President Musharraf has declared a state of emergency, blaming the judiciary and militants for creating a crisis in the country. 
He insists his actions were necessary in order to save Pakistan democracy from destruction. Of course, I’m sure his actions had nothing to do with the growing feeling that the judiciary were about to invalidate his recent election, nothing at all. (See Anil @ dorfblog for more legal analysis)
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p>A new supreme court has been put into place and the old supreme court taken away because they refused to ratify the state of emergency as constitutional:
The justices were ordered to sign a “provisional constitutional order” enabling the emergency decree … At least 6 of the court’s 11 justices gathered in the court and rejected the order… [Link]Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and seven other Supreme Court judges were taken into custody after they termed the provisional constitution illegal. Troops took them away to an undisclosed location. [Link]
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p>Troops are on the streets and the broadcast media (radio and TV) have also been shut down. The purpose of this action seems to be to stop news inside the country more than to stop news from going out. International media seem to have a fairly good picture of what is going on, and of course the Pakistani blogs are still up.
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p>If you want to follow along at home, your best bet are the metroblogging blogs: Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi. And I hope to have an update from our blogger on the street, Venial Sin, in a while. Until then, the best we’ve got are clips of the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan, talking to journalists on the phone, while under arrest, from the toilet [Hat tip, Anil].
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p>Reaction from the USA has been muted, as expected. The US government has bought a pig in a poke. Of course, the American authorities — Secretary Rice, the Ambassador, the Chief of Centcom — all claim they tried to talk Musharraf out of it:
Ms. Rice said she has had several conversations with General Musharraf in the past few weeks — the last one two days ago — in which she appealed to him not to declare emergency powers. The American ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W. Patterson, had also been exhorting General Musharraf and his top deputies against making that step, Ms. Rice said. [Link]On Friday, U.S. officials had tried to pressure Musharraf to avoid declaring emergency rule or martial law. Adm. William J. Fallon, chief of the U.S. Central Command, met with Musharraf and had tried to encourage him to back down from his plan. [Link]
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p>And they probably did. This isn’t good for the USA either. Still, now that it has happened, the US is stopping far short of unequivocal condemnation:
“We were clear that we did not support it,” Ms. Rice said… “We were clear that we didn’t support it because it would take Pakistan away from the path of democratic rule.” But even as she criticized General Musharraf’s power grab, Ms. Rice stopped short of outright condemnation of General Musharraf himself, even going so far as to credit him for doing “a lot” — in the past — toward preparing Pakistan for what she called a “path to democratic rule…” [Link]In a statement last night, the Pentagon said the emergency declaration by Musharraf did not impact the US military support of Pakistan or its efforts in the war on terror. Spokesman Geoff Morrell said: ‘Pakistan is a very important ally in the war on terror and he [US Defence Secretary Robert Gates] is monitoring the situation there…’ [Link]
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p>Everything seems to be in a holding pattern until it becomes clear what the popular reaction will be. For our Pakistani readers in need of legal levity (the sort prohibited by recent decrees) here’s Manish’s letter from Delhi to Islamabad, complete with advice on how to get along during a state of emergency. Stay safe.
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Or that the Court was soon likely to order that Nawaz Sharif be permitted to return and that Shaukat Aziz be held in contempt of court for Sharif’s rendition to Saudi Arabia. But this is not your father’s Pakistan Supreme Court — before getting busted up by the troops, a seven-justice bench of the Court managed to meet and issue an order invalidating the Army’s emergency decree:
Touche. Nothing like going out with a bang.
Don’t miss the heroic Aitzaz Ahsan conducting an interview by phone — while being arrested, and at the police station — from the stationhouse bathroom.
maybe bhutto will become the aquino she has always dreamt of becoming.
I don’t think this is just a holding pattern. the General knows what he’s doing and has the power and set-pieces to do it: a largely illiterate population conflicted about God and secularism; an Army eager to bash heads; a patriarchal & war-fighting culture; and a huge superpower that is not going to stand in his way (and which will continue to provide all kinds of equipment).
I think this will — at BEST — go the way of the Burmese uprising (if the Pakistani’s manage to actually march in the streets), and in the end we will have the same or a different military leader in Islamabad.
what!!! dictatorship in pakistan? i am shocked! SHOCKED, i tell you!
at least this time, though, it was for the good of the people unlike all the previous time. to quote the ny times:
“Just after midnight, General Musharraf appeared on state-run television. In a 45-minute speech, he said he had declared the emergency to limit terrorist attacks and “preserve the democratic transition that I initiated eight years back.â€
live 1984 all over again in 2007.
dravidian lurker, don’t you mean 1975?
What the hell
Musharaff and all rulers of Middle East/Islamic nations have obliterated Islam’s image in the international community.
When will the U.S. learn and rethink its foreign policy? When will it understand the irrationality of Middle Eastern politics?
Unless the citizens of Pakistan take proactive steps through massive civil disobedience, democracy will not be possible.
I think Mia Musharraf has settled in for the long haul now. He clearly sees himself as indispensable to his country, and this is the perfect time for him to silence the judiciary, with the insurgency around Swat creating a general sense of insecurity in Pakistan.
The situation has an eerie similar to 1980, when Zia used tension created by a hijacking to proclaim a provisional constitution that silenced the judiciary. The US looked away then because Zia was fighting their fight against the Soviets. This time they will look away because Musharraf is fighting the militants for them. The Pakistani military might work towards that aim in the short term, but given its historical ties to Islamic fundamentalism, I don’t give their enthusiasm more than a few months.
Chachaji, if you are around, I’d love to hear what you have to say.
In the twisted drama that has played out in Pakistan for the last 50+ years, this isn’t anything new. but the sweeping power that Musharraf has got through this will surely make U.S happy – there isn’t anything better than friendly dictators. Too bad for the people of Pakistan, the violence is only going to get worse.
sakshi@6,
I sense a different kind of eerie similarity : Red mosque entry and now emergency in pakistan…..remember india’s troubled affair with golden temple and emergency. though time has been inverted but it it the same with the afghanistan problem which is kind of inverted too. And tomorrow is the first one day international between India and Pakistan in Guwahati
entire video of the speech given by musharraf after imposing emergency. though i do know hindi felt kind of weird to hear an urdu speech
sunzari writes: >>Unless the citizens of Pakistan take proactive steps through massive civil disobedience, democracy will not be possible.
Dear sunzari,
As a pre-requisite to civil disobedience, the populace needs to develop the intellectual and cultural traits that allow for questioning of status quo in all walks of life. That is, before civil disobedience can happen, there needs to be centuries or millenia of a tradition of questioning one’s religion, faith, culture, political and philosophical systems, and in the process, develop their own versions of religion, philosophy etc etc. A system that bars the questioning of basic principles laid down in a desert centuries ago cannot magically produce a populace that can question the status quo.
People don’t get what they want – they get what they deserve. I can see this playing out wonderfully since yesterday.
M. Nam
Surprise! Surprise! – “Emergency may delay Pakistan poll“.
As a Kashmiri from India, I can\’t help but feel a certain amount of schadenfreude, witnessing Pakistan\’s plight. They reap what they have sown in my beautiful Kashmir, since 1989. Their Frankenstein, created to \”bleed India via a thousand cuts\”, has finally begun to devour its master, slowly but surely. A shame indeed.
B. Raman’s take is on rediff’s front page. B Raman was in charge of counter intellgence for India (RAW) and always has a couple of points that were overlooked by others.
interestingly, on Late Edition with wolf blitzer, the republican arlen specter was far tougher on musharraf, and called for cutting off aid, than the democrat dianne feinstein, who was rather lenient and willing to give musharraf leeway for his “undemocratic” moves. specter wondered why bush hasn’t said anything yet. this is the same feinstein who recently signed a letter urging manmohan sing to “get tough” with burma and voiced concern (nothing wrong with that) over india’s military sales to the junta. this bit of the letter was interesting:
“Meanwhile, the Senators acknowledged India’s “geopolitical imperatives” and its desire to maintain good neighbourly relations with Myanmar. “We appreciate the threat posed by militant groups in northeastern India close to the Myanmar border. As the host to thousands of Burmese seeking refuge in India, the threat of an increasing torrent of refugees is certainly of serious concern to you,” they said. But, they added, any support for Myanmar’s current government will only aggravate these problems. “A stable, representative civilian government in Myanmar will be the best ally in addressing these problems,” the Senators said.”
so why doesn’t feinstein think that musharraf, who also has to put pakistan’s imperatives first, should be able to do this with the “stable, representative civilian govt” that she prescribed for burma?
I guess you would be of the view that once the army in Pakistan gets stronger after this, and they step up operations (covert, terrorist or open warfare) against India, India will deserve it?
because she’s a dumba$$.
How would India deserve that? Pakistan used the same people who are today blowing up pakistani troops to blow up Indian troops just a couple of years ago. If anything, it is true that conflict with India was an uniting factor for all Pakistanis, but the 1998 Kargil debacle and this grossly unpopular general are forcing Pakistanis to take a strong look at their domestic political sphere. If India was purposely destablilizing Pakistan currently, it would perhaps “deserve” some of that warfare you speak of, but they are not. Also, the strenght of the Pakistani military forces relies on teh willingness of Western suppliers, especially for those air force planes and navy ships, any country would be stupid during this political crises to deliver these kinds of goods. China, with its own ill intentions in regards to India of course will not fail Pakistan, but there is only so much they can do.
Future –
Ardy was responding to Moor Nam’s gloating. Moor Nam was of the opinion that Pakistan deserved whatever it got. Ardy’s response was that this could also be bad for India, and that was the case, would Moor Nam still believe that people get what they deserve?
Thanks Ennis. This situation in Pakistan could become quite bad for India. With the emergency (Mushy has declared it as the army chief, not as the President btw) the army becomes even more powerful. But Mushy and the Army has to also win back legitimacy in the eyes of the people. The whole reason that the army is so powerful in Pakistan is because of the ‘threat from India’ perception and nothing will work better to make people defocus from the emergency than a stepping up of conflicts with India. Thus there is a good chance that Army/ISI may get more active in its activities in the near future if this emergency gets prolonged.
Another scenario could also be if another general gets strong in Pakistan. So far it seems like Mushy has firm control over the army and there are no indications of anything but that, but in case it happens so, then we have a lot more unstable Pakistan, the possibility of the religious mullahs becoming more powerful and that will be quite bad for India.
My bad. Yes this definitely not a time for gloating for Indians. Musharraf is thought by many to be the architect of Kargil 98, but I hope at this point the Pakistani populace has come to see that India was not the aggressor then nor intends to be an aggresor in spite of what military rulers might have the nation believe. War would be disastrous for India, especially economically at this point and I believe India would avoid it unless there was a military crossing of the LOC or IB at which point there could be no other response than a military one.
I have hope that this Emergency will be different, that the people of Pakistan will respond in the streets and protest for change. Musharraf needs them at least if the US is going to desert him. What irks me the most is that there seems to be no one else to take the reigns other than Sharif and Bhutto in a restored democracy if that were to come about. If any of you read the washingtonpost.com, they have global opinion pieces on this, though some of them are weak ( a Persian columnist calls for the partition of Pakistan).
Yes. India’s foolhardiness in trying to build people-to-people contact with a populace where people’s freedom is not valued has fallen flat, and the generals whom they pissed off will get back at India, and Indians will deserve it. India should follow it’s own successful example of building relationships with the Burmese military, and give a thumbs up to the emergency in Pakistan. India should wish Musharraf all the best, and politely tell the world that “We don’t interfere in the internal affairs of another country“.
M. Nam
Moornam, I guess you can say when India did the morally right thing in Burma and criticized the generals, all it got was a Chinese naval base at its doorstep, but I don’t think the generals in Pakistan being in power will ever be good for India. Most of these people were soldiers during 1971 and that is a shame that they have not let go. Indian military officers who went to overseas officer training schools in the eighties with Pakistanis speak of the openness the Pakistanis had when they told the Indians that “we will get you back for that” referring to the dismemberment of Pakistan. There was no introspection as to how the Pakistani military created the situation where the one Pakistan reality became unbearable for half the population. As to a civilian leader being better, I think one would be, but a Bhutto or Sharif, both of whom were never taken seriously by the military would not do, but then I’m left wondering who would do? Would the Pakistani Army take any civilian seriously after this many years leading the country or flouting the rule of civilians when they did not have that authority?
Yeah right. If only foreign policy worked that way. You show a thumbs up to a general and it’s all good. The past is forgotten and they will leave us alone.
The Govt. of India [wisely] refused to condemn Dictator Musharraf’s imposition of Martial Law. Hopefully, GOI will exploit the lack of support emanating from across the border and squeeze the Hurriyat’s [Kashmiri separatist umbrella group]pro-Pakistan element into submission.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/11/04/top5.htm
The local desi channel 101.3FM had coverage on this in the news. They had calls to various people in Pakistan. Among other things that I remember (and could understand) – Rana Bhagwan Das (Is he Hindu? ) a supreme court justice said that out of 27 supreme court justices, only 7 have submitted Halaph (oath?) in favor of the emergency. The others are courting arrest by reporting to the court tomorrow, he included. There was a discussion on the rationale for the emergency but the Urdu was too complicated for me to understand. Also, Imran Khan, leader of one of the opposition parties was put under house arrest, but his whereabouts are now unknown.
The cool thing is that the emergency/martial law will not be able to shut down the flow of information. Let’s see.
Regarding the ‘Respect’ post – there was a reference to that article of the emergency as well. The speaker was head of the Supreme court bar – he said something to the effect that if Pres Musharraf was sincere about respecting the sanctity of the governmental office, he would not have adjudicated that those who insulted the supreme court justices be given a punishment of a single day, when the law mandates a punishment of at least 6 months. Apparently this was a reference to some past cases. Also, someone named Asma Jahangir is in deep shit apparently – house arrest and all. Monday will see a showdown.
Sorry guys, my knowledge of the language is very weak. For those in Toronto, I’d suggest you try out 101.3 fm or head on down to gerrard. The remarkable thing to me is the cogent commentary coming out of Pakistan on the subject – better than the usual pap served by XYZ the South asian correspondent stationed in Honolulu.
From NYT: This is a most unusual step. The ambassador is waaay out of line. Stuff like this is the only clue we have to know, what is going behind the scenes.
. A nasty and flammable situation indeed…
absurd thought – God of the Universe says let extremists rule
they will drag your country back to seventh century
absurd thought – God of the Universe wants all citizens beheaded
for most petty offenses let society collapse
absurd thought – God of the Universe thinks take all girls out of school
they can not be allowed to achieve more than a man
http://citizenwarrior2.blogspot.com
http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/
🙂 .