Bhutto Widower Elected Pakistani President

Zardari Wins Large Margin Of Victory In Legislative Election; Will Succeed Pervez Musharraf

(CBS/AP) 
Although Zardari has emerged as a powerful ruler for Pakistan, his campaign was targeted by opponents who referred to his past image for allegedly being involved in corruption.

The late Ms Bhutto’s government was dismissed twice, in 1990 and 1996, on issues including alleged corruption involving her husband.

Western diplomats said Zardari will have to move quickly to oversee at least some progress in taking on difficult challenges facing Pakistan, notably in fighting militants and reviving an increasingly troubled economy.

“Asif Zardari will have no room to make mistakes” said the Western diplomat who spoke to CBS News.


Blast, Clashes In Northwest Pakistan Kill 41

A pickup truck packed with explosives blew up a security checkpoint Saturday in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 17 people and injuring 80 in an attack possibly intended for a more important target, officials said.

About 100 miles away in the volatile region, 24 people were killed after residents of villages tired of a "reign of terror" by Islamic militants foiled a militant kidnap attempt, then were attacked, the military said.

The suicide attack occurred on the outskirts of Peshawar. Television footage showed a blast crater three feet deep and destroyed vehicles and pieces of debris scattered across a large area. Officials said many people were trapped under the rubble of damaged buildings in a nearby market. Civilians dug frantically with their hands in hopes of finding survivors.

Nasirulmulk Bangash, a top police official in the area, said the vehicle carried at least 330 pounds of explosives - an amount he called "unprecedented" - and was apparently en route to Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province.

The amount of explosives indicated the attack was aimed at a higher-value target than the small checkpoint, but might have been tripped up by high security on election day, Bangash said, without speculating on what the intended target might have been.

At least 17 people died and about 80 were wounded, including 15 who were in critical condition, said Sahib Gul, an official at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar. Several of the dead were believed to be police manning the post.

Sher Zaman, 15, told The Associated Press from a hospital bed that he was selling fruit from a cart at the market when he heard a large explosion and was knocked down when something hit him in the chest. He said residents quickly gathered and helped transport casualties to hospitals.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for Saturday's blast.

A senior intelligence official speaking to CBS News from Peshawar, capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), said the attack appeared to have been carried out by the Taliban movement, which has backed a fast-growing number of violent attacks in the past year.

This was the first attack since Wednesday, when Pakistani officials accused Afghanistan-based U.S. commandoes of carrying out a raid in a village on Pakistan’s territory along the Afghan border.

In retaliation for that attack, late Friday evening, Pakistani officials ordered all supplies for NATO and U.S. troops heading in to Afghanistan to be stopped, prompting fresh anxiety among Western diplomats.

“Even if these supplies resume after discussions between U.S. and Pakistani officials, there is a very powerful message which is, there is ground for discord in U.S.-Pakistan relations” said one Western diplomat in Islamabad who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity.

A military statement also said residents of the town of Tehsil Matta, some 100 miles north of Peshawar, decided to fight back against militants operating in the area. They launched an
attack Friday night to prevent a suspected plan to snatch a village elder accused of supporting the government.

Six of the would-be kidnappers were killed. The militants later returned en masse, and ensuing clashes left 15 residents and three more militants dead, along with scores of people injured, the military said.

[betty2700635]

will he start a war to the US??by the way I have met many mature *** women on --B O O M E R C U P I D .COM/--boomercupid has become more and more populer for meeting mature men and women

[petro49l]

Benazir should not have died in vain. Bin Laden is busily making tar heroin with his technical isomizers. He insists on more land to grow exotic poppies. Osama believes he can dominate the American market for street drugs. Addicts everywhere are buying his illicit narcotic. Bin Laden boasts that the South Americans will lose their hold on the United States. He thinks that heroin will replace their coca product.

[samthetvcat]

PS AND they are apparently sympathetic to the terrorists and don''t use the money to fight terrorism.

Although I guess it''s nice to have a sort-of-friend in that area if we can find one :(

[samthetvcat]

So when Barack was taunting McCain for not ''going after Bin Laden'' the way he was going to, apparently what he meant was that he was going to do the exact same thing GWB has (as he admitted on Fox) - give money to this corrupt criminal who all the Pakistani people think is a corrupt criminal.

Why do we keep giving them money if it fosters resentment amongst the Pakistani people?

[carlylaine]

Everytime a Bhutto is assassinated another rises to help his or her people. Why can''t you terrorists GET IT? You are NOT going to win. You''re too STOOPID!

[hermitdave]

I would like to just ask him one question. Does he know why his dead wife told David Frost that she knew who murdered Osama Bin Laden? This story is vital in proving many of the BUSH lies about 9/11 and his two illegal crusades.

[y124939]

All the while I thought the Pakistan people are intelligent or smart. In this case, bringing back Zardari is totally no brainer. It just showed that the citizens are smart and totally CONFUSED. They killed the wife and now they are putting the husband, what on earth is happening to PAKISTAN. No wonder INDIA disowned them. I see India progressing, together with Bangladesh BUT ....for Pakistan it is just simply loosing its BRAINS.

[keithle1]

How long before he gets murdered?

[tibu987]

The U.S. will support this corrupt person and making him even richer than he is now.
The people will come to hate the U.S.
This is an old story that has happened many times.
It is what the U.S. calls diplomacy when it is really a expensive ride for corruption to overtake the populace.

[shazam118]

only in a country like pakistan you can make a former convicted criminal and a royal thug a president....just because the freaking yankee thugs like chimpy bushy and yellow belly hog cheney want to have their man in power in pakistan ....soon I will be hearing about his corps dangling in the streets of garbage country of sh-its tan.........dam you pakistani''s you are totally retarded as people on this planet.......soon talibans will make you pay the piper sh-it slicks morons.....

[sleepyric]

make sure you have your armored cars, and kevlar vest on...might be a good idea to get some bomb sniffing dogs.....I wish George Bush could run for president of your country.

[excoachken]

The only thing this changes is the "10%" extra we have to pay him for the "privilege" of "visiting" his country. This guy might be the only guy who takes more bribes than McCain (Keating 5 scandal).

[godzfan]

lets see how long this last before either Al-Qaida gets him or he gets busted for corruption again.