'The United States loves working with dictators' 'Because then you don't have to worry about public opinion and you don't have to worry about the media anymore'
Khaleda Zia, the former Prime Minister of Bangladesh and a dominant figure in the country's politics, has died at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness. Her career spanned decades and included periods of both power and controversy.
Khaleda Zia, Bangladesh's former first female prime minister and chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has died at the age of 80 after a prolonged illness.
According to Mr Babar, within four days of this interview the Mumbai terror attack was underway, bringing the two countries closest to war in years -- 'The warmongers shattered Zardari's dream of peace with India'.
A brief chronology of the major developments in Benazir Bhutto's political life
Reports said five bullets were fired at Bhutto, one of which pierced her neck. The 54-year-old leader of the Pakistan People's Party was rushed to the Rawalpindi general hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Nusrat Bhutto, the widow of former Pakistani president Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the mother of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto, on Sunday died in Dubai following a prolonged illness.
People across Pakistan on Sunday paid tributes to slain former premier Benazir Bhutto and offered special prayers on the second anniversary of her assassination even as her close aides called on the PPP-led government to identify and bring her killers to justice.
Now comes another test in the coming days. As Benazir travels to the province of Punjab in the coming days, what will be her reception? Will it match another homecoming - no less fortuitous, no less breathtaking - two decades ago?
Some 20,000 airport security personnel, policemen and paramilitary personnel as well as bomb disposal squads have been deployed in Karachi to protect Bhutto, who is returning to Pakistan following secret parleys with President Prevez Musharraf for a power-sharing arrangement.
She left Karachi airport for home after being made to sit in the plane for several hours after flying in from Dubai. On her arrival in Karachi, she was not allowed to de-board. Some supporters of her Pakistan People Party gathered at the airport to greet her.
'Bhutto feared elements of the so-called establishment, including people linked to the intelligence services. She highly distrusted individuals like Hamid Gul who -- she was convinced -- maintained active ties with jihadists.' Heraldo Munoz, author of the sensational new book, Getting Away With Murder, tells Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa in an exclusive interview.
Pakistan Peoples Party chief Bhutto, 54, was killed in a suicide attack in Rawalpindi shortly after she had addressed an election rally on December 27, 2007.
"The United States strongly condemns this cowardly act by murderous extremists who are trying to undermine Pakistan's democracy. Those who committed this crime must be brought to justice," Bush said.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi slammed Pakistani politician Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for his "blood would flow in rivers" remark and called former cricketer Shahid Afridi a "joker" for his comment on the Pahalgam terror attack. Owaisi also supported India's decision to suspend the Indus Waters Treaty and called for Pakistan to be placed on the FATF grey list. He also advocated for cyber attacks against Pakistan.
Sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik created a sand sculpture to pay tribute to former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto at a beach in Puri.
Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto on Saturday said she had not yet reached a power sharing deal with President Pervez Musharraf, but vowed to return to Pakistan from her self-imposed exile "very soon."
Just two months before she was killed in a terror attack, former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto had approached the United States ambassador in Islamabad, asking for help to evaluate her personal security. But her request was ignored, the latest cables published by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks have revealed. Bhutto handed over a written request to US Ambassador Anne W Patterson two months before she was killed, asking her to carry out an evaluation of the security
Bhutto was killed in a gun-and-bomb attack during an election campaign rally on December 27, 2007 outside the Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi.
What Benazir Bhutto told the Council for Foreign Relations in New York before her return to Pakistan.
Television footage showed torn limbs and parts of flesh were spread around the Liaqat Bagh park, the venue of the rally by the former prime minister and the leader of the Pakistan People's Party.
Sources said it was a private luncheon.
In his book, Christopher Sandford writes that Bhutto became infatuated with Khan, and the pair enjoyed a "close" and possibly "sexual" relationship. The author has also alleged that Khan''s mother even tried to organise an arranged marriage between the pair, but to no avail.
The formulation calls for Musharraf to install Bhutto as prime minister while he remains president.
Bhutto has said that if she comes to power, she will take firm steps against terrorist organisations.
"Democracy cannot be sustained in the absence of a stable and growing middle class. The growth of India into a regional and international economic power occurred, not coincidentally, as its middle class exploded into a huge economic and political force," Bhutto wrote.
The Election Commission of Pakistan stripped Imran Khan's party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, of its electoral symbol -- a cricket bat -- on technical grounds on Sunday January 14, 2024.
After news about the demise of Pakistan's former president General Pervez Musharraf was confirmed, the country's Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Sunday changed his Twitter profile picture to a photograph of his mother Benazir Bhutto and the late Nawab Akbar Bugti, in whose murder the former military ruler was named.
The Bilawal Bhutto-led Pakistan Peoples Party which won the third largest number of seats in the National Assembly in the elections appears to be split on whether to join a coalition government or sit on Opposition benches.
In a historic decision, Pakistan President Asif Zardari has decided to formally recognise his 31-year-old daughter Aseefa Bhutto as the First Lady of the country, according to a media report.
Imran Khan, who underwent surgery for bullet injuries, has been discharged from hospital.
The first on the list is Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy, a Bengali politician from then East Pakistan who served as the fifth prime minister. He was arrested in January 1962 and put in jail on bogus charges of "anti-state activities". His actual crime was his refusal to support military ruler General Ayub Khan.
Asif Ali Zardari was overwhelmingly elected as the 14th President of Pakistan on Saturday, becoming the only civilian President of the coup-prone country for a second time.
Clearly, her father hopes that a successful tenure in Lahore will give Maryam the ballast to be prime minister after the next general election.
Glimpses into the life of Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, who at 31, is Pakistan's youngest first lady.
'Outrage will take place sooner than later, because it's not only that their mandate has been stolen, but the most important issue right now is the sinking economy in Pakistan.' 'Inflation is 26%-27%. It is backbreaking inflation.' 'Food, energy, education, health, which are the primary things that every family requires, is going beyond the reach of the masses.'
Bilawal has said the reality is that his party does not have a mandate to form a federal government.
After his failed misadventure in Kargil, Musharraf deposed the then Prime Minister Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999 and ruled Pakistan from 1999 to 2008 in various positions.
In a surprise development, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz on Tuesday nominated its president Shehbaz Sharif as the prime ministerial candidate of Pakistan instead of the party supremo and three-time former premier Nawaz Sharif.
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