The geometry of this cynical ploy is quite simple. There's a small band of radicals on one end and a small band of militarists on the other. They are connected in many ways. If properly aligned, such a combination can crush a huge secular progressive majority in the middle. And that's what's happening in Pakistan at the moment.
I've been having horrible internet problems and I would like to do more with this post but it doesn't seem likely ... in the meantime I'll give you what I've got:
IHT : Pakistan rounds up opposition
About 500 opposition party workers, lawyers and human rights activists were arrested Sunday as the government of General Pervez Musharraf tried to consolidate its control after imposing emergency rule.CNN : West urges Pakistan to lift martial law, return to democracy
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was under fire at home and abroad Sunday after declaring an indefinite state of emergency that the West is calling a blow to democracy.BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan poll
Planned elections in Pakistan could be delayed by up to a year after President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule, the country's PM says.WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
Pakistan's government on Sunday continued a nationwide crackdown on the political opposition, the media and the courts, one day after President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule and suspended the constitution in a bid to save his job.CBC : Opposition politicians, lawyers rounded up in Pakistan: report
Police throughout the country raided the homes of opposition party leaders and activists, arresting hundreds. Top lawyers were also taken into custody, and at the offices of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in the eastern city of Lahore, 70 activists were detained. Journalists covering the raid had their equipment confiscated by police, and were ordered off the premises.
Pakistani police arrested opposition politicians, including the leader of exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's party, as part a crackdown following President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency, Reuters reported Sunday.
In a move that sparked outcries from political opponents and the international community on Saturday, Musharraf also replaced the chief justice of the country's Supreme Court and had authorities round up opposition figues, cut phone lines in the capital Islamabad and took all but state television off the air.
Emergency Restrictions
CBC : Opposition politicians, lawyers rounded up in Pakistan: reportThe order effectively suspends the country's constitution before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on Musharraf's future as president. The high court has been hearing constitutional arguments against his re-election last month.BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan poll
Emergency Restrictions
Constitutional safeguards on life and liberty curtailed
Police get wide powers of arrest
Suspects can be denied access to lawyers
Freedom of movement restricted
Private TV stations taken off air
New rules curtail media coverage of suicide bombings or militant activity
Chief justice replaced, others made to swear oath of loyalty
Supreme Court banned from rescinding emergency order
Official Justifications
IHT : Pakistan rounds up oppositionMusharraf announced the emergency decree, under which the Constitution was suspended and most of the Supreme Court was dismissed, on state-run television just after midnight. In a 45-minute speech, the president said he had declared the emergency to limit terrorist attacks and "preserve the democratic transition that I initiated eight years back." He did not say how long the state of emergency would be maintained.CNN : West urges Pakistan to lift martial law, return to democracy
The general, dressed in civilian clothes, quoted the U.S. president Abraham Lincoln, citing his suspension of some rights during the American Civil War as justification for the state of emergency in Pakistan.
Musharraf made the declaration Saturday in reaction to what he said was judicial activism by the state's high court. Musharraf has been tussling with the Supreme Court since at least March, when he removed Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, citing judicial misconduct.BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan poll
...
Pakistani Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan said the move -- which suspends the constitution and expands Musharraf's powers -- was necessary because "things had gone totally haywire."
Gen Musharraf says he declared the emergency to stop Pakistan "committing suicide", because the country was in a crisis caused by militant violence and an unruly judiciaryCBC : Opposition politicians, lawyers rounded up in Pakistan: report
The moves came as the Supreme Court was due to rule on the legality of Gen Musharraf's October election victory.
...
In a TV address on Saturday evening, Gen Musharraf explained his decision, saying the current situation had forced him into making "some very painful decisions".
...
"Extremists are roaming around freely in the country, and they are not scared of law-enforcement agencies," the president said.
"Inaction at this moment is suicide for Pakistan and I cannot allow this country to commit suicide."
In a national address Saturday, Musharraf insisted his actions were necessary to curb a rise in extremism in Pakistan, as well as judicial paralysis.
"I suspect that Pakistan's sovereignty is in danger unless timely action is taken," said Musharraf, who was wearing civilian clothes and spoke firmly and calmly.
"Pakistan is on the verge of destabilization . Inaction at this moment is suicide for Pakistan and I cannot allow this country to commit suicide."
Activists Arrested
IHT : Pakistan rounds up oppositionAbout 500 opposition party workers, lawyers and human rights activists were arrested Sunday as the government of General Pervez Musharraf tried to consolidate its control after imposing emergency rule.CNN : West urges Pakistan to lift martial law, return to democracy
As part of the state of emergency, the Pakistani government has a list of about 1,500 opposition figures, mostly activists and lawyers to be rounded up, according to police sources and witnesses.BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan poll
...
The head of Pakistan's human rights commission, Asma Jahangir, said she, too, was under house arrest and that Musharraf "has lost his marbles."
Khan, the information minister, said the house arrests are "a very temporary measure" and were targeting "people who have been causing law and order situations."
Rights have been suspended, media has been restricted and hundreds of people arrested under the emergency decree.WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
Mr Aziz said 400 to 500 "preventative arrests" had been made so far, and said the emergency, imposed by Gen Musharraf on Saturday, would last for "as long as is necessary".
Up to 500 opposition activists had been arrested in the last 24 hours, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Sunday.
Media Restrictions
IHT : Pakistan rounds up oppositionAbout a dozen privately run television news stations remained off the air, and international channels, including the BBC and CNN, were suspended. In the city of Lahore, police officers armed with tear gas tried to break up a meeting of regime opponents at the headquarters of the Pakistan Human Rights Commission. They took dozens of people away in police vans.BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan poll
...
The director of the private television channel Aaj TV, Wamiq Zuberi, said a magistrate accompanied by five vans of gun-toting police officers showed up at the channel's studios here Saturday night. They wanted to confiscate the channel's outdoor broadcasting van, Zuberi said. But the magistrate did not have a warrant, and the workers at the studio stood their ground, forcing the officials to leave, Zuberi said.
Aziz, the prime minister, said Sunday that the government planned to work on "a code of conduct" for broadcasters.
Tough new media restrictions are controlling the news available throughout Pakistan: all non-state TV stations and some radio channels, including international services such as BBC World TV, have been taken off air.WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
Independent newspapers have been allowed to continue publishing, but Gen Musharraf's decree severely limits what they can report.
Independent television stations remained off the air Sunday, and Pakistani journalists said they were unsure when their broadcasts would be restored. One prominent news anchor, Kashif Abbasi, said the government was pressuring the stations to sign a new code of conduct that would impose severe restrictions on what the stations could report. Abbasi said journalists would resist the move. "Do we have a choice? We can't sit there and report, but not talk about the president, the prime minister, the government or its policies," he said.
The only televised news Sunday came from the state-run channel, which ran clips from Musharraf's speech to the nation Saturday night in which he blamed terrorists and activist judges for forcing him to declare emergency rule. State-run TV also broadcast a critical segment on media restrictions in arch-rival India.
Police / Security / Military
BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan pollLocal newspapers and key opposition leader Benazir Bhutto accused Gen Musharraf of bringing in martial law without formally declaring it.WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
But Pakistan's attorney general said the prime minister and parliament remained in place and the civilian government would continue to function.
...
Small protests have started in the capital, Islamabad, where police and security forces are on the streets surrounding key sites.
...
After a calm start to Sunday, a few dozen people staged a brief protest near the parliament building in Islamabad before police moved in to break up the gathering.
Several people were dragged away and arrested, reports the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan, in the city.
More protests are expected throughout the rest of the day, he adds, with police appearing ready to use force against unauthorised demonstrations.
The police presence in the capital, Islamabad, remained heavy Sunday, and an air of tense calm prevailed over much of the city.
Benazir Bhutto
IHT : Pakistan rounds up oppositionBhutto spent Sunday at her residence in Karachi. Leaders of her party, the Pakistan People's Party, said she would fly to Islamabad to hold talks with other opposition parties about how to proceed. But Bhutto did not show up here.BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan poll
In interviews with foreign television channels, Bhutto, who returned to Pakistan after years in exile in October with the backing of the United States, appealed for free and fair elections. But sympathizers to her cause said her options for influencing the situation appeared limited.
Organizing large protests under emergency rule, and after the bomb attack on her arrival procession Oct. 18 that killed 140 people, would be difficult, said Najem Sethi, the editor in chief of The Daily Times.
"Verbally she will be very critical," Sethi said. "But she is not going to participate in protests. She's going to make a token representation. Behind the scenes she will work with the government for elections as soon as possible."
Ms Bhutto, who recently returned to Pakistan from self-imposed exile, flew back to Karachi from a trip abroad upon hearing news of Gen Musharraf's decision.CBC : Opposition politicians, lawyers rounded up in Pakistan: report
She confirmed that troops were not surrounding her Karachi home, contrary to some earlier reports, and laid out her demands for the holding free and fair elections.
"We the political parties are calling for the restoration of the constitution, and for the holding of the elections under an independent election commission," she told the BBC.
There is no word yet whether she plans to enter dialogue with the president or to lead opposition to his rule.
In an interview with CBC News late Saturday from Karachi, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto accused Musharraf of taking Pakistan away from democracy and "turning the clock back towards dictatorship."
"If you really want to get rid of extremism, you have to get rid of dictatorship," Bhutto said. "It's an unfortunate day in our country's history."
Bhutto, who was in Dubai when Musharraf issued the order, recently ended eight years in exile and has been in talks with Musharraf's camp about countering Islamic extremism by coming together to form a possible pro-Western alliance after parliamentary elections, which were slated for January.
...
Bhutto, who held a press conference at her residence in Karachi after her arrival in Pakistan, said she would hold talks with other opposition parties to "build the domestic pressure" against Musharraf to reverse the decision and hold the elections on schedule.
Other Opposition
BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan pollAmong the hundreds of people arrested since the declaration was Javed Hashmi, acting head of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League.WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
Gen Musharraf, he said as he was taken away, would pay a price for his decision to restrict freedoms.
"Musharraf's days are numbered. Time has come to end the political role of the army."
Ahsan Iqbal, spokesman for an opposition party led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, said up to 1,000 activists from his party had been arrested, including top leaders. Iqbal said Musharraf was "guilty of treason" for suspending the constitution.CBC : Opposition politicians, lawyers rounded up in Pakistan: report
Responding to Secretary of State Rice's statement on reviewing aid to Pakistan, Sharif called for even more U.S. action.
"Just saying that we will review the aid is not enough. I think the Western countries, especially the United States of America, must condemn this in the strongest terms and must urge Musharraf to reverse all that he's done yesterday," Sharif said in a telephone interview with Sky News.
Sharif is in Saudi Arabia, after being arrested and deported there in September shortly after arriving in Pakistan from exile.
In September, Sharif was deported only hours after he returned to his home country after seven years of exile after being ousted by Musharraf in a 1999 coup.
"Musharraf's days are numbered. Time has come to end the political role of the army," Reuters quoted Javed Hashmi, acting president of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League, as telling reporters before being whisked away by police in the central city of Multan.
...
Another opposition politician, former cricketer Imran Khan, told the BBC he had been placed under house arrest.
Lawyers
IHT : Pakistan rounds up oppositionAround the country, at least 80 lawyers were arrested in an apparent bid to head off demonstrations that lawyers' groups had planned for Monday.BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan poll
...
A government spokesman, Tariq Aziz Khan, said the arrests of lawyers were "preventive measures" taken because of a "threat to future law and order."
In the spring, lawyers spearheaded opposition to Musharraf after he fired the chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. The Supreme Court later reinstated Chaudhry, who continued to irritate Musharraf. By the end of last week, the general seemed unsure that the Supreme Court would rule favorably on his re-election.
Pakistani lawyers announced they would strike on Monday in protest at the president's decision.WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
Asma Jahangir, a leading human rights attorney, reported in an e-mail that she had been ordered to stay confined to her home for 90 days. She called it ironic that that Musharraf "had to clamp down on the press and the judiciary to curb terrorism. Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people while the terrorists are offered negotiations and ceasefires."
Opposition groups did not mass any large protests on Sunday, but they vowed to do so later in the week.
"Lawyers and civil society will challenge the government," Jahangir wrote, "and the scene is likely to get uglier."
Supreme Court
IHT : Pakistan rounds up oppositionMusharraf accused the Supreme Court of releasing 61 men who he said were under investigation for terrorist activities. "Judicial activism," he said, had demoralized the security forces, hurt the fight against terrorism and slowed the spread of democracy. "Obstacles are being created in the way of democratic process," he said, "I think for vested, personal interests, against the interest of the country."CNN : West urges Pakistan to lift martial law, return to democracy
...
Musharraf acted just days before the Supreme Court was due to decide on the legality of his re-election on Oct. 6.
Among the dozens of lawyers arrested was the president of the Supreme Court bar association, Aitzaz Ahsan, who has opposed Musharraf in legal arguments and in political protests, said Ayesha Tammy Haq, an Islamabad lawyer.
"If you want to take the country away from Talibanization, these are the people who can do it, the secular middle class," Haq said as she waited Sunday at the Adiala jail in Rawalpindi to see Ahsan.
...
Under the emergency declaration, the Supreme Court justices were ordered to take an oath to abide by a "provisional constitutional order" that replaces the country's existing Constitution. Seven justices rejected the order Saturday night, according to an aide to Chaudhry.
Hours later, the state-run news media reported that three justices generally seen as supporting Musharraf had taken an oath to uphold the emergency measure. And it was announced that Chaudhry had been replaced by a pro-government member of the Supreme Court bench, Abdul Hamid Doger, as chief justice.
The Supreme Court -- which reinstated Chaudhry in July in what many called a political blow to Musharraf -- was amid hearing arguments from opposition leaders who said that Musharraf's victory in the October elections should be overturned because Musharraf was not eligible to serve a third term while heading the country's military.BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan poll
...
Chaudhry is one of seven Supreme Court judges placed under house arrest after the court declared Musharraf's state of emergency illegal under the constitution.
Shortly after the court ruling, troops went to Chaudhry's office and told him he was fired, the judge's office said. Massive protests ensued after Chaudhry was removed from the bench earlier this year.
Following the announcement of emergency rule, the country's chief justice was replaced and the Supreme Court surrounded by troops.WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and eight other judges refused to endorse the emergency order, declaring it unconstitutional, resulting in Mr Chaudhry's dismissal.
The Supreme Court was to decide whether Gen Musharraf was eligible to run for re-election last month while remaining army chief.
Fears were growing in the government that the court could rule against Gen Musharraf.
At the residence of the former chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, hundreds of security officers kept visitors away. Chaudhry was fired by Musharraf on Saturday, along with at least six others Supreme Court judges.CBC : Opposition politicians, lawyers rounded up in Pakistan: report
Out of 17 judges on the bench, five agreed to take an oath to uphold Musharraf's new provisional constitution. The government pressured several others Sunday to sign the oath, or lose their jobs.
Seven of the 18 Supreme Court judges immediately condemned the emergency measures.
"Under the constitutional order, judges will have to swear allegiance to the emergency powers," freelance journalist Graham Usher told CBC News. "Any judge who does not do that can be dismissed."
Justice Hameed Dogar replaced Iftekhar Chaudhry as the country's chief justice. Musharraf tried to remove Chaudhry from the bench in March over alleged abuse of authority, but the court declared the suspension illegal and reinstated him in July after a series of street protests.
Chaudhry has been outspoken in defending the independence of the judiciary.
The Future Of Democracy
IHT : Pakistan rounds up oppositionPrime Minister Shaukat Aziz said Sunday at a news conference that new parliamentary elections, which had been expected in January, could be "up to a year" away. He said that as many as 500 opposition activists had been arrested nationwide.CNN : West urges Pakistan to lift martial law, return to democracy
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf was under fire at home and abroad Sunday after declaring an indefinite state of emergency that the West is calling a blow to democracy.BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan poll
...
[Information Minister Tariq Azim] Khan said parliamentary elections slated for January have been postponed indefinitely, but Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said later no such decision had been made.
Shaukat Aziz told a news conference that the government remained committed to the democratic process.WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
But he said parliament might change the date of elections planned for January, and gave no end date for the emergency.
[Prime Minister Shaukat] Aziz said the extraordinary measures would remain in place "as long as it is necessary." Aziz said parliamentary elections could be postponed up to a year, but no decision has been made regarding a delay.CBC : Opposition politicians, lawyers rounded up in Pakistan: report
It is not known whether the state of emergency will delay or cancel the elections.
American Reactions
IHT : Pakistan rounds up oppositionThe U.S. secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, joining other foreign governments in expressing concern about Pakistan's decision to suspend its Constitution, said Washington was reviewing billions of dollars in aid to the country, The Associated Press reported. Britain also said it was examining its aid package.CNN : West urges Pakistan to lift martial law, return to democracy
...
Musharraf summoned foreign diplomats, including the U.S. ambassador, Anne Patterson, to a meeting Sunday to explain the reasons for his action, according to diplomats.
The emergency rule came into force less than 24 hours after Musharraf met here with the senior U.S. military commander in the region, Admiral William Fallon, who warned the Pakistani leader that U.S. military assistance would be in jeopardy if he introduced martial law, diplomats said.
Soon after Musharraf's emergency decree, Washington officials said it was unlikely that the military aid would be cut.
...
Rice, speaking to reporters in Jerusalem on Sunday, also urged Musharraf to call elections and repeated U.S. displeasure at emergency rule, which she advised against in two telephone calls to him on Wednesday, news agencies reported.
"Obviously we are going to have to review the situation with aid, in part because we have to see what may be triggered by certain statutes," Rice said.
The United States has provided about $11 billion to Pakistan since 2001, when Musharraf made a strategic shift to be an ally with the United States after the Sept. 11 attacks. Rice said Washington would review its aid in light of the new emergency measures, though the Pentagon said earlier that the emergency rule would not affect its military support to Pakistan.
"Some of the aid that goes to Pakistan is directly related to the counterterrorism mission," Rice told reporters traveling with her in the Middle East. "We just have to review the situation."
"It is in the best interest of Pakistan and in the best interest of the Pakistani people for there to be a prompt return to a constitutional course, for there to be an affirmation that elections will be held for a new parliament, and for all parties to act with restraint in what is obviously a very difficult situation," she said.BBC : Emergency may delay Pakistan poll
Later in the day, Rice said the U.S. would review its financial aid package to Pakistan, a key ally in the war on terror. She conceded the matter would be complicated because much of the aid goes to counterterrorism.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said Washington is reviewing the aid which it gives to Pakistan in the wake of Gen Musharraf's decision.WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
"Obviously we are going to have to review the situation with aid, in part because we have to see what may be triggered by certain statutes," Ms Rice said.
In recent years Gen Musharraf has been a key ally in Washington's war on terror and has received about $10bn in aid since 2001.
"Some of the aid that goes to Pakistan is directly related to the counterterrorism mission," Ms Rice said, adding that that complicated the issue.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday that the United States would review its $150 million a month assistance program to Pakistan in response to Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule.CBC : Opposition politicians, lawyers rounded up in Pakistan: report
"The U.S. has made clear it does not support extraconstitutional measures because those measures take Pakistan away from the path of democracy and civilian rule," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.
However, Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Musharraf's declaration does not affect U.S. military support of Pakistan, which Morrell called "a very important ally in the war on terror."
Other Foreign Reactions
CNN : West urges Pakistan to lift martial law, return to democracyJavier Solana, foreign policy chief for the 27-nation European Union, also implored Musharraf to keep the January elections on track. Solana told The Associated Press he realizes Pakistan is facing difficulties in its political and security situations, but "any deviation from the general democratic process cannot be a solution."WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
Solana, in a statement, urged Musharraf "to abide by the rule of law, notably to respect the boundaries of the constitution" and asked that political parties show "restraint to facilitate a quick return to normalcy."
British Foreign Secretary David Miliband also expressed concerns about the state of emergency, saying Pakistan's future "rests on harnessing the power of democracy and the rule of law to achieve the goals of stability, development and countering terrorism."
The international advocacy group Human Rights Watch issued a statement condemning the move as "an appalling attack on human rights defenders."
Other Pakistani Reactions
CNN : West urges Pakistan to lift martial law, return to democracyPakistanis reacted to the country's turmoil Sunday with a mixture of anger and apathy, according to AP.WaPo : Political Crackdown Continues in Pakistan
Said factory worker Faisal Sayed, "Pakistan is bad because of one person: Musharraf. He has ruined our country."
But day laborer Togul Khan, 38, had a more cynical outlook as he waited for work on an Islamabad street corner, AP reported.
"What's the point of talking about this?" he asked. "The politicians have lifted Pakistan into the sky and spun it round before bringing it crashing down to earth -- but nothing will change for us."
Near the Supreme Court, a small group of Pakistanis gathered in hopes of starting a rally against Musharraf. But police ordered the crowd to disperse, citing a ban on public gatherings of more than three people in one place.CBC : Opposition politicians, lawyers rounded up in Pakistan: report
"We're in despair and we don't know what to do," said Sofia Shakil, an Islamabad resident. "Just when things looked like they couldn't get any worse . . . "
Later in the afternoon, a group of several dozen protesters shouting "We want democracy now!" attempted to march to Chaudhry's house. But the police blocked their path, and began to make arrests.
"We don't need martial law imposed on us," said Laila Ashraf, a protester. "We need to assert our rights."
Ottawa officially condemned the crackdown urged its government to reinstate judges and allow free elections.
In a statement released Saturday, Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier called for all sides to refrain from violence and respect human rights. The Foreign Affairs Department also issued an official travel warning advising Canadians against all travel to Pakistan.
Taliban / al Qaeda
IHT : Pakistan rounds up oppositionthe general tailored his decree to emphasize the necessity of continuing the fight against Islamic extremists sympathetic to the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
No comments:
Post a Comment