Pakistan elections put back six weeks

Pakistan’s parliamentary elections will be delayed for six weeks until February 18, officials announced today.

The country’s electoral commission said the delay was necessary because of the violence and chaos that followed the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

The elections had been scheduled for January 8, but Qazi Mohammed Farooq, head of the commission, said it would be impossible to hold the polls on that day.

Because of the situation following Ms Bhutto's death, "for a few days the election process came to a complete halt,'' he said.

Election officials reported that rioters in Ms Bhutto’s home province of Sindh burned down 10 election offices, destroying the voter rolls and ballot boxes inside. The violence also halted the printing and distribution of ballots.

The opposition has demanded the polls take place on time and some leaders have called for street protests if they were to be delayed.

However it was not immediately clear how they would react to the announcement.