Biden: Cut Pakistan Aid if Rigged Elections Today
President Bush needs to convey the same message to Gen. Musharraf.
Biden Warns Pakistan on Elections
STEPHEN GRAHAM | February 17, 2008 07:02 PM EST |
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Read More: Biden Pakistan, Joe Biden, Pakistan Democracy, Pakistan Elections, Pakistan Opposition, Warwire, Breaking Politics News
LAHORE, Pakistan — Sen. Joseph Biden urged Pakistani authorities to ensure that Monday's parliamentary elections are free and fair, warning that the country could face greater instability if the vote is rigged.
"Without an open election that gains the confidence of the vast majority of the middle class here there will be great turmoil," Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in Lahore on Sunday.
Biden, along with Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., will observe the polling Monday and meet political leaders in Lahore, the hub of Pakistani politics.
Pakistanis will choose a new parliament in the elections, which were delayed six weeks after former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on Dec. 27. The elections could determine the political survival of President Pervez Musharraf, who is America's key ally in the war on terror.
Biden, D-Del., said a more democratic government would help Pakistan combat spreading Islamic extremism and suggested Washington should reduce its reliance on Musharraf. The Bush administration has promoted Musharraf as a moderate leader capable of holding together the nuclear-armed country.
"I do not buy into the argument that the only person who has the capacity to help in dealing with terrorism is Musharraf," Biden said.
Biden Warns Pakistan on Elections
STEPHEN GRAHAM | February 17, 2008 07:02 PM EST |
Compare other versions »
Read More: Biden Pakistan, Joe Biden, Pakistan Democracy, Pakistan Elections, Pakistan Opposition, Warwire, Breaking Politics News
LAHORE, Pakistan — Sen. Joseph Biden urged Pakistani authorities to ensure that Monday's parliamentary elections are free and fair, warning that the country could face greater instability if the vote is rigged.
"Without an open election that gains the confidence of the vast majority of the middle class here there will be great turmoil," Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in Lahore on Sunday.
Biden, along with Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., will observe the polling Monday and meet political leaders in Lahore, the hub of Pakistani politics.
Pakistanis will choose a new parliament in the elections, which were delayed six weeks after former prime minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on Dec. 27. The elections could determine the political survival of President Pervez Musharraf, who is America's key ally in the war on terror.
Biden, D-Del., said a more democratic government would help Pakistan combat spreading Islamic extremism and suggested Washington should reduce its reliance on Musharraf. The Bush administration has promoted Musharraf as a moderate leader capable of holding together the nuclear-armed country.
"I do not buy into the argument that the only person who has the capacity to help in dealing with terrorism is Musharraf," Biden said.
posted by Faithful Progressive at 7:52 AM
1 Comments:
If Musharraf prevails, it is a rigged election. If he doesn't..everything is cool and the big thieves take over. It simply defies logic.
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