World

Sharif *Do* Like It[*]

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Here's news that's got to have Islamabad-boy and feckless U.S. ally in the War on Terror "President Gen." Pervez Musharraf shaking in his boots:

Immediately after Pakistan's highest court ruled he could return, former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he would go home soon to lead his party's campaign to oust the general who overthrew and exiled him eight years ago.

Speaking to The Associated Press in his London office on Thursday, Sharif, who once dominated Pakistani politics, confirmed he planned to run for a third term as prime minister.

The ruling by Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday and Sharif's promise to return and run for office further complicate life for President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who overthrew Sharif in a bloodless 1999 coup.

Musharraf's recent failed attempt to fire the Supreme Court's chief justice triggered widespread pro-democracy rallies. He also faces U.S. pressure to crack down on Islamic extremists in Pakistan's volatile northwest region near the Afghan border, where attacks on soldiers have increased and the security situation has deteriorated.

More here.

Boo on Musharraf here.

It's not like Sharif is all that great, either, here.

[*] Tortured headline allusion[s] here and here (minus the boop-boop gun effects, be grateful for small favors).