Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf will pay a six-day state visit to China from April 10, his first foreign trip since the new coalition government took over, during which several bilateral agreements are expected to be signed. New Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar will accompany Musharraf during the visit. It will also be the first trip abroad by the new ministers.
Pakistan National Assembly's newly-elected first woman Speaker Fehmida Mirza has said that President Pervez Musharraf may be impeached by a two-thirds majority if Members of Parliament favour such a move. "If Parliamentarians want to impeach Musharraf, they may do so with a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly and the Senate," she said. "I'll see the matter is in accordance with the Constitution because I am a custodian of the National Assembly and not a party."
Signalling that it was ready for a showdown with President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's new government has said that the 'extra-constitutional steps' taken by him during emergency rule last year are not part of the Constitution, as Parliament is yet to endorse them. Naek said the coalition government led by the Pakistan People's Party is committed to reinstating the judges sacked by Musharraf, including former Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.
"We believe that the new relationship between the Muslim world and the West has to be built on a dialogue and understanding, which would effectively deal with the threats to world peace," Musharraf said addressing the inaugural session of a meeting in Islamabad of the Standing Committee on Science and Technological Cooperation of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.
The Ministry maintained that the dialogue process hinges on January 6, 2004 commitment of Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf not to permit any territory under Islamabad's control to be used to support terrorism against India.
Sharif, who heads the Pakistan Muslim League-N party, said he and former premier Benazir Bhutto wanted to return to Pakistan before the general elections, scheduled for later this year, in order to launch their campaigns.
Pakistan turned to China after the US refused it a civilian nuclear agreement.
Stating that Pakistan can serve as a 'hub of economic activity' in the region by developing energy corridors, President Pervez Musharraf has offered to extend the proposed multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline to China.\n\n
A total of 328 MPs of the 342-member National Assembly were sworn in by outgoing Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain, after which the House offered special prayers for slain former premier and Zardari's wife Benazir Bhutto who was killed in a suicide attack on a pre-poll rally in December. Zardari and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif, who did not contest the election, watched the proceedings from the gallery reserved for guests.
The government wanted an early end to the case as Chaudhry's suspension ended up creating one of the biggest political crisis during Musahrraf's eight year of military rule.
Supporters of President Pervez Musharraf and suspended chief justice Chaudhry Iftikar had a free run in Karachi.
Al Qaeda is stronger than it was earlier thanks to President Pervez Musharraf's decision in 2006 to cut a ceasefire deal with Islamic militants in the region bordering Afghanistan, US intelligence agencies said. With the Pakistani security forces staying out of the region, Al Qaeda militants were able to resettle and even re-establish some training camps in the area, says Michael Leiter, acting director of the National Counter Terrorism Center.
Although Sharif wanted Musharraf to be arrested and tried in a court of law on charges of treason, Zardari has convinced his new political partner to allow Musharraf an honourable exit by requesting him to step down. The new allies, however. decided that if Musharraf refused to step down, they would seek his impeachment.
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.
Sarabjit was sentenced to death for his alleged involvement in bomb blasts in Pakistan in 1990 that killed about 14 people. Pakistan's Supreme Court had rejected his mercy petition in 2006. Sarabjit's family claims he is innocent, saying he had strayed into Pakistani territory by mistake.
The Bush administration has said it continues to support embattled President Pervez Musharraf, whose allies were routed in Pakistan's general election, while maintaining that Washington has no role in the formation of a new government in Islamabad.
Quoting a senior PML-Q official, the report said, "He's been sulking...He's retreated into a mental bunker, which is not healthy. He thinks everyone is out to get him and only listens to a small circle. It's a dangerous mindset to be in at this point in time. He could decide to hit back."
Emphasising that India and Pakistan need to make rapid progress to resolve that Kashmir issue, Musharraf hoped that the Indian leadership will show sincerity, flexibility and courage to achieve the objective.
Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari overcame pressure and enticement from President Pervez Musharraf's camp and the United States to not align with former premier Nawaz Sharif's party, to form a coalition government with the PML-N, a media report said on Friday.
His petition created history as he became the first Chief Justice of Pakistan who sought justice from the very court he headed.
Pakistan's main opposition parties Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan People's Party on Tuesday jointly mustered a simple majority in the new Parliament, local TVchannels said.
By the evening of February 18 it was clear that Pakistan People's Party, PML of Nawaz Sharif and Awami National Party have swept three provinces and the PML-Q performed well in Baluchistan.
Addressing a public rally in Kohat, Durrani said that contrary to her claims for the last seven years that she won't back Musharraf, Bhutto was now convinced that Musharraf's development agenda had nationwide support.
Armitage, appearing in a Brookings Institution discussion on 'The US-Pakistan Strategic Relationship', said, "I have gone my whole career desperately wanting to tell somebody that I would bomb them into the Stone Age and I have never been able to do it because I have never been authorised to do it."
Retired Marine General Anthony Zinni even went to the extent of defending Musharraf in terms of defusing the Kargil crisis
"There is a mother of all battles in Iraq, and this will be the mother of all elections from Pakistan's point of view. They (polls) are very, very critical," he said in an address to the National Library is Islamabad.
Azizuddin went missing on Monday with his driver and a guard, while driving from North West Frontier Province capital Peshawar to Kabul. He is believed to have been kidnapped by militants in the Khyber Agency.
A week before Pakistanis vote in the parliamentary elections, the "vast majority" -- 75 percent -- want President Pervez Musharraf to leave office, with his approval rating touching a new low of 15 per cent, the Washington Post 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.
Making a strong defence of the controversial Kargil Operation, he said before that 'Kashmir couldn't be spoken. Our leaders did not mention Kashmir even in United Nation's speeches. This was the Indian side. (So) how did the Indians come on the negotiating table on Kashmir?'
And while this extremist-linked press spins on relatively unmolested, the country's secular television stations and newspapers face consistent harassment by the government,
The report is an embarrassment to the Bush Administration, which views Musharraf as its best bet in the region against terrorism and proliferation of WMD.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf might quit if people vote for political parties opposed to him in the February 18 general election, a key member of the presidential camp has said.
Boucher said the Bush administration was satisfied with investigations carried out by Pakistani authorities along with the Scotland Yard.
The Union Home Ministry's statement came after National Security Adviser M K Narayanan spoke to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and discussed the security for the match.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf held a detailed meeting with co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party Asif Ali Zardari and reportedly sought unanimity of views on host of issues.
Justice Chaudhry had insisted that Justice Das be made the Acting Chief Justice.
Musharraf said he was confident that bilateral talks would gain momentum after the February 18 general elections in Pakistan.
Pakistan on Wednesday said President Pervez Musharraf's four-point proposal on Kashmir issue or any other suggestions for 'out of the box solutions' did not amount to a shift in its stand that the dispute be resolved in line with the UN resolutions.
Apart from the retired service chiefs, dozens of former commanders and some retired junior commissioned officers, who met in the garrison city of Rawalpindi on Tuesday, blamed Musharraf for the current crisis in Pakistan and asked him to step down.
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