Will Musharraf Resign

A day after their big win, Musharraf's opponents are requesting that he resign the office of President.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's opponents called on the key US ally to resign Tuesday after his backers conceded that voters dealt them a crushing defeat in general elections.

Celebratory gunfire erupted in several cities as unofficial preliminary results on state television showed a big win for the parties of former premier Nawaz Sharif and slain political icon Benazir Bhutto. "Musharraf has said he would quit when people tell him. People have now given their verdict," said two-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the man Musharraf ousted in a bloodless coup in 1999.

Now the time has come for Musharraf to make the decision that will insure or break democracy in Pakistan, as he chooses to stay in office, or resign. This will be a huge week for Pakistan, and for the United States, as we may lose a key ally in the fight against terrorists, or we might just enlist a whole new contingent, as the new government takes power!


resign

Musharraf Pleads For Unity After Vote

It looks like the two opposition parties are winning the majority of the seats in Pakistan's elections today.

Pakistan's embattled president appealed for national unity Monday after parliamentary elections aimed at bolstering democracy and calming political strife. But fear and apathy kept millions at home, raising the prospect of no clear winner and a government too fragmented to rally the nation against Islamic extremists.

Private television stations reported strong showings by the two main opposition parties in early unofficial tallies, a trend conceded by the party of President Pervez Musharraf. Final official results were not expected before Wednesday.

Officials confirmed 24 deaths in election-related violence over the previous 24 hours, mostly in the country's biggest province of Punjab, the key electoral battleground.

Musharraf was not on the ballot, but the election was widely seen as a referendum on his eight-year rule, including his alliance with the United States in the war against terrorist groups that many Pakistanis oppose.

We must hope that after the elections that these groups can work together in the best interests of the Pakistani's, which would also benefit us, because the majority do not want the terrorists to gain control of their country!!


unity

Bhutto Assassinated

In what will surely be the story of the week, Pakistan opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated Thursday in a suicide attack at a campaign rally that also killed at least 20 others, aides said. Bhutto's supporters erupted in anger and grief after her death, attacking police and burning tires and election campaign posters in several cities. At the hospital where she died, some smashed glass and wailed, chanting slogans against President Pervez Musharraf.

This assassination was just the type of violence that President Musharraf had attempted to stop, through his use of house arrest, and martial law. The lifting of the emergency, and giving Mrs. Bhutto access to the venue which she attended, and at which she was assassinated, was just what Musharraf feared most.

The militants will use this anger to disrupt the country, and will turn this into a civil war, if calmer heads do not prevail. It is necessary for the world to speak with one voice and help keep Pakistan from falling into the abyss of violence. This is a nation with a nuclear stockpile that would be the envy of any terrorist organization, and this stockpile must remain safe under all circumstances!

I feel sad for the death of Mrs. Bhutto, but she knew that returning to Pakistan was a "death sentence" and even though her goal was to have more democracy for her country, she may have the opposite effect, and losing democracy in Pakistan to al-Qaeda and The Taliban, may be a very sad legacy for her sacrifice!


assassinated

Musharraf Keeps Promise

President General Pervez Musharraf kept his promise as he blinked back tears, Pervez Musharraf, and stepped down as Pakistan's military commander Wednesday, fulfilling a key opposition demand a day before he was to be sworn in as civilian president.


Key opposition leader Benazir Bhutto welcomed the belated move, but she said her party had yet to accept him as head of state. The White House also called it a "good step."

Britain, which shares the United States' deep concern about Islamic terrorism emanating from Pakistan, said Musharraf's move was "an important part" of his plan to restore constitutional order.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am sending best wishes, Luck, and Hope to President Musharraf, and May this begin a new start for Pakistan's struggling "democracy"!!

steps down

Last Day For General Musharraf

Today I am sending kudos and congratulations to General, and President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, as he spends his last day as a General.

Pervez Musharraf was saluted by his troops Tuesday on his last full day as Pakistan's army chief as he bows to international pressure to become a civilian president.


Faced with swelling anger over his three-week-old state of emergency, the embattled US ally received guards of honour as he launched a two-day ceremonial tour of the army, navy and air force.

I don't know that he has done everything right, as he has been somewhat brutal, but I like Musharraf, and if he needs to knock a few heads together to keep control of his nations nuclear weapons, so be it, as our nation has done much worse, for far less, and I found it annoying when Negroponte went to Pakistan to "bitch" slap Musharraf. We talk alot about a nations sovereignty, but for Bush it has always been lip service, and that was just one more example of us "bullying" another country when they are not towing the line as we see it. The General should have walked him out the door and had him shot, and sent the message to Bush, "that I am fighting against the rebels as best as I can, so get off my back", and keep your "messengers" home!

Good Luck, General, with friends like us, you will need it!!

Again, I wish the soon to be former General, Best Wishes, and a More Luck, because with Sharif and Bhutto back in the country, he is going to need it!

general

Sharif Returns To Pakistan

It seems that the stability of Pakistan is being tested weekly, and with the arrival of the former Prime Minsiter today, it is going to be another Interesting week for President Musharraf, and Pakistan.

The Exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returned home to a hero's welcome Sunday and called on President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to end emergency rule before elections, a fresh challenge to the U.S.-backed leader.

"These (emergency) conditions are not conducive to free and fair elections," Sharif told reporters at the airport after arriving from Saudi Arabia. "I think the constitution of Pakistan should be restored, and there should be rule of law."

Here is a little background of Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. He was born December 25th, 1949 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan is a Pakistani politician and comes from a well established Kashmiri business family. His wife Kulsoom is the grand-niece of world famous Kashmiri wrestler the Great Gama.He was twice elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan, serving two non-consecutive terms, the first from November 1st, 1990 to July 18th, 1993, and the second from February 17th, 1997, to October 12th, 1999. His party is the Pakistan Muslim League N, (Nawaz group). He is best known internationally for ordering Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests in response to India's , and the abrupt end of his final term in a dramatic coup by General Pervez Musharraf.

Whether it is right or wrong is not really the question, as it should be "whether it is going to help or hurt," Pakistan, by creating one more area of tension and instability, in a country that already has more fractures, and security problems than it can handle.


returns

Pakistan Releases Some Prisoners

In what appears to be a move by Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf to assuage some of the criticism of his emergency rule has released many prisoners, as he heads to Saudi Arabia for a visit.

More than 3,000 people jailed under emergency rule have been released, the Interior Ministry said Tuesday, the latest sign that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf was rolling back some of the harsher measures taken against his opponents.

Interior Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema put the exact figure of those freed in recent days at 3,416, including lawyers and political activists, and said more than 2,000 people remained jailed.

This may be seen as an encouraging sign, but it still is a wait and see climate, as there is always the possibility that rebel terrorists will use this opportunity to strike somewhere, and force the President to come down hard again on Pakistani rights. It seems that he is in a lose/lose situation, as his countrymen demand democratic freedom, and every step in that direction gives the insurgents more of a probabilty of toppling the government, and creating a terrorist state.

What amazes me is that he actually wants to keep this job, as believes that he can keep Pakistan intact, and free of rebel forces. For this he needs strength, diplomacy, and a large dose of luck!



prisoners

Envoy Warns Musharraf

In the news this morning it is being reported that a senior U.S. envoy who said Pakistan's democratic process had been "derailed" carried a stern warning Friday to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf from the Bush administration to end emergency rule. In an apparent move to blunt criticism from Musharraf's key foreign backer, authorities freed opposition leaders including Benazir Bhutto as well as a U.N. human rights expert and let two independent news channels back on air.

There continues to be a great deal of worries concerning the emergency rule and what if anything can be done to get their democracy back on track. May the weekend bring a respite to both sides, and allow Musharraf and Bhutto time to think this through and understand that they must work together or their nation may fall apart, and that would only be good for their enemies and ours.


warning

Bad News From Pakistan

This has truly been a Good News, Bad News, and now more Bad News day!!

There is Bad News From Pakistan just days after it looked like things could be worked out, as the Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was placed under house arrest for the second time in four days to prevent her staging a march on Tuesday to protest emergency rule, police said. A close aide to the former prime minister said she would try to lead the 185-mile procession anyway. The showdown intensified the political crisis engulfing Pakistan and further clouded the prospect of a pro-U.S. alliance against rising Islamic extremism forming between Bhutto and President Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

The next few days are crucial and Washington better pull out all the stops and do anything it can to assist Pakistan in its' time of crisis. If things go badly there, it shall have reprecussions long into the future. This is their "dark" night of the soul and the existence of their country is at stake! I wish them the very best and hope they can prevail as a somewhat democratic country, intact, and not fall to the forces of al-Qaeda and extremists!!


bad news

Bhutto Freed

In a story I am reading it appears that there is some hope for Pakistan.

This morning Pakistan announced plans to lift its state of emergency within one month and allowed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto to leave her villa following a day under house arrest, as the country sought Saturday to restore its battered image at home and abroad.President Gen. Pervez Musharraf insists he called the week-old emergency to help fight Islamic extremists who control large swathes of territory near the Afghan border, but the main targets of his crackdown have been his most outspoken critics, including the increasingly independent courts and media.

There needs to be a concerted effort to facilitate the unification of Bhutto and Musharraf against the extremists and terrorsist. This should be the focus of all levels of our government and the governments of our allies around the world. The Pakistani government needs to be stabilized and allowed to survive against the enemies they now face or we shall be facing them later.


freed

U.S. Worries About Pakistan

There has been a progression in the situation, but currently it is difficult to see if this new action will help or hurt President Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto, or the United States as we try to help them form an alliance against the rebels and terrorists, who would love to get their hands on the Pakistani nuclear stockpile.

Pakistan quickly ended house arrest for opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Friday as President Gen. Pervez Musharraf came under new U.S. pressure to end a crackdown that Washington fears is hurting the fight against Islamic extremism. Earlier in the day, police threw up barbed wire around Bhutto's house to keep her from speaking at a rally to protest Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, and security forces rounded up thousands of her supporters to block any mass demonstrations.

Perhaps their will be a new push to come to agreement on issues, such as Musharraf taking off his uniform and giving up military command, and we can hope that Bhutto will try and be a force for calm, instead of the flashpoint for violence that she has been so far, since her return to Pakistan.



worries

Musharraf Declares State Of Emergency

In a story being reported this morning, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election win and amid rising Islamic militant violence.

Eight Supreme Court judges immediately rejected the emergency, which suspended the current constitution. The government blocked transmissions of private news channels in several cities and telephone services in the capital, Islamabad, were cut.

As with all states of emergency declarations there will probably be some civil rights suspensions, and other security measures, to allow the President to take care of the emergency caused by the rebels.

Good luck to President Musharraf, in bringing these rebels to heel. Obviously, he is not the most democratic of characters, but in this war on terrorism, we kind of have to take what we can get, and currently this is all that we can get, in fighting the Taliban, and al-Qaeda in northern Pakistan!

The only other hope that in our collaboration with Musharraf, we do not get into a position of him being in control of us, as we did with Hussein in Iraq, when he was fighting the Iranians with our "assistance", which then gave him the confidence that we were behind him, when he invaded Kuwait, and set up his ultimate downfall, and our current forever war in Iraq!May we have better luck in Pakistan!



emergency

Bhutto Vows To Remain

In the news moments ago, Pakistani police took three people in for questioning on Saturday over an attack on former premier Benazir Bhutto's homecoming procession that killed 139 people, an investigator said. The men were linked to a car from which an attacker threw a grenade in Karachi on Thursday night, seconds before a suicide bomber blew himself up in a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people, he said.

It would seem that even though Mrs. Bhutto left Pakistan under a cloud of scandal and corruption,that For the thousands of singing and dancing supporters who flocked to this raucous Karachi street to greet her, the corruption charges against Ms. Bhutto or her willingness to ally herself with an unpopular president don't seem to matter.



Hours later, the celebratory atmosphere in Karachi was shattered when two bomb blasts killed at least 139 bystanders and wounded about 500 more.

In recent weeks, Bhutto has alienated many Pakistanis by her dealings with President Pervez Musharraf, which were seen as driven by Washington's desire to bolster a moderate South Asian government in its fight against Islamic extremism. They have also, at least for the moment, cleared her of charges that she stole millions from Pakistan in the 1990s. But Thursday's triumphant return is a reminder that much of Pakistani politics is personality and pageantry. And charisma alone might be enough for Bhutto. It is a calculus born of experience, banking on her ability to turn decades-old allegiances to her family name and home state into votes. But heading into the campaign season for January parliamentary elections, the strategy carries new risks, experts say: Pakistan is changing, becoming more politically sophisticated as a raft of news channels plays an increasingly important role in shaping public opinion.


Musharraf's precipitous decline in popularity is partly due to his close ties to Washington, which supports Musharraf as a crucial ally in the war against terrorism. The Bush administration has also come out in support of Musharraf's alliance with Bhutto as a hedge against the rising influence of Islamic extremism. Her arrival Thursday was Bhutto's attempt to change the momentum against her, and the event showcased her greatest strengths: her celebrity and the organizational capabilities of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP). Buses lined Karachi streets for miles, and festive street scenes made the decaying port city seem more like Rio than the Arabian Sea coast, with boomboxes blaring music from every region of Pakistan, and one motorcycle broadcasting old Bhutto speeches from its makeshift speakers.

She is brave, because she knew that coming here was going to bring death and destruction,and she chose to return anyway to assist her country and herself. She obviously, is similar to our own Clinton's in being Machievellian to attain their goals.

Most of the support for her is because of her father , who was hanged for political resons 28 years ago.The sentiment is widespread in the crowd, and it points to the feudal nature of politics here. As the daughter of Zulfikar, Benazir has inherited the devotion that he won from many of Pakistan's poor. And as a daughter of the state of Sindh, she can expect to sweep the rural parts of the state in elections. These are the two constituencies that experts expect her to woo in the coming months. There is a logic to the strategy of playing on her father's name and her Sindhi heritage. If she succeeds, the electoral math suggests she may be able to cobble together enough votes to be the leading partner in a coalition government – winning her the prime minister's seat.

There are many other obstacles to Mrs. Bhutto, besides the terrorist assassination threats and attempts. First is the Supreme Court, which still must rule on whether Musharraf was a legal candidate for the presidential elections he won more than a week ago. A decision is expected soon. If he is declared invalid retroactively, Pakistan's political establishment would be thrown into chaos, and any deals Bhutto struck with Musharraf would be useless. The Supreme Court could also have a say in this matter, too. It will look into whether the amnesty deal Bhutto made with Musharraf is illegal. If it rules against Bhutto, the decision would make her vulnerable to cases charging that she and her husband embezzled money from the government and put it in Swiss bank accounts. There is a report that in one case, a Swiss judge had finished his investigation into the money-laundering charges and would present his findings to a prosecutor next week.

There is also fear that even if Bhutto survives these challenges, her political maneuverings have antagonized those who created the conditions for her return: the middle class. The anti-Musharraf movement that has roiled Pakistan in recent months is largely a secular, liberal, middle-class phenomenon, a group which, in the past, often went along with Bhutto as the Western-educated, left-of-center candidate. But it has turned against her since she began to deal with Musharraf. The president is seen by many here as a US-backed puppet, making Bhutto's arrangement with him appear to be a cynical political gambit to secure her own political future.

In a telephone interview that is being played around the world the two leaders vowed to fight terrorism and extremism. President Pervez Musharraf and Pakistan People's Party Chairperson Benazir Bhutto have expressed their resolve to fight extremism and terrorism, both leaders agreed that there is a need for the entire nation to unite to rid the country of these evil violent fanatics.

There is going to be more violence, before it gets better. The hope is that with her return, she can help put a loss of power by President Musharraf, who even with all of his faults, is one of the few leaders standing with us in this fight with radicalism and terrorism. If we lose Pakistan, we lose a country and that missiles and nuclear weapons, and we surely do not want those type of weapons in the hands of al-Qaeda or the Taliban!! We wouldn't have to worry about an improvised "dirty" bomb, as they would have access to the Real thing, and "All Hell Would Break Loose". We have seen how the rhetoric continues to rise against Iran by Bush, could you imagine what we would do if a nuclear country was going to fall into the "enemies" hands!! Can anyone say "Armaggedon"! Perhaps that would not be the case, but the likehood would surely increase exponentially!

Hopefully, the Pakistani's will bring the people behind this attack to a swift and sure justice, and I pray that the government had nothing to do with the attack! If it was al-Qaeda, it will help unite the people against them, and that would be a great outcome.

Let's all keep our fingers crossed and hope for an outcome that keeps Pakistan out of the loss column.




pakistan

Musharraf Rejects U.S. Attack

In a story I was just reading, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Tuesday that talk of U.S. military strikes against al-Qaida in Pakistan only hurts the fight against terrorism, and his troops bombarded militant hideouts in their strongest response yet to a month of anti-government attacks. Ten suspected militants were killed.

May we please have the President, Congress, and the presidential hopefuls refrain from telling our enemies any further plans that we may have for them. We have Obama, saying would attack inside Pakistan without their permission, and the President agreeing, that he would also attack if their were "actionable" intelligence, and it goes on and on. We dis' one of our few allies left in the world and telegraph to our enemies what we will and won't do.

For once will the politician's stop playing with the lives of people with their comments. Even if they are going to do something, could you just keep it to yourself, so that it might have a better than "snowballs chance in hell', of actually succeeding. Bush couldn't keep quiet on bin-Laden, and he's still running free, "if he's still alive", and then Iraq, and border security, airport security, there is not one area of the "terrorism war", that either he or his political enemies have not babbled on about, to every media outlet in the world.

My God, if we have one secret left in this country, except who Really leaked the name of Valerie PLame, if would absolutely amaze me!

Think about it folks, Obama, Bush and others are talking about attacking a sovereign nation, and not just any nation, but a "friend" in the war on terror. Perhaps there is more that Musharraf could do, but this is a leader who is fighting it out on his streets daily, with terrorist's who have tried to assassinate him several times, so we should understand his trepidation, as to how much his countrymen will allow him to do without revolting. He bombed areas today, left alone in the past, but he may need a little more time to get things done, and if we were "true" friends we would allow him that time. After all if it just success that we want we would have already gone in, and we would leave behind another country that we wrecked, because of our "intervention"!

attacks

Pakistani Militants Kill 70

Sunday the truce between Militants in northwest Pakistan ended as they disavowed a peace pact with the government and launched two days of suicide attacks and bombings that killed at least 70 people, dramatically escalating the violence in the al-Qaeda infiltrated region.
The attacks Sunday and Saturday followed strident calls by extremists to avenge the government's bloody storming of Islamabad's Red Mosque and a declaration of jihad, or holy war, by at least one pro-Taliban cleric.

Termination of the peace treaty, the hopeful handiwork of President General Pervez Musharraf, puts even greater pressure on the military leader as he struggles with both Islamic extremists and a gathering pro-democracy movement.

As President Musharraf said the other day, this is an all out war for Pakistan and the Militants will surrender or be killed, which is the stance that he should have taken four years ago, and this mess would be over instead of just starting.

Militants

Musharraf's Forces Storm Red Mosque

In news reports coming out of Pakistan tonight it would seem that President Pervez Musharrafs calls for the islamic radicals hiding in the Red Mosque to either surrender or face death are in play right now with Government troops stormed the compound of Islamabad's Red Mosque before dawn Tuesday, prompting a fierce firefight with militants accused of holding scores of hostages, officials said. At least 20 rebels and three soldiers were killed.

Amid the sounds of rolling explosions, commandos attacked from three directions about 4 a.m. and quickly cleared the ground floor of the mosque, army spokesman Gen. Waheed Arshad said. Some 20 children who rushed toward the advancing troops were brought to safety, he said.

Well-trained militants armed with machine guns, rocket launchers and gasoline bombs put up tough resistance from the basement, Arshad said, adding rebels were also firing from minarets and have booby trapped some areas.

The assault began minutes after a delegation led by a former prime minister left the area declaring that efforts to negotiate a peaceful end to a week-old seige had failed.

Clashes this month between security forces and supporters of the mosque's hardline clerics prompted the siege. The religious extremists had been trying to impose Taliban-style morality in the capital through a six-month campaign of kidnappings and threats. Prior to Tuesday's assault, at least 24 people had been killed in and around the mosque.

The assault was signaled by blasts and gunfire. About three and a half hours after the assault started, Arshad said 50 to 60 percent of the complex had been cleared, but there were still various fights occurring.

Nearly 20 militants had been killed and between 15 to 20 had been wounded. Arshad said three special forces commandos were also killed and 15 wounded. Rebel leader Abdul Rashid Ghazi told the private Geo TV network that his mother had been wounded by gunshot. There was no immedidate official confirmation of his claim. He said that about 30 militants were resisting security forces but were only armed with 14 AK-47 assault rifles.

On Monday, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf assigned ex-premier Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain to try and negotiate a peaceful end to the standoff. But Hussain and a delegation of Islamic clerics returned crestfallen from the mosque before dawn Tuesday after about nine hours of talks with rebel leader Abdul Rashid Ghazi via loudspeakers and cell phones. They offered many things to the radicals, but all of their offers were turned down, thus leading to the attack on the Mosque.

The government has said wanted terrorists are organizing the defense of the mosque. In his comments on Tuesday, Ghazi said he had offered to show the mediators that they had no heavy weapons, foreign militants or other wanted people inside the mosque. The siege has given the neighborhood the look of a war zone, with troops manning machine guns behind sandbagged posts and from the top of armored vehicles. It has also sparked anger in Pakistan's restive northwest frontier. On Monday, 20,000 tribesmen, including hundreds of masked militants wielding assault rifles, held a protest in the frontier region of Bajur.

As is usual in any group who gets together these days they chanted "Death to Musharraf" and "Death to America" in a rally led by Maulana Faqir Mohammed, a cleric wanted by authorities and who is suspected of ties to al-Qaida No. 2 leader Ayman al-Zawahri, who we just heard from the other day, and who said the fight is a fight to the Death between themselves and the United States and its' allies.

President Musharraf is trying to retain control of his government and is being visciously attacked inside and outside of his government. So for him this attack was necessary to end this embarrassment and show that he is still firmly in control, or the Taliban backed radicals will topple his government.