Deposed judge urges lawyers to defy Musharraf

Pakistan Cabinet mulls vote delay; Islamic militants seize town amid unrest

Khalid Tanveer / AP Uniformed and plain-clothed police officers push a lawyer into a police van in Multan, Pakistan, on Tuesday.

In the northwest, near the Afghan border, Islamic militants seized a town from outnumbered security forces who surrendered without a fight.

Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, declared a state of emergency on Saturday, saying it was a response to a growing Islamic militant threat. He suspended the constitution, put a stranglehold on the media and granted sweeping powers to authorities to crush dissent. Thousands of people have been rounded up and thrown in jail.

In the northwestern Swat valley, which has seen a wave of militant violence, about two dozen police officers and several troops offered no resistance to militants who seized three police stations and a military post around the town of Matta.

“We didn’t harm the police and soldiers and allowed them to go to their homes as they didn’t fight our mujahedeen,” said Sirajuddin, a spokesman for Maulana Fazlullah, a firebrand cleric whose armed followers are battling security forces.

He said the militants had hoisted their black and white flags over the captured posts. A police official in Swat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of his job, confirmed the surrender.

Lawyers urged to defy Musharraf
The ousted chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry called on lawyers to defy the state of emergency — and hundreds of attorneys and police clashed during a street rally in the central city of Multan in the second day of unrest since the restrictions were imposed.

“Go to every corner of Pakistan and give the message that this is the time to sacrifice,” Chaudhry, who is under virtual house arrest in the capital, Islamabad, told lawyers by mobile phone. “Don’t be afraid. God will help us and the day will come when you’ll see the constitution supreme and no dictatorship for a long time.”

President Bush and other Western allies have called on Musharraf to resign as army chief and hold crucial parliamentary elections in January as originally planned, but so far no new date has been set.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto’s party, who returned to Pakistan last month following eight years in exile last month, flew to Islamabad from Karachi on Tuesday to discuss the political crisis with other opposition parties. She said she had no plans to meet Musharraf, with whom she was considering forming an alliance with just a few weeks ago.

Hundreds of her supporters are among thousands arrested under the state of emergency.

Many say Musharraf was making a final effort to cling to power, though he says his primary aim was to help fight rising a growing Taliban and al Qaida-linked militant threat. His moves came ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on whether his recent re-election as president was legal. The top judge, Chaudhry, was removed and other justices replaced.

There does not appear to be a groundswell of popular resistance in the nation of 160 million, which has been under military rule for much of its 60-year history, with cynicism and apathy over the political system widespread. Demonstrations so far have been limited largely to opposition activists, rights workers and lawyers, angered by the attacks on the judiciary.

Cabinet discusses delaying polls
Pakistan’s Cabinet discussed possibly delaying the polls, a minister told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

“The issue of holding elections was discussed at length, and after attending the Cabinet meeting I feel that the elections may be delayed by two months,” he said. “There will not be a delay of elections for longer than three months.”

“There is no final decision.”

Musharraf’s decision to adopt authoritarian measures, after promising for years that the country was in a transition to democracy, angered even his closest allies.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq responded to international criticism Tuesday by saying its emergency declaration was an “internal matter.” He said he hoped “friendly countries” would understand that, with a mounting Islamic and militant threat, “extraordinary steps” had to be taken.

So far only the Netherlands has punished Pakistan, freezing most of its development aid.

The United States, Pakistan’s chief foreign donor, says it is reviewing aid to the Muslim nation but appeared unlikely to cut military assistance to its close ally in the so-called war on terror. U.S. aid to Pakistan has totaled more than $10 billion since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in America.

Chaudhry, the deposed chief justice, addressed about two dozen lawyers gathered inside the Islamabad Bar Association headquarters by telephone. About 200 lawyers protested outside, shouting “Musharraf is a criminal — we will not accept uniforms or bullets!”

Almost immediately after Chaudhry spoke, some mobile phone services in the city were cut. They were back up hours later; it was not clear if the events were related.

Driving force behind protests
Lawyers were the driving force behind protests earlier this year when Musharraf tried unsuccessfully to fire Chaudhry.

Under the emergency, Musharraf purged the Supreme Court of independent-minded judges. So far, eight judges have taken a new oath. Previously there were 17 judges in the court.

In their first ruling, the eight “set aside” a ruling of seven other rebellious judges, including Chaudhry, who had rejected the emergency as unconstitutional, court spokesman Arshad Muneer said.

The court is expected to resume hearings on Musharraf’s eligibility for another presidential term and issue a quick ruling in his favor.

Musharraf also has moved to control the media. Police raided and briefly sealed a printing press belonging to Pakistan’s largest media group. Broadcasts by independent news networks remained blocked, and domestic transmissions of BBC and CNN were cut.

Opposition groups say about 3,500 people have been arrested since the emergency was put in place, while government officials put the number at around 2,500. Most detainees are lawyers, although opposition party supporters and rights activists have also been arrested.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21649387/

AP Photo Pakistan's Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. In an unprecedented moment in Pakistan’s history, the country’s top judge, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, refused to resign on March 9, 2007. Instead, Musharraf suspended him for allegations of misconduct – triggering huge nationwide pro-democracy protests.   Critics suspected Musharraf of plotting to remove the independent-minded judge to forestall legal challenges to his plan to ask lawmakers for another five-year term before upcoming elections.   On July 20, 2007 in a landmark ruling, Supreme Court judges voted unanimously to restore Chaudhry as chief justice. In a move that was widely hailed as a democratic breakthrough in a country dominated by the military for most of its 60-year history, the question now is, will the Supreme Court be able to sustain its newly won independence? The reinstated Chief Justice Chaudhry would be at the helm of the Supreme Court until 2013.

      Reminiscent of the Bush Administration's use of the 9/11 attacks to justify the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the Musharraf Administration in Pakistan is using the rising  Taliban attacks to impose martial law and suspend Pakistan's constitution, which will not allow President General Musharraf to stay in power indefinitely. To me it is the height of hypocrisy for President Bush to condemn what President General Musharraf is doing in Pakistan in the light of the "executive privileges" taken by President Bush outside of Congress and the US Supreme Court. However, the Pakistani masses are apathetic to what Musharraf is doing just as until recently the American masses were apathetic to what Bush is doing. The "rule of law" is what separates civilized societies from barbarian societies. Sooner or later even "the masses" come to understand that. Bush and Musharraf's days are numbered. The "rule of law" will ultimately triumph.

tags: musharraf  bush  rule of law  pakistan  war on terror  taliban  human rights  military  personal power  politics  war  

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