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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 4, 2007

GEN. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, 64, president: He seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, overthrowing Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Branded a pariah, he gained international acceptance by backing the U.S. war on terror after the Sept. 11 attacks. He allowed U.S. troops to use military bases in ousting the Taliban in Afghanistan. A moderate, he has campaigned against Islamic extremists and survived at least three assassination attempts. He has remained army chief while president, reneging on a promise to give up his military role.

SHAUKAT AZIZ, 58, prime minister: He took office in 2004 after winning a parliamentary vote in which the opposition abstained. A close ally of Musharraf and former banker, he oversaw a period of economic recovery in his previous post as finance minister and has promised to push for the privatization of Pakistan's state-owned companies.

BENAZIR BHUTTO, 54, opposition party leader: A former two-time prime minister with a rich political pedigree, she is seen as a symbol of democracy but has been dogged by corruption charges. The leader of the Pakistan People's Party, she is also the daughter of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was executed. She and her husband, Asif Zardari, have been jailed on corruption charges, which they claim are politically motivated. After fleeing Pakistan in 1999, she returned last month after negotiating an amnesty to lead her party in upcoming elections.

MUHAMMAD IFTIKHAR CHAUDHRY, 58, Supreme Court chief justice: He stood up to the military government in two rulings. Court decisions reversing a privatization deal and forcing intelligence agencies to admit they held people in secret custody embarrassed the regime. Musharraf suspended him for misconduct, but he was reinstated by the court. His victory left the judiciary more independent and catapulted him to national hero among Pakistanis hungry for a return to democracy and the rule of law.

OSAMA BIN LADEN, 50, al-Qaida leader: The prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks is thought to be leading a revived al-Qaida in the lawless North West Frontier in Pakistan. A member of a wealthy Saudi family, he got his start fighting against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. His band of Arab guerrillas was backed by the United States, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. During the 1991 Gulf War, bin Laden opposed the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia and turned his guns on the United States.

ABDUL QADEER KHAN, 71, nuclear scientist: The father of the Pakistani bomb was hailed as a national hero for bringing his country to nuclear parity with rival India. He fell from grace when he acknowledged selling nuclear secrets to Iran and Libya. Once a darling of Musharraf, he was fired from his post as special science adviser to the president after an investigation into his nuclear black market.

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