Pakistan elections appear set for weeks-long delay, officials say

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Elections in Pakistan look set to be delayed by several weeks despite demands by the party of slain opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and other politicians they take place as scheduled on January 8, officials said Monday. Video footage of the killing raised new questions about the government's version of how Bhutto died, while the country's most prominent opposition politician urged US-backed President Pervez Musharraf to step down and be replaced by a national unity government. "He is a one man calamity," former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif told reporters. "The United States should see that Musharraf has not limited or curbed terrorism. In fact terrorism is now stronger than ever before with more sinister aspects." The Election Commission said it had recommended an unspecified delay in the parliamentary polls following unrest triggered by the assassination of Bhutto last week. It said its final decision would be made on Tuesday.