Lawyers Continue to Protest the Musharraf Dictatorial Regime in Pakistan

Pakistan's Supreme Court repeals former judges' decision on emergency

www.chinaview.cn 2007-11-06 19:51:55

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) --

The eight-member full court of the Supreme Court (SC) Tuesday declared a seven-judge decision against the declaration of emergency as null and void, according to local press reports.

The full court ruled that the decision was null and void as it was taken after the declaration of emergency but those made the decision were no longer judges with the declaration of emergency.

It was binding for the said seven judges to take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) to continue as the judges of the Supreme Court but they did not, and ceased as judges, the ruling said.

The petition against the decision of the former judges of the Supreme Court was filed by Attorney General Justice (Retd) Malik Abdul Qayyum.

Lawyers in major Pakistani cities rally against emergency rule

www.chinaview.cn 2007-11-05 18:39:42 Print

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) --

Lawyers in major Pakistani cities Monday staged protest demonstrations against the imposition of emergency in the country and some of them were arrested.

According to local press reports, the biggest protest was in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, where a number of lawyers were injured and arrested after police launched teargas shells at around 1,000 protesters outside the high court.

In the southern port city of Karachi, some lawyers protesting outside the Sindh High Court (SHC) were arrested while gathering in front of the SHC and voiced slogans against the emergency.

The police has arrested Justice Sabihuddin Ahmad's son Barrister Salahuddin Ahmad and some other lawyers from the SHC cafeteria, who were later shifted to unknown place in police van, according to the reports.

Since the declaration of the state of emergency Saturday, the judges, who didn't take oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order, have been kept confined to their houses and despite all restrictions the lawyer community boycotted the courts Monday.

Lawyers in the northwestern city of Peshawar and the Pakistani capital of Islamabad also observed strike against the impositions of emergency in the country, while heavy contingents of police were posted near the compounds of the courts.

In Islamabad, roads leading to the Supreme Court, the Prime Minister Secretariat, the President House, the Parliament, the Pak Secretariat and the diplomatic enclaves have kept closed. Barbed wires have been laid on the roads and by lanes.

Citizens in Islamabad and its twin-city Rawalpindi since the imposition of emergency remained in a state of uncertainty, while the attendance in the educational institutions was seen thin at the beginning of the new week.

However, shops in the capital opened as usual.

Editor: Song Shutao

***

Pakistan's ousted top judge urges revolt

By STEPHEN GRAHAM Associated Press Writer

Nov 6, 2007, 4:30 PM EST

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) --

Pakistan's chief justice (who was deposed by the puppet dictaor ruling the country) called on lawyers Tuesday to revolt against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule and a crackdown on the opposition that has left thousands under arrest.

The (dictatorial) government considered a delay in parliamentary elections despite Western (phony) demands they be held on schedule in January to bring democracy to a nuclear-armed country dogged by political uncertainty and rising Islamic militancy.

Musharraf's crackdown has been aimed at lawyers and liberal political activists opposing his rule. The Supreme Court, in particular, had chipped away at his powers this year.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry has been under house arrest since Saturday night. But he managed to address hundreds of lawyers using a cell phone from his Islamabad residence, which he said was surrounded by security forces.

"Go to every corner of Pakistan and give the message that this is the time to sacrifice," Chaudhry said over loudspeakers. "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."

Attorneys gathered at the Islamabad Bar Association cheered.

"Chaudhry! Chaudhry!" they chanted. "Musharraf is a criminal! We will not accept uniforms or bullets!"

Moments later, mobile phone service cut off in Islamabad, but Chaudhry's message had already been recorded as an MP3 file. It spread swiftly, and local TV stations aired it via satellite. Cell phone service resumed hours later.

After Chaudhry spoke, hundreds of police in the central city of Multan blocked about 1,000 lawyers from leaving a district court complex to stage a street rally in defiance of a ban on protests. Both sides pelted each other with stones and officers swung clubs to scatter the crowd.

At least three lawyers and three officers were injured, some bleeding from the head. Violence also was reported at a rally by lawyers in the eastern city of Gujranwala.

The clashes marked the second straight day of unrest since emergency rule was declared Saturday by Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup. He has ousted independent-minded judges, put a stranglehold on the media and granted sweeping powers to authorities to crush dissent.

Many of those detained have been lawyers, who have been in the forefront of protests against the military ruler, but opposition party supporters and human rights activists also are under arrest. The government says about 2,500 were detained; the opposition says 3,500.

A Pakistani Cabinet minister said the government discussed delaying the election by no more than three months, but added that no decision was made. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the issue to the media.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who returned to Pakistan last month to lead her party in the parliamentary elections following eight years in self-imposed exile, claimed the government had already decided to delay the ballot by one to two years.

"They have not announced it as such, (but) I know this from the inside," she told Associated Press Television News, but provided no details of the source of her information.

Bhutto said that "in the given circumstances," she had no plans to meet with Musharraf, with whom she had been negotiating on forming a political alliance of moderates to compete in the elections.

Musharraf's emergency decree pre-empted a pending Supreme Court ruling on whether it was legal for legislators to re-elect him to a new five-year term as president last month while he simultaneously serves as army chief.

Lawyers led successful protests earlier this year for the reinstatement of Chaudhry after Musharraf tried to fire the chief justice.

However, there is no sign yet that the lawyers' renewed agitation will spread to enough of Pakistan's 160 million people to persuade Musharraf to back down. While resentment of military rule has grown, many people are skeptical of Bhutto and other opposition leaders whose stints in power are remembered for corruption and incompetence.

The authoritarian turn has embarrassed even (Musharraf's handlers) close Western allies, who have justified pouring billions of dollars in aid into Pakistan with his pledges to restore democracy.

President Bush urged Musharraf on Monday to "hurry back" to elections and quit the military.

But there was no plea to bring back the ousted judges, suggesting Washington was still willing to work with Musharraf as a civilian president with sweeping powers.

So far, only the Netherlands has punished Pakistan, freezing most of its development aid. The United States has said it will review the billions it gives to Pakistan, but it appears unlikely Washington will cut military assistance.

---

Associated Press writers Munir Ahmad, Zarar Khan and Sadaqat Jan in Islamabad, Ashraf Khan in Karachi, Khalid Tanveer in Multan and Zia Khan in Lahore contributed to this report.

Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.