The imposition of emergency rule across much of Pakistan this week has led to a mixture of responses from opposition figures, ranging from condemnation to warnings and efforts by President Asif Ali Zardari to defend what many are seeing as a rather blatant power grab.
The Pakistani Muslim League-N (PML-N), whose rule in the Punjab Province [...]
Despite claims from the Deputy Chairman of Planning that the government intends to stop the rally “at all costs” and the Punjab Home Secretary saying the army would be called in, organizers say Pakistan’s long-awaited “long march” will go ahead as planned tomorrow.
The march is planned to begin tomorrow in several cities and continue through [...]
Last Updated 3/11/09 10:30 PM EST
With the Afghan frontier in a near constant state of insurrection, and separatist movements remaining a top concern in Balochistan, the twin provinces of Sindh and Punjab have been the stable, safe part of Pakistan. That now appears to be a distant memory.
Today, the Pakistani government imposed Section 144, or [...]
Pakistani opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz have been placed under house arrest today as the national government attempts to consolidate its authority in the Punjab Province against growing popular unrest.
The move was just the first step in a massive crackdown on the province which included a ban on public meetings and the [...]
Just hours after the Pakistani government threatened opposition leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with “life imprisonment and a fine” for sedition, Sharif spoke at a rally in Jhelum. At the rally, he declared that “we cannot leave Pakistan at the mercy of (President Asif Ali) Zardari,” and told his supporters to “get ready [...]
Late last month the Pakistani Supreme Court declared opposition leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shahbaz (chief minister of the Punjab Province) ineligible to hold public offices for opposing the 1999 military coup of Pervez Musharraf, sparking a growing series of protests against a government seemingly intent on marginalizing its biggest [...]
Protests were sparked across Pakistan today when the Supreme Court decided that Nawaz Sharif, former prime minister and opposition leader, as well as his younger brother Shahbaz were ineligible to hold public offices. The ruling brought down the Punjabi Provincial government, which Shahbaz was chief minister of, and placed the province under direct national control.
Enraged [...]
