Pakistan's Shia-Sunni divide

Differences between Pakistan's Sunni-majority and Shia-minority go back to the schism following the prophet's death. But in the past two decades those differences have been manifest in repeated-violence.

Related-Verse >
Those who split up their Religion, and become (mere) Sects,- each party rejoicing in that which is with itself! (The Romans - Verse 32)

Zia's legacy >
Most sectarian violence in Pakistan takes place in the province of Punjab and the country's commercial capital, Karachi.

There have also been outbreaks in Quetta.

Musharraf is not the only Pakistani leader to have such-problems. Most analysts agree it began in 1979, when Zia ul-Haq began Islamicising Pakistani politics.

Via In2Verses

Desi-Digest: Bomb-Kills 10 in Pakistan

A bomb blast in the Pakistani city of Karachi has killed at-least 10.

Police say at least 50 others were wounded when a bomb planted on a parked motorcycle went off Monday in the city's Quaidabad area. It is not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

The attack comes just-days after troops killed a number of militants in a tribal area near South-Waziristan, targetting Taleban and Al-Qaeda safe havens.

Via VOA

Desi-Digest: Bomb-Kills 24 in Pakistan

A suspected militant walked into a crowd of police guarding a courthouse and blew himself up, killing 24 others in an attack, the first in Pakistan since the assassination of Benazir-Bhutto.

"There was a huge bang," said Munrian Bibi, 60, a school cleaner caught in the blast as she headed home from work. "I saw people falling on ground crying for help. I don't know what saved my life from that hell," she said.

There was no claim of responsibility. The government has blamed previous attacks on so-called Islamic radicals. Bhutto's supporters have-questioned whether elements within the government may have played a role.

Via AP

Desi-Digest: Pakistan elections delayed

A spokesman for Pakistan's election-commission has said that holding parliamentary elections as scheduled on 8 January "looks impossible". But Kanwar Dilshad said the final decision would be reached on Wednesday after consulting political parties.

There are no grounds whatsoever for delaying the elections.
Raza Rabbani, deputy secretary general, PPP

Mr Dilshad told reporters that protests had directly affected the organisation of the poll in some parts of the country. "We will inform the political parties about the situation in Sindh where our 13 offices were burnt," he said.

Via BBC

Brief-Obituary: Benazir Bhutto

Benazir Bhutto followed her father into politics, and both of them died because of it - he was executed in 1979, she fell victim to an apparent suicide -attack.

Like the Nehru-Gandhi family in India, the Bhuttos of Pakistan are one of the world's most famous political dynasties. Benazir's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was prime minister of Pakistan in the early 1970s.

Born in 1953 in the province of Sindh and educated at Harvard and Oxford, Ms Bhutto gained credibility from her father's high profile, even though she was a reluctant convert to politics. During both her stints in power, the role of Ms Bhutto's husband, Asif Zardari, proved highly controversial.

Many commentators argued that the downfall of Ms Bhutto's government was accelerated by the alleged greed of her husband. Ms Bhutto left Pakistan in 1999 to live abroad, but questions about her and her husband's wealth continued to dog her.

Related Links >

• Life in pictures: Benazir Bhutto
• The Legacy of Benazir Bhutto

Via BBC

News Video: Pakistan mosque blast

Seen on: YouTube

A suicide attacker detonated a powerful bomb inside a crowded mosque in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing at least 50 people and injuring 80.

An attack inside a mosque during Eid al-Adha, one of the most important Muslim holidays, represents an escalation of violence by militants who have carried out an unprecedented number of suicide bombings this year.

The holiday, which means "Festival of Sacrifice," marks the end of the Hajj and celebrates Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice his son.

Negroponte On Mission Impossible

US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte has started his official activities in Pakistan by making a telephone call to PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto and later holding a meeting with President Musharraf.

According to an editorial comment, contrary to the pledges given repeatedly by the president to the nation and the opposition, the caretaker government that took the oath of office on Friday is anything but neutral. We had been told all along by President Pervez Musharraf and former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz that the caretaker governments in Islamabad and in the four provinces that would oversee the general election would be truly neutral.

However, as it emerged on Friday, the interim government, with Mohammedmian Soomro as prime minister, consists largely of PML-Q men and President Musharraf’s cronies.

In Time: Pakistan declares state of emergency

The declaration of a state of emergency came in the early hours of Friday morning. At the same time, General Pervez Musharraf assumed the position of the country's chief executive.

In his official announcement, General Musharraf said the National Assembly and all the provincial assemblies have been suspended, and the provincial governments and governors have been dismissed.

> Pakistan declares state of emergency