Musharraf steps down

[The Flying Cow]

Is this good news?

Bhutto widower to seek presidency
Benazir Bhutto's widower, Asif Ali Zardari, has agreed to run for the presidency of Pakistan, says his Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

The announcement was made by a party official, a day after Mr Zardari's nomination by the PPP, the biggest party in the coalition government.

Parliament will vote next month to choose a successor to President Pervez Musharraf, who resigned on Monday.

Mr Zardari became PPP leader after Ms Bhutto was assassinated in December.

He had spent years in exile following corruption charges,

The parliamentary and provincial assembly elections to replace Mr Musharraf, who quit in the face of the threat of impeachment by his political enemies, will take place on 6 September.

There will be plenty of political horse-trading, but Mr Zardari is clearly the favourite to win, says the BBC's Chris Morris in Islamabad.





But his decision to accept the nomination is not without controversy and could lead to the collapse of the PPP's coalition, our correspondent adds.

Mr Zardari's main coalition partner, Nawaz Sharif of the PML-N, has said he is not in favour of Ms Bhutto's widower getting the job and prefers what he calls a consensus president.

The two men are also deadlocked over how many of the judges sacked by Mr Musharraf during emergency rule last November should be reinstated.

Mr Zardari is worried the deposed chief justice might seek to overturn an amnesty on corruption charges, which allowed Mr Zardari and Ms Bhutto to return to Pakistan, our correspondent adds.

The latest political developments come against a backdrop of increasing violence.

Pakistani troops say they killed 35 militants in fighting in the Swat Valley, north-west of Islamabad, on Saturday, shortly after a suicide bomber killed eight policemen.



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/h...ia/7578922.stm

Published: 2008/08/23 16:38:18 GMT

© BBC MMVIII

[chamaeleo]

news how?

[The Flying Cow]

/edited. <Was the wrong article>

[sumvell]

don't think its that good a news. now again pakistan will go in unstability. not that i'm a big fan of musharraf but atleast he brought a semblance of stability to pakistan. i really hoe pakistan survives this new crises and emerges as a nation on the path to peace.

[The Flying Cow]

What do you think of Asif Ali Zardari?

Is/was he really corrupt?

[tralalala]

I think the worst bit about anyone stepping down in Pakistan is the fact there's going to be mayhem in a NUCLEAR state... That's the main worry. Anyone who leads that state, whether Muslim or whatever other religions they have there, they should keep it stable.. Otherwise, god knows who might get their hands on a couple nukes....

[itsmansoorali]

he was but i thInk now he Should Do GOOd fr hIs CounTry sO that he maintain HiS Repo in PubLiC.....& ParTY

[j2k4]

I think the worst bit about anyone stepping down in Pakistan is the fact there's going to be mayhem in a NUCLEAR state... That's the main worry. Anyone who leads that state, whether Muslim or whatever other religions they have there, they should keep it stable.. Otherwise, god knows who might get their hands on a couple nukes....

Even though they swear democratic fealty, its still down to which brand of corruption the citizens choose.

Incredibly difficult situation, and the blame for failure would be laid in several directions other than (though still including) Musharraf's.

Messy, messy.

[Zafsk]

This is by far, NOT good news. This is another example of the United States using it's power to organize instability and unrest in another country to force a leader to step down. We did the same thing in Iraq during the 50s, we organized a coup to take down the democratic leader 'Mossadeq' there and look what happened then. Pakistan to bounce back from this will have a knee jerk reaction and will go into 'Police State' mode. Not a good thing at all. The leader wasn't the greatest guy, but the repercussions of this will be felt, we should have allowed the country to take it's own course.

[bigboab]

I think the worst bit about anyone stepping down in Pakistan is the fact there's going to be mayhem in a NUCLEAR state... That's the main worry. Anyone who leads that state, whether Muslim or whatever other religions they have there, they should keep it stable.. Otherwise, god knows who might get their hands on a couple nukes....

Yes. It is really worrying if a Nation in an unstable region has nuclear capability.