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/ 24 March 2008

New Pakistan premier frees detained judges

Pakistan’s new prime minister triggered an immediate showdown with Pervez Musharraf on Monday, ordering the release of judges detained by the president just moments after being elected. Musharraf had ordered the judges held in November amid fears they might challenge his grip on power in the nuclear-armed nation.

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/ 24 March 2008

Pakistan Parliament votes for new leader

Pakistan’s Parliament prepared on Monday to elect a new prime minister as the coalition government appeared set for a confrontation with key United States ally President Pervez Musharraf. Yousuf Raza Gilani, the candidate nominated by the party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, is a virtual certainty to win.

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/ 12 March 2008

Suicide bombings in Lahore kill at least 31

Two suicide attacks killed at least 31 people and injured more than 200 in Lahore on Tuesday as suspected Islamist militants escalated their campaign of mayhem in Pakistan’s largest cities. The bombs were the latest in a string of attacks against military and police targets in Lahore, the previously peaceful capital of Punjab province.

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/ 20 February 2008

Musharraf rejects opposition calls to quit

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf rejected demands to quit on Wednesday and called for a ”harmonious coalition” as victorious opposition parties mulled a grouping that could force the key United States ally from power. Musharraf was making his first official comments since Monday’s crucial parliamentary vote.

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/ 19 February 2008

Votes cast in the shadow of violence

President Pervez Musharraf’s leading lieutenants appeared to have lost their seats in early results in Monday’s Pakistani election, dealing a blow to the retired general’s hopes of clinging to power. Early winners included the Pakistan Muslim League (N) of the former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, who was polling strongly in Punjab.

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/ 17 February 2008

Violence flares as poll nears in Pakistan

Leaders of Pakistan’s opposition parties have been making frantic last-minute efforts to convince fearful voters to turn out in crucial parliamentary elections on Monday that may plunge the 164 million-strong nation into chaos. As the last day of official campaigning in the most troubled contest for decades drew to a close on Saturday, no one was confident of a victory.