Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Baltimore Sun
February 1, 2008 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan--Pakistan's president came under increased pressure yesterday to take drastic steps to ensure fair elections next month, with the opposition demanding the army guard polling stations and influential retired military officers saying the deposed chief justice should become caretaker leader. The parliamentary elections are meant to usher in democracy after eight years of military rule under President Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally whose popularity is waning while Taliban and al-Qaida militancy is rising. The party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto sent a letter to the Election Commission asking that troops be deployed to polling stations during the Feb. 18 vote.
February 1, 2008 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan--Pakistan's president came under increased pressure yesterday to take drastic steps to ensure fair elections next month, with the opposition demanding the army guard polling stations and influential retired military officers saying the deposed chief justice should become caretaker leader. The parliamentary elections are meant to usher in democracy after eight years of military rule under President Pervez Musharraf, a key U.S. ally whose popularity is waning while Taliban and al-Qaida militancy is rising. The party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto sent a letter to the Election Commission asking that troops be deployed to polling stations during the Feb. 18 vote.