http://pakistanpolicy.com Analysis of Pakistan's domestic and foreign affairs Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:27:11 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 2006-2007 arif.rafiq@gmail.com (The Pakistan Policy Blog) arif.rafiq@gmail.com (The Pakistan Policy Blog) 1440 http://pakistanpolicy.com/tppb_podcast_logo_small.jpg http://pakistanpolicy.com 144 144 Commentary on and analysis of Pakistan's domestic and foreign affairs. The Pakistan Policy Blog The Pakistan Policy Blog arif.rafiq@gmail.com no no http://pakistanpolicy.com/2007/11/14/tuesday-wrap-up-imran-gets-ijtd-battle-of-the-bhuttos/ http://pakistanpolicy.com/2007/11/14/tuesday-wrap-up-imran-gets-ijtd-battle-of-the-bhuttos/#comments Wed, 14 Nov 2007 22:32:40 +0000 Arif Rafiq http://pakistanpolicy.com/2007/11/14/tuesday-wrap-up-imran-gets-ijtd-battle-of-the-bhuttos/

Musharraf: Uniform off by end of month; doesn’t budge on emergency rule (ER)

White House: Free and fair elections not possible under ER; Negroponte arrives on Friday

Army support of Musharraf appears to remain strong

Swatting Swat: Full-scale army-led operations in effect; Internally-displaced persons in the thousands

Caretaker prime minister to be appointed on Thursday; Muhammad Mian Soomro leads the pack:

• If Soomro is chosen, the impact on presidential succession and dissolution of parliament is unclear. Senate chairman (was Soomro) is in line to succeed Musharraf should he vacate the presidency, with National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain next in line. It appears both Senate chairman and NA speaker remain in office until new parliament convenes.

Musharraf’s “Mission Accomplished”: The National Assembly completed its term for the first time in Pakistan’s history

Operation Petty Stakes: The Islami Jamiat-e Tulaba (IJT), student wing of the Jamaat-e Islami (JI), seized Imran Khan during his rally at Punjab University. They detained him in a campus building and handed him over to police. Khan might be tried on anti-terror charges.

• Khan has been allied with JI for some time. JI leadership condemned the IJT’s moves. A spokesperson said, “It seems like our student supporters reacted this way because of an ego issue…They didn’t want Imran to steal their limelight. We condemn this action.” However, three points need to be considered:
  1. The JI is reportedly working with the PML-Q on seat adjustment for the upcoming elections.
  2. Imran Khan is effectively an anti-establishment politician and, regardless of their differences, the major political parties are potentially threatened by his rise.
  3. The IJT is somewhat autonomous from the JI. Along with the student wing of the MQM, it has terrorized Pakistani university campuses for years. Though their actions against Khan could simply be defense of what they see as their turf, it is also probable that they could have at the behest of the intelligence services with or without the consent of the JI leadership.

Battle of the Bhuttos: Benazir Bhutto sets a record for op-eds published while under house arrest; Fatima Bhutto, Benazir’s niece, tells the West that her aunt isn’t all that she seems

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