Pakistan in fight over election delay with less than a month to go

Experts warn democracy at risk but say caretakers' unpopularity may force polls

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Officials and residents offer prayers for police officers killed in a bombing during an anti-polio drive in Khar, Pakistan, on Jan. 8. Such attacks are cited by those who seek to delay the country's Feb. 8 election. © AP

ADNAN AAMIR, Contributing writer

ISLAMABAD -- Calls from multiple players to delay Pakistan's upcoming general election threaten what is left of the country's fragile democracy, experts say, though many expect the polls will go ahead in the end.

The clearest push for a postponement so far came last Friday, when the Senate passed a resolution urging the government to put off the Feb. 8 vote due to security concerns. Molana Fazal ur Rehman, Pakistan's leading Islamist politician, also endorsed the resolution.

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