Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Head of State Update

Meet the new president of Pakistan: Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto's widower, was sworn in earlier today. Zardari had been elected on Saturday, receiving 481 of 702 votes cast by an amalgamation of the national Parliament and four regional assemblies. Saeeduz Zaman Siddiqui, a former judge who had the backing of Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N, and Mushahid Hussain Sayed of ex-President Pervez Musharraf's PML-Q also ran.

Afghan-Pakistani relations were at the forefront of the ceremonies today, with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in attendance. Zardari and Karzai held a joint press conference with Zardari pledging to continue Pakistan's cooperation with the United States' "war on terror." Although this will be difficult as Pakistan's intelligence service, the ISI, has been accused of assisting with attacks in Afghanistan, and the war is unpopular among Pakistanis, who see it as fanning extremism.

Also, Sharif recently pulled out of the coalition in Parliament that was united in opposition to Musharraf before he resigned. And Pakistan is facing an economic slump worsened by inflation.

Thailand Update: The Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that PM Samak Sundaravej violated the Thai Constitution by accepting payments to appear on the cooking show "Tasting and Complaining." Samak has been forced from office, yet his party is putting forth his name when Parliament selects a new PM Friday, making it possible for "Samak to succeed himself." Such is Thailand.


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