国产热热热精品,亚洲视频久久】日韩,三级婷婷在线久久,99人妻精品视频,精品九热人人肉肉在线,AV东京热一区二区,91po在线视频观看,久久激情宗合,青青草黄色手机视频

   

Musharraf names new army chief, Bhutto charges dropped

(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-10-03 10:34

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf made moves Tuesday to smooth his re-election by naming a successor as army chief as his government dropped graft charges against possible ally Benazir Bhutto.

General Musharraf, a close US ally and leader of the only nuclear-armed Islamic nation, looks set to win re-election on Saturday in votes by the two-chamber parliament and four provincial assemblies.

While more than 80 opposition members of parliament resigned to protest against his re-election bid, dropping the cases against ex-prime minister Bhutto is likely to convince her assembly members to at least take part in the vote, giving it vital credibility.

The decision to grant immunity to Bhutto and other civilian leaders, was made at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, a government minister said. It came a day before Bhutto was due to decide strategy at party talks in London Wednesday. She is planning to return home from self-exile on October 18.

Musharraf has vowed that, if re-elected, he would quit as army chief before being sworn in for a new term by November 15.

The appointment of Lieutenant-General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani deputy army chief and designation as Musharraf's successor is the clearest indication yet Musharraf will follow through with his promise and give up his uniform.

"General Kayani will take over as chief of the army staff after this post falls vacant," a military official said.

Chain-smoking Kayani had been director-general of the military's main security agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, until last month.

Pakistan is an important non-NATO ally for the United States. Its support is regarded as crucial for the success of Western military efforts in Afghanistan, and in the hunt for Osama bin Laden's Al-Qaida in tribal areas on the Afghan border.

Kayani was deputy military secretary to then prime minister Benazir Bhutto during her first government in the late 1980s.

Bhutto has been in talks with Musharraf on a power-sharing deal and Kayani was involved in the discussions.

One of her main demands has been that she and other civilian officials be given immunity from prosecution.

Despite slumping popularity and last-minute legal challenges, Musharraf is expected to win Saturday's vote. His ruling coalition holds a majority in parliament, which is due to be dissolved next month before a general election due by mid-January.

Apparently unable to derail Musharraf's re-election plans, members of an opposition alliance led by the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif quit the national and provincial assemblies in protest Tuesday.

The National Assembly speaker said 85 members of the 342-seat lower house resigned.

Agencies



Top World News  
Today's Top News  
Most Commented/Read Stories in 48 Hours
锦屏县| 金乡县| 西青区| 大庆市| 康平县| 甘南县| 灵寿县| 凤山市| 拉萨市| 都兰县| 屏山县| 镇平县| 阿拉善左旗| 来宾市| 定远县| 邯郸县| 博罗县| 太仆寺旗| 府谷县| 全南县| 综艺| 浏阳市| 曲沃县| 化州市| 海城市| 乐至县| 保定市| 渑池县| 玉门市| 东辽县| 饶平县| 杂多县| 明水县| 泌阳县| 曲松县| 清徐县| 奉新县| 文昌市| 彭水| 汾西县| 郧西县|