Pakistan Delays Elections Following Bhutto Assassination

Pakistani officials have delayed the scheduled Jan. 8 elections and said they would wait until Feb. 18 following the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto last Thursday.

The elections had originally been slated for the day before Muslim holy month of Muharram but will now be conducted after that period ends on Feb. 6.

Many see the decision to delay the elections as a ploy by the ruling government to avoid a sympathy vote that would usher in the opposition but President Pervez Musharraf has denied such accusations.

Opposition leaders have expressed anger in the decision to delay the elections and have said any postponement would trigger further violence. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has continued to call for Musharraf to resign, a call Musharraf has repeatedly ignored.

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