'...It is important for you to take a stand.' 'It is a sin to remain silent when the basic structure of the Constitution is being attacked.'
Amid claims that a group of four generals led by the then army chief Pervez Musharraf masterminded the Kargil operation, Pakistan's main opposition Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz, which was the ruling party at that time, on Thursday demanded a judicial inquiry into the 1999 conflict with India.
The crucial talks between the top leaders of Pakistan's ruling coalition ended inconclusively on Friday, with Pakistan People's Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari seeking more time from his ally Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif, to consider the modalities for reinstatement of the deposed judges. Sharif said that his party remained committed to the restoration of the judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf, by May 12. Zardari did not talk to the media.
Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf party has suffered setbacks in country's biggest ever by-polls for 41 national and provincial assembly constituencies, in which the ruling PML-N appeared to have consolidated its position.
A much-awaited meeting between Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif concluded without any major breakthrough on Monday.
Pakistan's main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has asked the government to put former President Pervez Musharraf on trial for allegedly being responsible for the assassination of ruling Pakistan Peoples Party leader Benazir Bhutto in 2007.
Three new victors -- the Pakistan People's Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Awami National Party have shown their majority many days ago, but President Pervez Musharraf is playing delaying games and using secret agencies to break the majority party PPP from the PML faction of Nawaz Sharif.
Pakistan's Supreme Court will take up former premier Nawaz Sharif's petition seeking a probe into the secret memorandum sent to the US military on December 1, officials said on Tuesday.
Nawaz Sharif is expected to be sworn in for a record third term as Pakistan's prime minister Wednesday with a very small cabinet comprising close aides shortly after he is formally elected to the post.
'We welcome (you) back to the purana Pakistan,' top Opposition leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Sunday, as he took a jibe at ousted Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan following the adoption of a no-confidence vote against him.
Nawaz Sharif, poised for a record third term as Pakistan Prime Minister after his party's emphatic win in the landmark general elections, has vowed to pursue better relations with the US while seeking "warmer ties" with India.
Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan on Friday responded to corruption allegations leveled against him by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, by accusing former premier Nawaz Sharif of failing to pay taxes and investing billions of dollars abroad.
Refusing to play second fiddle to the powerful military, former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said he will be the Army chief's "boss" if voted back to power in the May 11 general elections.
Fifteen lawmakers of the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, a key ally of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party, were on Monday included in new Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf's council of ministers.
Zubaida Jalal, a former minister in Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's cabinet, was defeated in Monday's parliamentary polls, television channels reported.
Mian Javed Latif said a decision on PML-N supremo and the three-time prime minister Sharif's anticipated return will be discussed with the coalition partners.
With the maulana fully committed and PML (N) cadres prepared to court arrest, this would be the first time where both Punjabis and Pakhtuns would be standing up against the Pakistan army, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Pakistan's controversial anti-corruption watchdog on Monday filed an application in a court seeking resumption of a trial against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz on graft charges, in what would be seen as a politically motivated move.
Last year, Musharraf declared Ifikhar Muhammad Chaudhry a non-functional chief justice of Pakistan. This year, he is becoming the first non-functional President of the country. Some close friends have already advised Musharraf to step down quietly, but the General is still confident that his hand picked army chief General Ashfaq Pervez Kyani will rescue him soon.
Pakistan should buy electricity from India to overcome a crippling energy shortage if it is provided at an affordable rate, former premier Nawaz Sharif said on Thursday.
As clamours for his resignation mounted with withdrawal of support from his key ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Pakistan's beleaguered Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday reached out to the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam in desperate attempts to shore up his government.
With Pakistan Muslim League-N chief Nawaz Sharif sharpening his rhetoric against Pervez Musharraf, the ruling Pakistan People's Party said that it was waiting for an opportune moment to offer an exit to the embattled President."Pakistan People's Party will be the one that sends President Pervez Musharraf home," its co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari said on Sunday night. Zardari's comments came in the wake of a demand by his Sharif for Musharraf to be made accountable for actions.
Musharraf, 79, was suffering from amyloidosis, a rare disease caused by a build-up of an abnormal protein called amyloid in organs and tissues throughout the body, The Express Tribune reported.
Nine candidates on Wednesday filed nominations for Pakistan's presidential election, with the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's India-born nominee Mamnoon Hussain emerging a clear frontrunner for the poll to be held on July 30.
With the 30-day deadline for restoring the judges expiring on Wednesday, senior leaders of the two parties, including Sharif and PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, are trying hard to sort out their differences on modalities. Some progress was made during the talks, but there were unresolved issues, Sharif said adding, he expects the negotiations to conclude on Thursday.
The Pakistan government's coalition partners - PPP and PML-N - have 'agreed' to reinstate the judges sacked by President Pervez Musharraf in 2007, PPP chairman Asif Ali Zaradari said. The coalition partners had agreed to finalise modalities for restoring the judges in 30 days of assuming power. The deadline expired on Wednesday.
The Pakistan People's Party-led government is considering a proposal to seek Interpol's Red Corner notice against ex-military ruler Pervez Musharraf, in a bid to bring him back from abroad to face treason charges, days after he called party chief and President Asif Ali Zardari 'a criminal and a fraud'. Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani had even hinted that it might not be possible to put Musharraf on trial, after main opposition PML-N stepped up demands for action against him.
Suspense over Pakistan's next prime minister continued with the Pakistan People's Party, which will head a planned coalition government, on Thursday delaying a decision on its nominee amid differences over the frontrunner Makhdoom Amin Fahim.
A Pakistan Muslim League-N candidate for Pakistan's general election was shot dead and nine other party workers were injured in an attack by unidentified gunmen in Lahore on Monday.
Benazir said an interim government must be set up by taking all parties into confidence. The former prime minister said the government had discussed setting up an interim political arrangement with her, but the issue of the caretaker prime minister was yet to be discussed, the Daily Times reported.
In another strong indication how difficult it would be for the former military ruler to cling on to power, the poll found that the two main opposition parties -- the Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) -- had a combined backing of an overwhelming 72 per cent.
Shujaat Hussain was in India to do the groundwork for President Musharraf's visit to India on April 16.
Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday hinted that his Pakistan Muslim League- N party may not be averse to an alliance with Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party in the forthcoming general elections. Sharif said that the PML-N and the PPP can explore the possibility of a coalition government after the elections. the PML-N had decided to boycott elections to express solidarity with the PPP following Bhutto's assassination. But it reversed the decision later.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif is keen to visit Jammu and Kashmir to trace his ancestral roots, the former Pakistani premier told visiting People's Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti. Mufti, who travelled to Islamabad last week to participate in a conference, had met Sharif in Lahore on Thursday.
Sharif briefed Patterson about his party's agenda, including the restoration of the pre-emergency status of the judiciary, supremacy of the Parliament and strengthening of democracy, during the meeting at the Frontier House in Islamabad. Patterson congratulated Sharif on the victory of his party in the February 18 general election. The PML-N is set to form a coalition government with the Pakistan People's Party, which emerged the largest group in the polls.
Sharif also urged other parties to boycott the elections.In the event of a collective response, the credibility of the January 8 elections could be seriously called into question. Sharif said that after three days of mourning, he would chalk out a strategy to challenge Musharraf's rule but he rebutted suggestions that he could gain political mileage from her demise.
In a move towards political reconciliation in Pakistan, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday met opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Nawaz Sharif offering an "olive branch", as reinstated chief justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry returned to his post after two years of protests over his ouster.
Bhutto's planned long march, which will traverse a distance of nearly 300 km, is expected to be the PPP's largest show of strength since her homecoming rally in Karachi on October 18 that was marred by a suicide attack, which killed nearly 140 people and injured hundreds more.
Pakistan's opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz president Shahbaz Sharif gave a slip to the police and went into hiding on Sunday, before he could be served orders for his house arrest, a party spokesman said.
The Pakistan army is staring at the greatest, scariest, existential threat to its power in their country. This threat has come from a populist riding democratic power, observes Shekhar Gupta.
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