Bomber kills anti-Taliban lawmaker in Pakistan

[clear eye]

Source: Associated Press

By KIM GAMEL (AP)

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan's Supreme Court said Tuesday it has taken up petitions challenging the amnesty from graft charges enjoyed by the president and many key allies, paving the way for political turmoil even as the U.S. presses the government to focus on fighting militants near the Afghan border. Highlighting the dangers, a suicide bomber killed an anti-Taliban lawmaker Tuesday in the northwestern Swat Valley — the latest in a series of suicide attacks in recent weeks in response to an army offensive into a militant stronghold close to the Afghan border.

President Asif Ali Zardari, who is extremely unpopular according to opinion polls, has been under mounting pressure to resign or relinquish key powers and take on a ceremonial role since an amnesty granted by his predecessor expired over the weekend.

...The amnesty was part of a deal that paved the way for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto to return home from self-exile and take part in politics without facing cases her party says were politically motivated. Zardari took control of the party after Bhutto died in a suicide bombing on Dec. 27, 2007.

...Zardari relinquished command of the country's nuclear arsenal on Friday and has said he would give up more powers in the near future.

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What I can't find in any of the news stories on Pakistan, is why the citizenry has turned against Zadari. Is it his corruption, or the collateral damage caused by the military campaigns against Islamist militants in the NW he's ordered with the urging of the U.S.? The media East and West seem silent on exactly what the majority of the population have against him. They are not doing widespread surveys or on-the-street interviews.

What they do agree on, is that a shaky Pakistan gov't will make the U.S.'s job in Afghanistan more difficult, as supplies pass through the port city of Karachi. Militants may become emboldened and attempt to interfere w/ them.