Pakistani officials: Election delayed until February 18

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Pakistani election officials announced Wednesday that they were delaying parliamentary elections for six weeks until February 18 because of the violence and chaos that followed the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. The elections had been scheduled for January 8, but Qazi Mohammed Farooq, head of the election commission, said it would be impossible to hold the polls on that day. Instead, the vote will take place on February 18, he said.