President Pervez Musharraf has been sworn in for another 5-year term as president of Pakistan — out of uniform. Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has taken command of Pakistan’s all-powerful army. Emergency rule is to end on December 16th. Elections will be held on January 8th. Anti-insurgency operations continue full swing in Swat. In short: there’s [...]

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One of the ceremonies held on November 28th, marking President Pervez Musharraf’s retirement from the Pakistan Army, was the retreat ceremony. Retreat ceremonies are typically held on military bases and involve either a bugle call or drumbeat to signal the lowering of the flag at sunset; in this case, it commemorated the sun setting on [...]

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Just as we revealed days ago, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf will be stepping down as Chief of Army Staff on Wednesday, in a change over ceremony in which Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will ascend to the top slot. Only hours away, the ceremony is set to take place at 10:00am Pakistan Standard Time (PST). According [...]

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We’ve learnt that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf will be stepping down as Chief of Army Staff (COAS) in a changeover ceremony on Wednesday in which Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani will ascend to the army’s top slot (see our profile of Kayani here). On Thursday, Musharraf will be sworn in for his second term as president. [...]

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Our sources are now reporting that Nawaz Sharif could return to Pakistan as early as this Saturday or Sunday. Upon landing in Pakistan, he is scheduled to head directly to his home in Lahore or his massive 50-acre estate in Raiwind. He is apparently under strict orders by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to not engage [...]

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Apologies to all IB readers for my undue absence this week. A host of commitments, primarily work, have kept me away. I’ve also found that much of what’s been creating a buzz in the media hasn’t been that signficant in terms of impact (e.g. Imran Khan’s arrest). Most events, though interesting, will not significantly alter [...]

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President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s gamble appears to be paying off. Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry stands sidelined along with some of his recalcitrant colleagues, much of the fractured opposition is either detained or under arrest, and protests have been manageable. Though Benazir Bhutto appears to have entered the fray (now under house arrest), her actions may [...]

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The dust is settling after President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, in his capacity as Chief of Army Staff, placed the country in a state of emergency. Many are calling it a “State of Emergency (Plus)” or “Martial Law (Lite)” — this is just semantics — the fact of the matter is that the constitution has been [...]

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Pakistan is now officially in a state of emergency, under a proclamation issued by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. A Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) has been issued as well by Musharraf in his capacity as COAS — not President. This is similar to October 1999 when Musharraf launched his “counter-coup” [...]

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An announcement regarding the government’s decision to declare a state of emergency is expected soon. Yesterday, sources of mine were reporting that the declaration of a state of emergency of Pakistan was imminent — some were saying that the decision had been made as early 3 days ago. This would fall in line with what [...]

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High level sources report that a major decision regarding President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and his government will be made on November 1st. It’s up in the air as to who’s making the decision and about what exactly, however, we have reason to believe that Musharraf will be stepping down from his post as Army chief. [...]

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Knowledgable sources have indicated to us that tomorrow afternoon, October 2nd (Pakistan time), an announcement will be made revealing Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani’s (alt spelling: Ashfaq Kiyani) next role and potentially that of Lt. Gen. Tariq Majeed. This announcement is coming within days of the October 6th presidential elections, where Pres. Gen. Pervez Musharraf [...]

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Around the time I wrote “A New Spymaster and an Exposed Justice,” wherein I revealed the identity of the next ISI chief and plans to expose the Chief Justice’s alleged collusion with Nawaz Sharif, I also learned about a general understanding that had come about within the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Following the Musharraf government’s [...]

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He came, he saw, he … got deported. Nawaz Sharif’s highly anticipated return from exile on September 10th very quickly dissipated into an anti-climactic return to exile. In the wake of his deportation, Benazir Bhutto has announced that after nearly a decade in self-imposed exile, she herself will be returning to Pakistan on October 18th. [...]

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The Howie Mandel in all of us is asking, “Deal or no deal?” It is a question that President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and self-exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto will have to answer soon if they hope to counter the growing momentum of Nawaz Sharif’s campaign to return not only to Pakistan, but to power. [...]

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