Pakistanis have dealt a crushing defeat to dictator and President Pervez Musharraf in the elections held Monday.

Many of Musharraf’s cronies were defeated in the elections.

The New York Times said Monday in its online edition:

From unofficial results the private news channel, Aaj Television, forecast that the Pakistan Peoples Party would win 110 seats in the 272-seat national assembly, with Mr. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-N taking 100 seats.

Mr. Musharraf’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q, was crushed, holding on to just 20 to 30 seats. Early results released by the state news agency, the Associated Press of Pakistan, also showed the Pakistan Peoples Party to be leading in the number of seats in the national assembly.

Where will Musharraf flee now that his people have administered him a resounding defeat?

Like former Phillipines President Ferdinand Marcos, will Musharraf also seek asylum in some other country? Watch this space.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister and leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Rawalpindi today at 6:16 PM local time adding to the instability of this nuclear nation in South Asia.

Early reports say that a suicide bomber shot Benazir in the neck and chest as she was leaving a campaign rally in Rawalpindi and then blew himself up.

At least, 22 others are said to have died in the bomb blast.

Benazir Bhutto

This was not the first attempt on Benazir’s life. On October 19, a suicide attack on Benazir Bhutto in Karachi missed her but killed 150 people. 

A popular leader, Benazir’s death will add to the political vacuum in Pakistan.

A short while before her death, Benazir told the Rawalpindi rally:

I put my life in danger and came here because I feel this country is in danger. People are worried. We will bring the country out of this crisis.

Benazir had only recently returned to the country with America’s blessings from an eight-year self-imposed exile after receiving amnesty from Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf over the corruption charges that sullied her reputation.

But Benazir was never popular with Pakistan’s military, a major force in the

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Pakistan has taken billions of dollars from U.S. aid to attack Al Queda and Taliban and diverted it to acquire weapons to counter India, reports the New York Times in the Monday edition of the paper.

The NYT reports that U.S. aid of $5 billion since 9/11 to boost Pakistan’s military efforts against Al Queda and Taliban has been a waste and that some invoices are inflated by as much as 30%.

The NYT article says:

Bush administration and military officials said they believed that much of the American money was not making its way to frontline Pakistani units. Money has been diverted to help finance weapons systems designed to counter India, not Al Qaeda or the Taliban, the officials said, adding that the United States has paid tens of millions of dollars in inflated Pakistani reimbursement claims for fuel, ammunition and other costs.

Besides the $5 billion provided through the Coalition Support Funds,  the U.S. also offers Pakistan $300 million every year for military equipment and training.

A new poll published after President Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule on November 3, 2007 shows that two-thirds of Pakistanis want him to quit while 70% feel the country is headed in the wrong direction.

Conducted by the U.S.-based International Republican Institute, the poll casts a harsh spotlight on Musharraf with 67% calling for the Pakistan President to resign.

The emergency rule declared by Musharraf drew overwhelming criticism with 70% opposing the measure and 57% strongly opposing it.

Pakistani voters also opposed the various measures that accompanied the emergency declaration:

* 71% opposed suspension of the constitution;
* 77% opposed detention of former Supreme Court justices;
* 76% opposed closure of TV news channels;
* 73% opposed swearing in of new Supreme Court justices;
* 70% opposed ban on political rallies; and
* 76% opposed crackdown on lawyers and civil society and house arrest of opposition leaders.

In what must be a worrying sign to Musharraf, 62% of Pakistanis supported the ongoing protests against the state of emergency while only 35% opposed it.

Musharraf is expected to lift the emergency on Saturday.

Pakistan President and military chief General Pervez Musharraf has imposed Emergency rule in the country and suspended the constitution.

But eight of the 11 justices of Pakistan’s independent and feisty Supreme Court have already signed an order declaring the Emergency illegal. The Supreme Court was set to rule on the constitutionality of General Musharraf’s re-election as president in October when he is still the Army chief.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry - whose removal a few months ago by General Musharraf sparked widespread protests that led to his reinstatement in July - has been sacked.

CNN said troops had entered the Supreme Court and surrounded the judges homes.

Pakistan has been plagued by increasing violence lately, particularly in the border tribal areas.

A suicide bomber killed 115 and wounded 250 others in a failed attempt to kill former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Karachi today.

Benazir Bhutto, who was unhurt in the attack, has just returned from a eight-year-long self-imposed exile to participate in the political process under encouragement from the Americans.

Bhutto was traveling in a truck from the airport to her home in the port city of Karachi, her home town, when the attack occured.

Some of the bodies were ripped apart by the force of the explosion.

Pakistan’s largest city, Karachi - also capital of the Sindh province - is a cauldron of diverse ethnic groups and often ravaged by violence.

Bhutto has many enemies. Besides the country’s intelligence agencies that are unhappy over her return, the Taliban and Al Queda are also opposed to her for her support of the United States.

Some of the ferocious entrepreneurial energy that has propelled India to a growth rate of over 9% lately seems to be moving westward - to Pakistan.

Writing in today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription required), Peter Wonacott sees a new class of entrepreneurs in Pakistan ushering in pockets of dramatic change:

Scores of new businesses once unseen in Pakistan, from fitness studios to chic coffee shops to hair-transplant centers, are springing up in the wake of a dramatic economic expansion. As a result, new wealth and unprecedented consumer choice have become part of Pakistan’s volatile social mix.

Unlike its arch-enemy India, Pakistan missed the software and outsourcing boats that have ushered in a new generation of entrepreneurs and dramatically expanded the Indian middle class.

Caught between the Scylla of Islamic militants and the Charybdis of an army that has refused to let democracy take roots in the country, Pakistan seems to be sinking slowly into a violent hellhole.

At first glance, that’s how it seems. But look deeper and Wonacott sees lively economic activity in the country.

Wonacott argues that Pakistan’s violence and clashes between the militants and the security forces are overshadowing the changes happening in this South Asian nation.

A new class of entrepreneurs is emerging who, in small but significant ways, have challenged the religious orthodoxy. They provide a stark counterpoint to the rising Islamic radicalism that the U.S. and others view as a threat to Pakistan’s position as a staunch Western ally. And with many importing ideas from abroad, they are contributing to Pakistan’s 21st-century search for itself.

Seed capital from abroad, U.S. economic aid and expansion of credit facilities have contributed to the recent economic activity in Pakistan and the rise of the middle class.

But with civilian political leaders Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Shariff expected to return to Pakistan soon from exile, that could mean more political uncertainty and cast a cloud over the economic growth of this combustible nation.

Social networking start-up Masala Inc. has snagged $4.5 million in Series A funding from VantagePoint Venture Partners, according to a regulatory filing cited by PEHub.

Amra Tareen, a former partner at venture capital firm Sevin Rosen Funds, is behind San Francisco-based Masala Inc.

Social networking consultant Erik Sundelof is also involved in the new venture.

Amra’s background is in telecom, having worked previously at Lucent and Ascend Communications.

Originally from Pakistan, Tareen holds a BS in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and an MBA from Harvard.

Embattled Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf has agreed to step down as the country’s military chief before the upcoming elections.

In a deal reached with Pakistan Peoples Party leader Benazir Bhutto, Musharraf is also said to have agreed to drop corruption charges against Bhutto and other politicians.

General Musharraf, who seized power from the civilian government of Nawaz Sharif via a military coup in October 1999, and his cronies have been holding secret talks with Benazir Bhutto for several months.

Daughter of the country’s late Prime Minister Zulfikar Bhutto, who was hanged by another Pakistan military man Zia Ul-Haq, Benazir Bhutto has been living in exile in London.

Benazir was dismissed as the country’s Prime Minister on charges of corruption in November 1996.

General Musharraf has been under considerable U.S. pressure to get a better handle over the deteriorating law and order situation in Pakistan, a haven for Islamic radicals.

Did anyone say that politics makes strange bedfellows?

Ah, how true. How true.

Beleaguered Pakistan President and military chief Pervez Musharraf has held secret talks for a second time with his bitter foe Benazir Bhutto, the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party and former Prime Minister of the country.

The secret meeting is believed to have taken place in Abu Dhabi on Friday, July 27, 2007.

Both sides are mum on the discussions.

Reporting on the meeting between Musharraf and Benazir, the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) wrote on Monday:

A senior Pakistani cabinet minister said the meeting between the two leaders was part of an effort to develop a consensus on major political issues.

Benazir is currently in exile and divides her time between London and Abu Dhabi.

News reports say that this is the second hush-hush meeting Continue Reading…