightly among news sources. [...]
Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Zardari, Judiciary, Sharif on May 11, 2008 | 3 Comments »
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 [...]
Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Nawaz, Zardari on May 6, 2008 | 3 Comments »
On Monday, Pakistan’s Election Commission (EC) announced that the by-elections scheduled for June 18 are now postponed for two months until August 18. According to the NY Times, “Election officials said the postponement was necessary because of security concerns in North-West Frontier Province and the presentation of the federal budget in June.” Although this [...]
Posted in News Briefs, tagged Coalition, Judiciary, Sharif, Zardari on May 3, 2008 | 1 Comment »
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 [...]
