Today in Pakistan, lawyers protested their country’s state of Emergency and were punished for it. Via Bloomberg:
Pakistani police charged with clubs and arrested more than 150 lawyers challenging President Pervez Musharraf’s emergency rule as the U.S. said it was reviewing military aid to the country in response to the decree.
Police beat lawyers and used tear gas to disperse protesters in cities across Pakistan. Stocks slumped amid speculation that Musharraf was arrested in a coup today, which the military denied, saying it was a rumor.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, in Beijing for talks with the Chinese government, called on Musharraf to restore democratic rule. Musharraf suspended the constitution on Nov. 3 for the second time since he took power in a 1999 military coup, saying judicial interference in government affairs had sparked terrorism and extremism throughout the country.
I’m sure Mushie is just petrified after hearing this from Condi:
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in the West bank city of Ramallah today that Musharraf should restore Pakistan’s democratic institutions “quickly and urgently.” She has said the Bush administration will review its financial aid of more than $1 billion a year to Pakistan.
And props to the UN, for reminding us of the obvious:
“A state of emergency should only be used to deal with a dire security threat to the nation, not to undermine the integrity and independence of the judiciary,” the United Nations High Commissioner Louise Arbour said today in an e-mailed statement.
According to the remainder of the article, the number of detainees is in four digits, court is off-limits to lawyers, Imran Khan has gone underground, judges are under house arrest and Pakistanis who are brave enough to lift their voices in protest are being gassed and beaten for doing so.
Citizens and journalists staged a protest outside the Karachi Press Club today, where they wore black armbands and shouted slogans against the government. Heavy contingents of police beat protesters.
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If you want to read The Emergency Times, i.e. what was/is on pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com, go here. I’m mirroring the often unavailable blog posts which one of you thoughtfully passed on to me via email, out of solidarity.
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Unity is mutinous.
This whole thing is extremely disturbing. But not more disturbing than Condi telling Mushy to “Take off his uniform”. WTF? All that before a dinner and movie??
Yet again we are reminded that the lawyers are the last line of defense in a authoritarian take over.
but not if there exists no valid, much less unbiased and law-respecting, forum in which to make their arguments….
What a mess. I know the Indian High Court lawyers and the Pakistan High Court lawyers are friends- like, they play cricket games together- and I’ve hung out with many of the wives of Pakistani lawyers when they’ve visited India. They are NOT people who will take risks for no reason. I can’t even picture them in this kind of scenario.. Pakistani lawyers are respected professionals with families and are among some of the most confident people I’ve met.
I wish I could say that Benazir is a nimbus of hope. But as most Pakistanis well know, she ran a corrupt castle which embezzled vast amounts of cash. I say its time for some fresh faces.
Meenakshi – LOL! 🙂
I just did a lecture on contemporary Pakistan in class today and had some discussion on the trend over the last decades for the country’s continual dialectic between populist politics and military dictatorship. Ayesha Jalal’s ideas on this as having to do with Pakistan’s political discontinuities in the transition from colonial to post colonial government (unlike India which experienced much greater political continuity – c/o Indian National Congress) is certainly interesting although I doubt that it explains everything.
Meenakshi, I’m laughing. Condi ended up being paired with our Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter McKay, when she visited Canada because they had dinner together. He’s the zenith of Conservative, and the thought of him being with a woman of colour who is theoretically more powerful than him likely gave him apoplexy. Strenous denials on both sides.
Note to Anna: above “Jasmine” isn’t me. 😉
xo M
yes sir, your honor. i think you meant a sound, unbiased, and healthy legal system.
The lawyers should switch to light colors for rioting, they’ll get heat stroke dressed like butlers which will leave the police/army broken hearted for not getting the chance to use their lathis
On a more serious note, can someone help me understand what the record of Chaudhry and other SC justices is in matters not relating to Pakistani sovereignty and governance? I went online and saw some favorable rulings in the widely covered rape cases, but I want to know that these guys didn’t just become scrupulous when they found the U.S. demands to be objectionable
Specifically, I would like to know the record of Chaudhry and others in matters related to the infamous “blasphemy laws”. Is that a rope or a snake?
M. Nam
US is playing double game one way they are providing the money and other way forcing the General to step down. Here in this NY Times article it says
Chaudhry, a Punjabi, followed Musharraf after his first coup and swore an oath under the 1999 Provisional Constitutional Order (after a coup, the general issues a PCO. All judges have to swear an oath on it. Those that don’t are canned). So he’s not inherently anti-Musharraf.
Two possible cases that led to the Chaudhry-Musharraf falling-out. First, the privatization of Pakistan Steel Mills and its sale to a friend of Foriegn Minister Shaukat Aziz (you can look on Sepia Mutiny for what Aziz ios most famous for — it all comes back to Condy). Chaudhry ruled that the privatization was not legal — some say the deal was a real steel.
Second, the court will soon rule on some cases brought forth by the Pakistani Human Rights Commission (Asma Jehangir, who has been arrested) about illegal detention and disapearances as well as possible abductions of Pakistanis by American personnel.
I’m not sure which is worse — but obviously in the popular press it was spun as Musharraf trying to stop corruption investigations against his allies. You can easily google to find out more.
I like to add Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is backed by all opposition political parties. His defense lawyer was Aitzaz Ahsan (veteran PPP man).
MoorNam — Do you mean the Hisba Bill passed by the MMA (religious party) government to create a Taliban style morality police in the province? Musharraf contested its’ legality in the Supreme Court and the Bill was unanimously disallowed. See “Reference by the President of Pakistan under Article 186 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973” in the Supreme Court website.
I am not well versed in Pakistani politics, can someone who knows more explain, what exactly is happening in Pakistan? Is the Musharraf regime in a danger of imminent collapse? If that happens who will take his place?
MoorNam – The Draconian Blasphemy Laws of Pakistan are alive and Well, sadly. Wikipedia – “The blasphemy law in Pakistan is found in several sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including Section 295 B and C and 298 A, B, and C. It imposes a variety of penalties for different forms of blasphemy, including the death penalty for anyone found to have “by words or visible representation or by an imputation or insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiled the name of the Muhammad of Islam”. Similarly anyone blamed as a blasphemer against the Koran would be awarded life imprisonment under section 295/C.”
16 Yogi:
Those are all million dollar questions, yaar.
We’re not Brahma, although maybe we should start Pakistani predictions pool.
you can see the anti-indian attitude even within anti-establishment blogs :
[quote] If you thought this is an emergency only now and we were free before:
Mulla ko jo hai hind mey sajday ki ijazzat Nadaan samjhta hai kay Azaad ha Islam [/unquote]
!
Could someone please translate that? I obviously have no idea what it means.
Re # 17 – the correct link – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_Pakistan
Anna – it isnt anything hurtful, but seems to be a jab and doesnt quite make sense to me. It translates roughly to, “The Mullah has the right to pray in Hind (or India), but he is foolish to think that his religion is free.”
it essentially says that The mullah is delusional if he thinks that freedom to practice his religion in India means Islam is free there.
Even when the Indian government is paying for your trip to Mecca?
Oh I don’t mean that to be inflammatory, since I just noticed it could be construed that way. It’s a play on the notion of Islam not being ‘free’ to practice in India.
Am I the only one who sees a weird similarity between the current emergency in Pakistan and the runup to the 1971 crisis between East and West Pakistan?
Oh and my father and I were talking about if a military dictatorship like this would ever happen in India… of course he lived in India for much longer and a different time than I did, but I don’t think it’s possible, and he does, “if the politicians are this bad.”
That’s becasue it’s not a jab at India, or representative of an anti-India view. It’s a poem by Allama Iqbal, who died before partition. The “hind” refers to all of British India. You can find the whole thing here
Obviously the whole Iqbal poem has a different meaning, but from the rest of the blog post, it’s about not deluding yourself that the limited freedom you have means that you are truly free.
All politics in Pakistan, (well — everything important), is accompanied with poetry. Do they do the same thing in India?
(I think. I’m a barely functional illiterate in Urdu)
very nice. i quite enjoyed that. thank you.
Do they do the same thing in India?
Yes, often in India too.
AB Vajpayee is known for his poetic digressions in public speeches.
Ah, here we go, some commentary
India here means British India.
hey anna, i am very dissapointed with your website. i left some constructive criticism for amardeep. guess what happened. he deleted the comment and then banned me from leaving further comments. i thought this was a site where there was free flow of ideas. but i guess not. sepia mutiny = musharraf 🙁
aha. “azaad hai hindustan” makes much more sense than “azaad hai islam”. The latter does not need permission in so much that faith is unconditional.
I defer to a Pakistani to answer, but I don’t see it. The current Pakistan is a physically contiguous area and the “ethnic distance”, to coin a phrase, between Punjabi/Sindhi/Mohajirs/Baluchs/Pashtuns doesn’t seem as great as it was between West Pakistanis and East Pakistani Bengali’s in 1971. Are you suggesting that some of the generals who are sympathetic to the fundamentalists might break away in the NWFP ? It would be suicide…unlike in 1971 where there were many countries willing to accept the legitimacy of Bangladesh
I know you’re upset, but this just makes a mockery of innocent people in Pakistan who are being tear gassed and having their heads split open by batons, merely because they have the temerity to stand up for justice. Even if SM sucks, that sort of statement is just not right. 🙁
I must say, Amardeep is probably the nicest mutineer– I don’t know the content of the removed comment, but we only delete if our policy is violated and we only ban if necessary.
Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists Press Release, issued by its Secretary General Mazhar Abbas
JOURNALISTS DETAINED, BEATEN, PREVENTED FROM COVERAGE
i thought this was a site where there was free flow of ideas.
Well, my curiousity is well and truly piqued. What could one say that would result in a banned comment on SM? Unfortunately, we’ll never know 😉
Hope this situation doesn’t deteriorate any further!! Musharraf seems to be a sensible guy in spite of all that is objectionable about him. But I guess what is sensible to him at this point might be outrageous and unacceptable to most people.
From BBC about peoples reactions
I wonder how much of this is true, for instance what has Mushy done of the 300 soldiers in taliban captivity. But I do agree Mushy is the most capable person afaik, cant think of anyone who could do this job.
It’s a play on Iqbal’s poem.
“Mulla ko jo hai hind mey sajday ki ijazzat, Nadaan samjhta hai kay Azaad ha Islam” “Just because the Mulla has permission to pray in India, the fool thinks Islam is free there”
This is something Islamic fundamentalists quote in their never-ending search for conquest in India.
There are many such very interesting quotes. Another one directed to non-Muslim Kashmiris in Kashmir; apparently using mosque loudspeakers:
“Kashmir mein rehna hai to allahu-akbar kehna hai” If you want to live in Kashmir, you have to become Muslim (accept Islam).
And on and on..
The well educated Pakistanis always liked Musharaf. Also, US will continue to give aid to Pakistan for fight against terrorism. US wont play much role in restoring democracy or dethroning Musharaf. do you think if somebody like Nawaj Sharif or Bhutto will come in power, anything is going to change for pakistan.
Indian’s idea of “constructive criticism” is laughable.
Fair disagreement is always tolerated, even if I sometimes get grumpy about it and even if I find the point of view expressed in certain comments difficult to stomach (see recent posts on Guha to see just how much disagreement you’ll find there).
But comments to the effect of, “ha ha, you suck, you ABCD brats” are not tolerated, and why should they be? Deleting insulting comments on a private blog is not censorship, it’s moderation. If we didn’t do it, our comments would be unreadable and unbearable.
That’s enough from me — no more feeding the troll. Better to focus on real problems, is it not?
It does seem that way. Thanks for going out of your way to explain.
Mulla ko jo hai hind mey sajday ki ijazzat, Nadaan samjhta hai kay Azaad ha Islam”
Another interpretation – to do sajda is the kneeling and bowing part of prayer. So just becuase the Mullah is permited to kneel (To the British?), he thinks he is Islam is free.
In any case, a poem can have a 100 different meanings.
Arjun wrote:
This is something Islamic fundamentalists quote in their never-ending search for conquest in India.
Which Islamic fundamentalists are you talking about? Iqbal probably wrote this betwenn 1910 and 1938. Was it Maududi who used the couplet in that way? It can’t have been post-partition, given Pakistani attitudes towarss Indian Muslims.
Arjun also wrote Kashmir mein rehna hai to allahu-akbar kehna hai”
That’s not poetry — just becuase it rhymes doesn’t make it Shayaree. It’s about on par with “Pakistan jao ya Kabristan Jao” – Go to Pakistan or die (go to the graveyard). or “Desh ka Neta kaun hai, Atal Behari Vajpayee.”. or “one, two, three, four, we don’t want your stinking war”. That’s just crap.
louiecypher-
I was referring to the general feeling of “hmm, I don’t much care for how things are going for the government I’m running, guess I’ll just shut it down to prevent losing any power.”
I know this is a VERY general, non-expert opinion…I haven’t done as much reading on it as I would like and you certainly could be closer to being right than I am…it was something that had been bothering me the past couple days.
dravidian lurker, pointing out instances of corrupt people within the judicial system like Alberto Gonzalez could be saved for another time and on another thread, don’t ya think?
The fact is, the lawyers, journalists and human rights activists who have been arrested in Pakistan acted together with the judiciary to try to maintain a balance against the military in Pakistan.
I doubt any of the corrupt lawyers which seems to be the popular image of those in the legal profession are among those who protested and were arrested. They would have probably already left the country or will have gone underground.
I know we’ve got a reputation for being the most snivelling, bloodsucking and least liked profession out there, but maybe now, we could just take a moment to salute the court lawyers who, dressed in court garb, defended the rule of law and their fellow citizens’ democratic freedom until there was only rubble left to throw at the riot police before being thrown into prison vans like animals and herded into prisons where many are now invariably being tortured.
I don’t know if anyone has read ‘The Shock Doctrine’ by Naomi Klein (haven’t finished it completely mysellf) but Musarraf-just-call-me-Bushie’s-puppet’s pathetic actions and Condi’s coy ‘oh, I guess we’ll just have to review our little tryst’ wrist-slapping are another ominous reminder that the war on terror is the most terrifying enemy of all.
The lesson we all need to learn from this ’emergency’ is that we need to cut back on ‘lawyer jokes’, ‘tort reforms’, ‘generally ridiculing lawyers’.
As we see in Pakistan, when the government turns against you, the lawyers will become your soldiers and defend freedom.
The lawyers are our bayonets; the judicial codes are our helmets, court houses are our barracks, the judges are soldiers. This common law guards my democracy. Your honor, our journey is our destiny, the end is freedom.
Disclaimer: The above poem is not Anti India or Anti-Hindu.
well, my comment was only a response to what i think is an overblown statement praising every lawyer as a dedicated soldier for my freedom. and yes, saying that does not negate the facts that there are clearly lots of brave lawyers and many other folks – bloggers, activists etc. who are putting their liberty and potentially life on the line. i doubt that i would have the courage to do the same if i were in their shoes.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T!. and no more jokes about pathetic computer geeks sitting in their underwear in front of dimly lit monitors either.
well, my comment was only a response to what i think is an overblown statement praising every lawyer as a dedicated soldier for my freedom.
When Giuliani suspends the constitution, the lawyers will lead the resistance in the US as well. At this hour of peril, I urge all Americans to stop making lawyer jokes.