Musharraf advised to delay return to Pakistan

KARACHI: Aides to former Pakistan  president Pervez Musharraf have advised him to delay his return to the country due to political instability, but he has yet to make a final decision, sources close to Musharraf told Reuters Thursday.

Musharraf addressed a rally via video in Pakistan’s biggest city and commercial hub, Karachi, last week and announced his plan to return between January 27 and January 30 and take part in parliamentary elections due to be held by 2013.

The former president, who seized power in a 1999 coup, has been living in Dubai for almost three years and is currently visiting London.

Musharraf resigned and left the country after his allies lost a parliamentary election in 2008 and the new coalition government threatened him with impeachment.

His popularity had plummeted after he became embroiled in a row with the judiciary and briefly imposed a state of emergency in 2007.

“Musharraf’s friends, both political and non-political, have advised him to delay his return given the political environment in the country,” Haris Nawaz, general secretary for the Sindh province chapter of Musharraf’s All Pakistan Muslim League, told Reuters.

“But he has yet to take a final decision.”

Musharraf may announce his decision at a press conference in London Thursday, according to Pakistani media.

Tension continues to mount against Pakistan’s unpopular civilian government which faces pressure from the military over a mysterious memo seeking U.S. help to avert an alleged planned coup last year.

“Musharraf’s opponents may take advantage of the turmoil going on now and this might work against him. That’s why some have suggested that he has to delay,” said a Dubai-based aide of the former president.

Some media reports said Musharraf, who faces the threat of arrest in Pakistan on charges that he failed to provide adequate security to former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto before her assassination in 2007, will seek Saudi help in obtaining guarantees that he will not be detained. AGENCIES

WHO issues guidelines for contested breast implants

PARIS: The World Health Organisation (WHO) intervened for the first time in the roiling global scandal over faulty breast implants, urging women with the devices to seek medical advice if they have any concerns.

“Persons with PIP or M-Implant prostheses should consult their doctor or surgeon if they suspect rupture, have pain or inflammation or any other concerns,” UN’s health agency said, referring to the brands implicated in the controversy.

“Affected persons and physicians should take note of their national health authority recommendations and act accordingly,” it said in a “Global Alert and Response” statement issued on its website.

Around 300,000 women in 65 countries are believed to have received implants made by Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), a now-defunct manufacturer in southern France, although some figures are much higher.

France, Germany and the Czech Republic have recommended that the devices be removed as a precaution but Britain has said it will not follow suit.

The prostheses were withdrawn from the European market in 2010 after France’s health watchdog discovered they were made from sub-standard, industrial-grade gel.

The WHO said data about adverse events from the implants was sketchy and hoped for stronger reporting of episodes in order to get a clearer picture.

“While the rupture rate of PIP prostheses was observed to be higher than expected in France, rates reported by other national authorities vary,” it noted. AGENCIES

John O’Quinn killed

Breaking news about Prominent Houston lawyer John O’Quinn killed at 68, John O’ Quinn Houston lawyer, who was instrumental in pioneering verdicts against the makers of breast implants, hazardous drugs and tobacco products, has died in a traffic accident.

The Houston Chronicle quotes Houston police as saying O’Quinn was one of two people killed Thursday morning when a sport-utility vehicle skidded across the median of Allen Parkway and slammed into a tree just west of downtown Houston.

or more information about John o Quinn dead, John o Quinn law firm, John o Quinn car accident, John o Quinn died, John o Quinn death stay with us at Pakistan News

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John O’Quinn killed was first posted on October 30, 2009 at 12:52 am.