Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Sources: Bhutto was to give U.S. lawmakers vote-rigging report

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- On the day she died, Benazir Bhutto planned to hand over to visiting U.S. lawmakers a report accusing Pakistan's intelligence services of a plot to rig parliamentary elections, sources close to the slain former Pakistani prime minister told CNN Tuesday.

Bhutto was assassinated Thursday, hours before a scheduled meeting with Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-Rhode Island, and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania.

A top Bhutto aide who helped write the report showed a copy to CNN.

"Where an opposing candidate is strong in an area, they [supporters of President Pervez Musharraf ] have planned to create a conflict at the polling station, even killing people if necessary, to stop polls at least three to four hours," the document says.

The report also accused the government of planning to tamper with ballots and voter lists, intimidate opposition candidates and misuse U.S.-made equipment to monitor communications of opponents.

"Ninety percent of the equipment that the USA gave the government of Pakistan to fight terrorism is being used to monitor and to keep a check on their political opponents," the report says.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE

This could grow into a nasty problem for the United States and President Bush. Musharraf is an "ally" who plays both ends against the middle but he's still our guy in Islamabad. They can't all be our bestest buddies.

However, if evidence mounts that Musharraf was behind Bhutto's assassination, how will that affect Pakistan's instability and its vulnerability to terrorists and how will it ultimately affect its relationship to the United States and the role it plays in helping us as an ally?

If Musharraf gets his ticket punched due to scandal, will the replacement dictator also be our ally?

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