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/ 30 October 2007

Suicide bomber kills seven in Pakistan

A suicide attack killed at least seven people, including the bomber, less than a kilometre from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s army residence in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. The attacker blew himself up next to a police checkpoint metres away from the gates to the residence of one of Musharraf’s most senior officers, General Tariq Majid.

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/ 29 October 2007

Bhutto wraps up visit to ancestral home

Former premier Benazir Bhutto on Monday wrapped up a visit to her ancestral home in southern Pakistan, hailing her supporters for defying security threats and promising them democracy. It was her first trip outside Karachi since twin suicide bombings on October 18 that targeted the two-time premier on her return from exile.

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/ 28 October 2007

Bhutto visits bomb-blast victims

Benazir Bhutto visited a family whose son was killed in the suicide blasts that targeted the former Pakistan premier’s homecoming, as she kept up a tightly secured trip on Sunday to her ancestral home. Bhutto made a jubilant return to her family district in rural southern Pakistan on Saturday.

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/ 20 October 2007

Bhutto alleges military link to bombing

Benazir Bhutto on Friday accused a shadowy web of figures with links to Pakistan’s powerful military establishment of orchestrating Thursday’s huge suicide bombing that killed 138 people and wounded 300. A ”brotherly country” had provided Bhutto with intelligence about four suicide squads roaming Karachi.

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/ 18 October 2007

Bhutto ends exile, parades through city

Former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto ended eight years of self-exile on Thursday, returning to Karachi where more than 200 000 supporters poured on to the streets to welcome her home. ”I am thankful to God, I am very happy that I’m back in my country and I was dreaming of this day,” said Bhutto.

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/ 18 October 2007

Bhutto arrives back in Pakistan

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ended eight years of self-exile on Thursday, making a comeback that could eventually lead to power sharing with President Pervez Musharraf. ”I am thankful to God, I am very happy that I’m back in my country and I was dreaming of this day,” said a sobbing Bhutto.

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/ 18 October 2007

Bhutto sets off for Pakistan

Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto set out on Thursday on a journey home to end eight years of self-exile, under threat of assassination from militants linked to al-Qaeda once she reaches Karachi. For years Bhutto had promised to return to Pakistan to end military dictatorship, yet she is coming back as a potential ally for President Pervez Musharraf.

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/ 17 October 2007

Pakistan buzzing ahead of Bhutto’s homecoming

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto said she would return to Pakistan on Thursday to end eight years of self-exile and lead her party into national elections despite threats of al-Qaeda inspired suicide attacks. Despite being out of power since 1996, the charismatic Bhutto (54) remains one of the most recognisable women politicians in the world.

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/ 13 October 2007

Court deals blow to Bhutto’s power-sharing hopes

Pakistan’s Supreme Court threw a spanner into Benazir Bhutto’s plans for a smooth homecoming on Friday by declaring that the former prime minister could still face prosecution on long-standing corruption charges. An amnesty signed into law by President Pervez Musharraf last week could yet be overturned at a hearing three weeks from now.

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/ 9 October 2007

Pakistan fighting kills 250 as civilians flee

Pakistani jets pounded militant hideouts near a troubled tribal town for the third day on Tuesday as officials said about 250 people had died in some of the heaviest clashes since 2001. The fighting has forced thousands to flee from Mir Ali, a town that President Pervez Musharraf has previously pinpointed as a den of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network.

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/ 8 October 2007

Fifty Pakistan soldiers missing after clashes

About 50 Pakistani troops are missing in a tribal area bordering Afghanistan after fierce battles with Islamic militants that have already claimed 80 lives, the army said on Monday. The soldiers have been out of radio contact since early on Monday in rugged North Waziristan, where the United States says Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network is regrouping.

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/ 7 October 2007

Pakistani forces kill 20 militants, army says

Pakistani soldiers backed by helicopter gunships killed 20 pro-Taliban militants in an attack on Sunday in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, a military spokesperson said. The army attack came hours after staunch United States ally President Pervez Musharraf swept the most votes in a presidential election.

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/ 5 October 2007

Supreme Court puts Musharraf’s future on ice

Pakistan’s Supreme Court kept the fate of President Pervez Musharraf’s re-election bid in its hands by deciding a vote could go ahead on Saturday, but a winner cannot be declared until it rules if he was eligible to stand. United States ally General Musharraf is sure to win the vote in Parliament and the country’s four provincial assemblies.

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/ 1 October 2007

Suicide bomber in Pakistan kills 15

A suicide bomber wearing a burqa set off explosives in the north-western Pakistani town of Bannu on Monday killing up to 15 people, including four policemen, security officials said. The blast was the lastest in a wave of attacks, most in the north-west of the country near the border with Afghanistan.

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/ 27 September 2007

Pakistan’s Musharraf nominated for vote

Pakistan military leader President Pervez Musharraf filed nomination papers on Thursday to run for re-election on October 6, while the Supreme Court prepared to rule on the army chief’s eligibility to stand. A bench of nine judges is due to deliver a ruling on Friday that could have far-reaching consequences for Pakistan’s transition to greater democracy.

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/ 18 September 2007

Musharraf to quit army if re-elected

Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf will give up his post of army chief if he is re-elected president and he will be sworn in for a new term as a civilian, his lawyer told the Supreme Court on Tuesday. The promise to stand down as army chief removes a major objection to Musharraf’s proposed re-election by October 15.