Student Action Committee issues call for the 4th

IS THERE STILL ROOM FOR HESITATION??

3^rd November 2007 – Martial Law was imposed on Pakistan

Independent-minded judges have been sacked & the Sovereign judiciary has been turned into a sham Institution

The Last Check on the Absolute Power of the Executive is Gone! The Last Voice of Justice has been Muffled

The Judges or anyone who argued for the cause of Justice face arrest. Who is helping the terrorists? Are they? Are we? No! It is the state of injustice that is helping the Terrorists!

No matter what is done, how many of our fellow citizens are Disappeared without explanation, how many civilians are killed in military operations, how many families are torn apart, how much the interests of the Pakistani people are harmed by following foreign directives, how many laws of state & humanity are broken

There is no one to question those in power anymore, no one to hold them accountable!

Welcome to the future: No Justice, No Accountability, Restricted Access to Information

Are we going to give up our fundamental rights without a fight?

We, the people of Pakistan, especially the students, have to prove that we are not so uncaring, self-absorbed & cowardly as to not speak up today!

There are conscientious people expressing dissent: common citizens, journalists, doctors, retired army officers & yes, even school children!

We have to ask ourselves - what is the protestors’ crime that the police attacks them with such extreme brutality, with tear gas & batons?

PROTESTING is not the real crime, the real crime is

the ATTACK ON THE JUDICIARY, the ABUSE OF OUR CIVIL RIGHTS & the ASSAULT ON THE MEDIA.

The uniform may be gone. The dates of lifting the emergency & holding elections may have been announced.

But unless the pre-Nov 3^rd JUDICIARY & CONSTITUTION are restored, PEMRA’s curbs on the MEDIA are removed, all POLITICAL PRISONERS are released with the charges against them dropped,

WE WILL BOYCOTT THE ELECTIONS

The youth of the nation (students as well as people in the labour force) must work towards a Pakistan governed by humane values, where there is no discrimination on the basis of race and class. With numerous lawyers & activists behind bars & extreme limits on the media, it is our job to create awareness & raise a moral cry in defense of justice, accountability & human rights. We call upon youth to take a stand & we call for the lifting of the ban on student unions, so that campuses can become a constructive arena, not for fighting the battles of political factions & leaders, but for peaceful, non-partisan, intellectual debate on methods to improve the lot of people in educational institutions & the country in general. This is a moment when our choices could make or break our nation. At this crossroads in Pakistan’s history, the nature of governance in the next few years will be determined.

MAKE A CHOICE. IF NOT NOW, WHEN? IF NOT US, WHO? Opt for Action, not Silence.

Only if we UNITE, have FAITH in our own power to change things for the better & move forward with DISCIPLINE, can we change our destiny.

WE INVITE STUDENTS & PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE, TO JOIN OUR

PROTEST RALLY ON 4^TH DECEMBER 2007, AT 3:00 PM OUTSIDE THE PRESS CLUB, LAHORE.

Student Action Committee. Lahore

Disclaimer: We represent students united against these injustices, from 21 educational institutions of Lahore. We are not affiliated with any political leader or party; rather, we represent the collective conscience of the students of Pakistan.

Please copy and distribute this to as many people as possible. Join us: sac.lahore@gmail.com.

Update on activities: httpp://pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com (Daily updates of relevant domestic and international developments); http://fastrising.blogspot.com (FAST), http://PURevoution.blogspot.com (PU)

Musharraf's oath a standing joke - Justice Rehman

(Courtesy DAWN)
Musharraf’s oath for the office of the president under suspended Constitution and by a judge who has himself taken oath under the Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) was a joke with the Constitution, says Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman of the Lahore High Court, who was among those judges who were invited to take oath under the Provincial Constitutional Order after Nov 3 but they refused.

“Such acts have no parallel in history. They can be only taken where there is a law of jungle,” he said.

Justice Rehman was on the Multan bench of the Lahore High Court when the emergency was imposed. Talking to Dawn by phone from Lahore, he said though he had taken oath as a permanent LHC judge only four days before the imposition of the PCO and at a time when his retirement was still eleven years away, it was his conscience that had restrained him from taking oath under the PCO.

He said had he taken oath, it would have pinched him forever that he had done something unconstitutional and illegal and against the decision of the seven-member Supreme Court bench that had directed the judges on Nov 3 not to take oath under the PCO.

Answering a question about the rejection of oath offer, Justice Rehman, who is the son of Justice Hamoodur Rehman, said that his family traditions did not allow him to take oath while it was also the matter of his conscience.

Pakistan's Moment of Truth - Sharif and Bhutto must boycott elections

U.S.- Iran Peace Project - ANALYSIS

December 3, 2007

When Benazir, leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party and Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) meet on December 3, their decision to participate in or boycott the January 8 parliamentary elections will impact the future of Pakistan for decades to come. It is a strange irony that Bhutto and Sharif, two former prime ministers that both failed to put Pakistan on a clear path to progress can now save Pakistan by denying themselves what they covet most-political power for themselves and their parties. For the greater good of Pakistan they must boycott Musharraf’s January 8 elections and dispel illusions of the grandeur of a false democracy. Bhutto and Sharif must shoulder the responsibility of true leadership by uniting the majority of opposition parties to demand the return of the legitimate Supreme Court and new elections in the early spring.

If Bhutto, Sharif, the opposition parties and the Pakistani people have learned anything from the nation’s failed experiments with democracy in the 1990’s, it is that civil society must lead the military. Pervez Musharraf by virtue of his actions cannot be trusted. Nor will Pakistan’s salvation be realized by entering a Faustian bargain with the United States, Russia or China who all seek to subvert Pakistan’s independence for their own geo-strategic interests.

Today, Pakistan is a nuclear failed state held together by a brutal and declining military dictatorship. Complicated by competing loyalties within its military and intelligence apparatus to extremist forces and torn by tension between its volatile Baloch, Kashmir and Pashtun communities, Pakistan has somehow managed to stumble to the doorstep of democracy. But the only way for Pakistan to emerge from this unique moment of challenge is for opposition party leaders to reject the crumbs of false democracy from Musharraf’s table and maintain a unified demand for true empowerment of the Pakistani majority.

As difficult as it may be for opposition forces to find unity in the din of national turmoil, an unprecedented opportunity now exists for Pakistan to create its own special democratic enterprise. The ability of Musharraf and the military to maintain their despotic rule rest on two pillars; naked force and a divided opposition. History has proved that even the most barbaric regimes cannot maintain power once the people decide they are no longer willing to endure oppression. Musharraf has all but exhausted the limits of naked brutality with emergency rule and the bloody suppression of pro-democracy forces. On the other hand, the opposition has the power to overcome its divisions and not furnish the means of their own political destruction.

It is doubtful that Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif will rise to the historic moment at hand. Their past history of naked power grabs at the expense of the Pakistanti people does not bode well. Thus, all opposition parties and leaders committed to boycotting the January elections must do everything possible to pressure Bhutto and Sharif from capitulating to Musharraf and the military. The Musharraf regime is weak and deteriorating in Pakistan and in the eyes of the international community. The hour of truth has arrived in Pakistan. We trust that the Pakistani people will seize the moment, with or without Bhutto and Sharif.

********************************

Webster Brooks 111 is the Editor of the US-Iran Peace Project's website: www.usiranpeace.com His articles have been published in newspapers, websites and blogs across the Middle East and in the United States. US.-Iran Peace advocates the restoration of full diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran.

An Unlikely Visitor gives Musharraf support

By Marc Perelman

A few days before Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte traveled to Islamabad last week to impress upon General Pervez Musharraf the need to restore
democratic rule in Pakistan, another American envoy quietly landed in the capital to chat with the Pakistani president and army chief.
With the blessing of Washington, Jack Rosen, chairman of the American Jewish Congress's Council for World Jewry, traveled halfway across the globe for a
face-to-face meeting with Musharraf, who he had hailed two years ago as a courageous leader and driving force in Jewish-Muslim dialogue.
While nearly all major Jewish groups have altogether avoided the issue of Pakistan, Rosen has offered outspoken support for the country's embattled president.
"The real choice we face is not between Musharraf and a return to an effective democratic system, but between Musharraf and the possible collapse of Pakistan,"

Aitzaz's detention orders extended

(Courtesy The News)
LAHORE: The Punjab government on Sunday extended the detention orders of Supreme Court Bar Association President Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, sources in the Home Department said.

They said since the Punjab government did not receive any instructions from the Interior Ministry in this regard, so it was decided to extend Aitzaz’s detention orders. Atizaz’s detention orders were issued under 3 MPO for 30 days. He was to be released on December 3, but the government extended his detention orders for another 30 days.

Meanwhile SCBA Media Advisor Azhar Siddique also confirmed that the government had extended Aitzaz’s detention period. He said the Balochistan government had also extended the detention orders of Balochistan Bar Council President Baz Muhammad Kakar and Quetta High Court Bar Association President Haji Muhammad Shakil for 15 days each.

Student Protest in Islamabad on the 4th

Pakistan Youth Alliance and the Student Action Committee are jointly organizing a peaceful protest on Tuesday, 4^th December at 3:00 p.m, Aabpara Chowk in Islamabad.

Our demands will be:

• Restoration of the judiciary ( re-wind to November 2^nd )
• A complete election boycott (a more detailed article on this subject will follow)
• Free media

This is an open call to all those who agree with the demands stated above.

WAF Gathering on the 3rd of December

To sustain the momentum of the movement, WAF is organizing its next

event on 3rd December at 3pm. This will be a gathering of people

(women, men, students, lawyers, political parties etc) in which the

participants will sit in circles, for a session of songs, poems, skits

etc. Our focus will be on the restoration of the judiciary.



Venue: Lawrence Garden, Baghi-Jinnah behind Quaid-e-Azam Library

Date: 3rd December 2007 (Monday)

Time: 3:00 p.m



You are cordially invite to come and participate in the event



R.S.V.P

Neelam Hussain- 0300-4800360

Naila Naz- 0300-4536313