Walz: Visit to a "very tense" Pakistan

posted by Edward Felker, P-B Washington Bureau

Democratic Rep. Tim Walz of Mankato held a conference call with reporters this afternoon to talk about his four-day visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He said Pakistan remains very tense following the shooting death of Benazir Bhutto and a suicide bombing in Lahore that killed 24, according to the AP. Walz's group, traveling as an official congressional delegation, was to be there for the planned Jan. 8 elections that were postponed following the assassination of Bhutto, who hoped to reclaim the prime minister post she held twice in the 1990s.

The group also visited the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, where Walz was interested to see the procedures involved in treating injured American forces and the handling of their cases as they are moved to Germany and home for followup medical treatment.

He could not discuss when he will return or any other stops due to security restrictions. The House returns to work this coming week and his staff said he will be in Washington for votes.

More on this story to come in Saturday's Post-Bulletin.