Pakistan marked the 60th anniversary of its independence from British rule Tuesday amid a political crisis facing the country's U.S.-allied president and surging militant violence.   Artillery guns boomed at daybreak in Islamabad, and military cadets held a changing of the guard ceremony at the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Pakistan's founder, in Karachi, the country's largest city... [read more]

President Pervaiz Musharraf rejected calls to declare emergency powers and wants elections to take place in Pakistan, a spokesman said after widespread reports that the beleaguered leader would opt for authoritarian rule.   Private television channels and newspapers had reported that General Musharraf was poised to take a step that would probably delay elections due by the turn of the year and... [read more]