Pakistan a "pressure cooker", journalists expelled

Reuters ^ | November 10, 2007 | Simon Gardner and Kamran Haider

[yorkie]

Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto described Pakistan on Saturday as a pressure cooker about to explode, as President Pervez Musharraf's government tightened screws on media by ordering out three British journalists.

Having invoked emergency powers a week ago, General Musharraf has sacked most of the country's judges, put senior ones under house arrest, and ordered police to round up most of the opposition leadership and anyone else deemed troublesome.

He has also placed curbs on media. Private news channels are off the air and transmissions of BBC and CNN have been blocked, though newspapers are publishing freely.

"Pakistan under dictatorship is a pressure cooker," Bhutto said in an address to diplomats at reception hosted by loyalists at the Senate on Saturday night.

"Without a place to vent, the passion of our people for liberty threatens to explode."

[SmoothTalker]

He is really starting to push it though in uncomfortable directions. I wouldn’t be shocked if he fell or if he did have elections us seeing a Hamas type result.

[TOneocon]

Private news channels are off the air and transmissions of BBC and CNN have been blocked

Assuming these private news channels are radically islamic, I have no problem with this decision.

[Peter Libra]

Three British journalists were expelled for "foul and abusive language about the leadership"

Lovely stuff. Get rid of the subversive swines- else lock them up. The chips are down for the President. He realizes one cannot win when the other side plays by different rules.

[G8 Diplomat]

FReepmail if you want on or off

[Southerngl]

Do you know if there is a Isreal ping list? I can’t find one and would like to join.

Thanks

[RightWhale]

Bhutto described Pakistan on Saturday as a pressure cooker about to explode

Analogy fails due to completely unsealed border with Afghanistan and Iran.

[G8 Diplomat]

FReeper Alouette hold the pro-Israel/Judaic/Russian Jewry ping list. It’s not quite specific to only Israel, but that’s the closest thing to an Israel ping list that I can find. It’s a high-volume list, just FYI

[Southerngl]

Thank you

[shield]

Pak has nukes...billionaire terrorist [from the poppy fields of ‘Stan] are lookin’ to put their hands on them. Let’s pray this situation doesn’t blow up any further. We need to be preparing US SOPS and Indian SOPS [those are the only two groups have the ability to accomplish that mission] to go in after those nukes. Otherwise....drug lord terrorist will have ‘em.