President Pervez Musharraf

Pakistan's Senate gave final legislative approval to constitutional changes that grant President Pervez Musharraf extraordinary powers in return for his promise to step down as army commander by the end of 2004. Critics say the deal, which gives Musharraf the power to sack the prime minister and disband parliament by decree, is window dressing on what is essentially military rule.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was arrested and placed in police custody Friday, a day after commandos whisked him away from an Islamabad courthouse where he faces charges of illegally detaining dozens of judges while in power. Musharraf, who only a few weeks ago presented himself as a patriotic savior returning to his homeland from self-imposed exile, was being held at police headquarters at least until his next court appearance, which was expected within 48 hours.

President Pervez Musharraf said U.S. troops were not welcome to join the fight against Al Qaeda on Pakistani soil, despite the growing threat from Islamic extremists. Musharraf said that Pakistan would resist any unilateral U.S. military action against insurgents in its mostly lawless tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan. "I challenge anybody coming into our mountains," he told Singapore's the Straits Times newspaper. "They would regret that day." The region along the border has long been considered a likely hiding place for Osama bin Laden.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - A Pakistani court on Tuesday barred former President Pervez Musharraf from running in next month's parliament elections, derailing the onetime general's bid for an unlikely political comeback in the country he ruled for nearly nine years. Widely disliked among Pakistanis as an autocrat who undermined democracy and allowed corruption to flourish, Musharraf never was seen by analysts as having much of a chance in the elections slated for May 11. He has virtually no political backing within the country, and he still faces charges that he did not provide enough security to prevent the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and allegedly ordered the killing of a Baluch nationalist leader in 2006.

Results in Pakistan's controversial parliamentary by-elections were due today, a day after voters cast ballots for five seats in the national parliament and 25 seats in provincial assemblies. Polling was postponed for a sixth parliamentary seat in the eastern city of Lahore because of legal wrangling over whether former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is eligible to run. The by-elections followed national elections in February that installed a new civilian government opposed to President Pervez Musharraf.

Lawmakers in Pakistan's most powerful province have accused President Pervez Musharraf of gross misconduct and demanded he step down. Legislators in Punjab province's assembly voted 321 to 25 for the anti-Musharraf resolution, even drawing support from 35 members of the main pro-Musharraf party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q. The resolution calls the longtime U.S. ally unfit to serve and accuses him of violating the constitution, gross misconduct and economic mismanagement. It carries no constitutional weight but increases pressure on the president, whose foes won February's parliamentary elections.

Hundreds of supporters of Pakistan's suspended chief justice showered him with rose petals at a hearing on his dismissal, and some clashed with police who stopped them from following the judge into the Supreme Court. Lawyers, rights activists and supporters of the political opposition have been rallying against President Pervez Musharraf since March 9, when he removed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry.

Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani has appointed a new head of Military Intelligence, an army spokesman said, in a widely expected move to replace a close confidant of President Pervez Musharraf. "Maj. Gen. Muhammad Asif has been appointed as chief of Military Intelligence and Maj. Gen. Nadeem Ijaz has been posted out," Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said. U.S. ally Musharraf, who came to power in a coup in 1999, quit as army chief in November, and voters swept his political allies out of government in a parliamentary vote Feb. 18.

Pakistan's election commission postponed by two months polling for legislative seats that had been due in June, drawing protests from governing parties, whose leaders were mulling runs for parliament. The commission said it was responding to a busy calendar and security concerns. A spokesman for President Pervez Musharraf rejected a claim that he was behind the delay. Anti-Musharraf parties swept the general elections in February. But voting in some areas was voided or delayed. Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, has said he may stand for the seat that Bhutto had hoped to contest.

President Pervez Musharraf will stay on as army chief if he is not reelected, a government attorney said Tuesday, fueling opposition claims that he could be setting the stage to declare a state of emergency. Atty. Gen. Malik Mohammed Qayyum, who outlined Musharraf's plans at a Supreme Court hearing on challenges to the president's candidacy, denied that any moves toward authoritarianism were being considered. "There will be no martial law," he said. "There will be no emergency."

The resignation of President Pervez Musharraf will force Pakistan's untested new civilian government to confront a dizzying array of problems, chief among them an intensifying battle against Islamic insurgents in the nation's long-lawless tribal areas. Musharraf's departure Monday, greeted with near-delirious rejoicing in the streets of Pakistani cities, also opens the door to a potentially debilitating power struggle within the country's fragile ruling coalition, which was bound together mainly by its anti-Musharraf stance.

In Wasif Khan's cramped grocery store, the perspiring crowd that was gathered around the little television set behind the counter erupted in wild cheers Monday when it heard President Pervez Musharraf utter the word "resignation." Two taxi drivers hugged each other, then ran outside to their cabs to sound their horns in celebration. The rejoicing spread rapidly, with people firing guns in the air, throwing flowers and handing out sweets. Some literally danced for joy. Musharraf's dramatic declaration, the culmination of months of political turmoil, was part public spectacle and part nationwide soap opera played out in homes and offices, in teahouses and airline lounges, in sundry shops and mosque courtyards across Pakistan.

Lawmakers in Pakistan's most powerful province have accused President Pervez Musharraf of gross misconduct and demanded he step down. Legislators in Punjab province's assembly voted 321 to 25 for the anti-Musharraf resolution, even drawing support from 35 members of the main pro-Musharraf party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q. The resolution calls the longtime U.S. ally unfit to serve and accuses him of violating the constitution, gross misconduct and economic mismanagement. It carries no constitutional weight but increases pressure on the president, whose foes won February's parliamentary elections.

Results in Pakistan's controversial parliamentary by-elections were due today, a day after voters cast ballots for five seats in the national parliament and 25 seats in provincial assemblies. Polling was postponed for a sixth parliamentary seat in the eastern city of Lahore because of legal wrangling over whether former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is eligible to run. The by-elections followed national elections in February that installed a new civilian government opposed to President Pervez Musharraf.

Tens of thousands of protesters swarmed into Pakistan's capital for a raucous rally led by lawyers demanding the reinstatement of judges and the ouster of President Pervez Musharraf. The gathering, which began Friday amid sweltering heat and continued until around dawn today, threatened to widen a rift within the governing coalition. Some analysts said it could prod the partners to find a way to restore the justices and hasten the exit of the unpopular U.S.-backed president.

Pakistan's election commission postponed by two months polling for legislative seats that had been due in June, drawing protests from governing parties, whose leaders were mulling runs for parliament. The commission said it was responding to a busy calendar and security concerns. A spokesman for President Pervez Musharraf rejected a claim that he was behind the delay. Anti-Musharraf parties swept the general elections in February. But voting in some areas was voided or delayed. Asif Ali Zardari, widower of Benazir Bhutto, has said he may stand for the seat that Bhutto had hoped to contest.

Despite widespread criticism, President Pervez Musharraf unilaterally amended the Pakistani Constitution on Wednesday, granting himself sweeping powers--including the right to dissolve parliament--and extending his term in office. "Pakistan is passing through a very crucial transitional period," Musharraf told reporters in announcing his decision to impose the amendments, which were unveiled in June. "We are taking Pakistan from democratic dictatorship to elected democracy.

More than 10,000 protesters rallied here Friday to demand that President Pervez Musharraf step down. The supporters of a coalition of radical Islamic groups chanted, "God is great" and "Pakistan will not be allowed to become a U.S. colony." The six-party United Action Forum has accused Musharraf, an army general, of reneging on a promise to become a civilian head of state and leave his military job by the end of 2004.

Pakistani army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani has appointed a new head of Military Intelligence, an army spokesman said, in a widely expected move to replace a close confidant of President Pervez Musharraf. "Maj. Gen. Muhammad Asif has been appointed as chief of Military Intelligence and Maj. Gen. Nadeem Ijaz has been posted out," Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said. U.S. ally Musharraf, who came to power in a coup in 1999, quit as army chief in November, and voters swept his political allies out of government in a parliamentary vote Feb. 18.

President Pervez Musharraf said U.S. troops were not welcome to join the fight against Al Qaeda on Pakistani soil, despite the growing threat from Islamic extremists. Musharraf said that Pakistan would resist any unilateral U.S. military action against insurgents in its mostly lawless tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan. "I challenge anybody coming into our mountains," he told Singapore's the Straits Times newspaper. "They would regret that day." The region along the border has long been considered a likely hiding place for Osama bin Laden.