Photos, account of Protest in Dublin

Dublin: (Dec 1) A big pro-democracy protest was held outside the Irish Parliament House on Saturday afternoon. It was organized by a group of conscientious Pakistani citizens which drew a large number of protestors who came to express solidarity with the deposed judges and called for their immediate reinstatement. The speakers on this occasion demanded lifting of Martial Law in Pakistan. They included important members of the Irish Parliament as well. The speakers called to boycott, what they called 'fraudulent' elections under a dictatorship, while rejecting the controversial PCO and called for restoration of the country's constitution.

The protestors chanted anti-Musharraf slogans and held placards decrying dictatorship under President Parvez Musharraf and opposed his repressive and tyrannical rule in the strongest terms. They called for lifting of curbs on media and release of all judges, lawyers and political prisoners and urged the Pakistan government to respect democratic norms.

This was the largest political protest held in Dublin by the Pakistani community. The last rally in Dublin took place on November 9. With the increase in number of protests and world-wide condemnation of Pakistan's unpopular dictator it appears that pressure is now building up on President Musharaf to force him to finally step down from office, a controversial position which he has managed to hold on for the last nine years. (Uzair Kundi reports)

Boycotting Elections

Dr. Faisal Bari

Ms. Bhutto and Maulana Fazlur Rahman have hinted that they are not convinced that elections should be boycotted as that would leave the field open for Muslim League-Q, and Musharraf will again have a Q-League government and without any effective opposition in the assemblies even. They have also hinted at the fact that they learnt their lessons about boycotts from the 1985 non-party election.

But this seems like a very strange argument to make. The two of them seem to be saying that even though we know that there is a martial law in the country, there is no independent judiciary or an independent election commission, there are no basic rights, there is no constitution, the whimsies of one person, backed by the military might of a standing army, is the law, and there is no hope even of things changing before elections, we should still go for elections. The hope that Ms. Bhutto is expressing, is of course, that though she knows she will not get a fair deal, but she would rather fight this election and then come into power and change the system from within.

This seems like a really bad and far fetched argument. If Musharraf is not willing to give all parties a fair shot at the polls now, why will he allow anyone to change anything if he is able to get quite a few Q-Leaguers in the assemblies? And if the hope is that Musharraf will become toothless once he gives up his uniform and then, only as a President, he can be dealt with, the hope is unfounded. What is going to stop the next General from playing the same game?

Even regarding the 1985 elections, it is not clear what lesson has Benazir learnt from it and if this was even the right lesson to learn. The boycott of the 1985 election did reduce the credibility of the election and it was only in 3 years that we were at polls again. And not only that, it was partially the 1985 boycott that allowed Benazir to make a significant comeback in the 1988 elections. But even more to the point, Benazir won in 1988, but came into power after making quite a few compromises, was she able to change the system then? Fighting elections under the present situation, when the system is totally stacked against politicians, even if she wins, will she be able to do anything at all?

Right now the world has seen and knows very clearly that this entire issue of imposition of martial law was wrong and misguided. And even though the US needs Musharraf to do its dirty work and kill more Pakistanis, it still cannot justify what Musharraf did 3 weeks ago. They, even if for form sake only, have to continuously say that martial law should be removed, and the constitution and basic rights restored. For the rest of the world, as expressed by the Commonwealth and even some individual countries, what Musharraf did was completely wrong. Surveys show that the majority of Pakistanis also think that the imposition of the martial law was unwarranted and unjustified. Under the circumstances if the bigger parties of Pakistan, PPP, PML-N, the Jamaat, JUI and so on, boycott the elections, and if elections go ahead under these circumstances, there will be no credibility for these elections anywhere in the world. Musharraf might succeed in bringing his selected group back in power, but it is very unlikely that that arrangement will work beyond a few days or a few months.

On a matter of principle too, if the aim is to get democratic rule established and entrenched in Pakistan, a boycott of the elections, under the present conditions, is the only choice open for political parties. If political parties agree to contest the elections under martial law, and with the judiciary as it is, they will only legitimize what Musharraf has done. As it is, just the fact that most parties have chosen to file nomination papers before deciding about the boycott, has led many people in the administration and the Q-League to say that this act of filing nomination papers implies that these parties have accepted the legality of what was done by Musharaf on November 3rd. If the parties go ahead and fight the elections, they will definitely legitimize the martial law. In fact, one of the first acts the incoming parliament will have to do, even before it can start functioning properly, will be to indemnify all actions taken by Musharraf. And they will have to do it because their own elections will also only be valid if they indemnify all other actions as well. This has been done by dictators before too, and it will be tried by other dictators in the future too. And as long as they can find enough collaborators, they will be able to get away with this. Do the current political parties want to give Musharraf this way out of the crisis?

A lot of people think that politics is 'the art of the possible' and it is all about expediency. But it is not clear what is meant by expediency here. If expediency just means that the sole aim of the game is to be a minister or a prime minister or to have some such title, then clearly, expediency dictates that all parties collaborate with Musharraf and not just contest elections but actually do so in coalition with Musharraf. If people know that a certain party has the backing of the agencies, the chances of that party winning seem to increase significantly. And what Q-League, Patriots and others did in 2002 was then the height of expediency and a pretty smart move. What MMA did to help pass the 17th Amendment also then makes sense: MMA had two governments in the provinces as well as the position of the leader of the opposition. But if this is the game, why do we need elections even? Why not have a Shoora of selected people?

If expediency is anything other than the very narrow objective of being in power tomorrow then certain principles will have to make their way into the calculus as well. If the objective of the politicians is to establish a system that creates a reasonably well functioning representative system that allows people some power to articulate their demands and some ability to elect people on that basis, then the foundational principles of such a system will have to be established for all and will have to be grounded beyond question. Rule based on a constitution and a judiciary that can effectively check to ensure that the constitution is being followed are the bare minimum for such a system. If these two are compromised, how do you know when some ground rules have been altered unfairly, and who would you appeal to for arbitration? This is the situation right now. There is no constitution, there is no rule of law, there are no judges one can appeal to and there is not even a free media around that can make the voices of the weak heard. How can going for elections under these conditions be taken as a way of strengthening democracy? Forgetting principles, even expediency, which is not just based on the aim of being in power, would dictate that boycotting the elections is the only way out of the current crisis.

If all political parties do not boycott the elections, and it is clear that Q-League and MQM are not going to boycott, those who do might have to pay a price for it for some time. Maybe this is not too high a price to pay for principles. If the larger parties, especially PML-N and PPP boycott the elections, the credibility of the process will suffer and the cost might not be very large for all. Even this cost seems to be high for some parties (Ms. Bhutto and the Maulana). But if the larger parties do not boycott the elections and accept the current conditions and then go to polls in January, the country will definitely lose big-time and for years and years to come. The choice for the politicians seems clear. Let us see how the game unfolds.

E-mail: faisal@nation.com.pk

Video of Student Rally at Liberty Chowk

[StudentSpeeches&NationalAnthem] - Students Action Committee Mass Protest at Liberty, Lahore - 30Nov07 - [http://ale-xpressed.bl from formanite10 on Vimeo.

Imran Khan calls on Pakistani Youth to rise

Imran Khan speaks at Students Convention at Ichrra, Lahore - 30Nov07 - [http://ale-xpressed.blogspot.com] from formanite10 on Vimeo.

Ideals and Expediency?

By Muneer A. Malik:
Retrieved: Dawn, June 27, 2007

In my first article about the current lawyers’ movement, I had countered sceptics convinced of its ultimate futility by reminding them that the longest journey starts with a single step.

Now, as the movement grows from strength to strength; as hundreds of thousands of people turn up to show their support from Abbottabad to Lahore, Peshawar to Chakwal; as an increasingly desperate regime seeks refuge behind the corps commanders, I have still not been approached by any intermediary seeking to broker a compromise.

To save everyone’s time, let me make the bar’s position absolutely clear. The demands of the bar are non-negotiable and brook no compromise. This is because of the inherent nature of this movement.

To begin with, what are the objectives of our movement? Firstly, it is about changing the mindsets of our people. Throughout our history, the masses have viewed the bureaucracy, the military and the judiciary as part of the same ruling elite, cooperating with each other to subjugate the people. The minds of the masses have been inoculated against the concept of true justice. We were taught obedience at the cost of our liberty and independence.

This mindset is a hangover from our colonial past. These institutions were created by the British as a means of controlling the civilian populace. They were manned by Englishmen from the same background taught to venerate the same ideal — the preservation of the Raj.

Judges and ICS officers were not meant to empower the masses and improve their lot, they were there to keep the peace so the British could continue, unhindered, with their commercial exploitation and empire building. Likewise, the army’s primary role was internal not external. Their job was to quell local rebellions that could threaten British dominance. Alas! This role remains the same.

Decentralisation and separation of powers were never on the agenda. When a few thousand Englishmen set out to establish total control over a land of three hundred million people, any localised pockets of power could have proved fatal. A division of powers between the different institutions of state would be suicidal.

Our fight is for a separation of powers, for constitutionalism, for the principle that all men are equal before the law and for the ideal that the pen is mightier than the sword.

Thus the DC ruled his district (with the willing cooperation of the local elite, the feudal lords) with a free hand and without any constraints. His basic job was to keep the people quiet and subservient to imperial dictates.

If populist leaders, like Muhammad Ali Jinnah, B.G. Tilak or M.K. Gandhi, became too noisy, he knew he could always call upon his willing brothers in the judiciary to convict them for sedition or banish them from the practice of law. If matters went further, the likes of General Dyer would bail him out by shooting a few hundred natives for the restoration of ‘peace’.

The supposed impartiality and independence of judges in the colonial era is a complete myth. Of course, they were neutral when deciding land disputes between two natives. But when the interests of the Raj were at stake, when the interests of the people collided with those of their colonial masters, they never let their government down. Unfortunately, our nation’s independence and the departure of the British did not bring their system of governance to an end. Rather, a ‘coloured’ ruling establishment quietly stepped into the shoes of their departing masters and adopted their practices and beliefs. After all, it was more civilised to be an Englishman, notwithstanding that you were not admitted to their clubs unless you served as a waiter.

As a result, concepts such as the rule of law or the independence of the judiciary never took root in the minds of our people. We were never convinced that the judiciary’s true function was to guard the rights of the people and to protect the masses from oppression.

The first aim of our struggle is to change those beliefs. We seek to convince the masses that the courts are not there only to adjudicate property disputes between rich landowners or the competing commercial interests of multinational corporations, but that a truly independent judiciary will allow the common man to realise his fundamental rights. That judges with security of tenure will be fearless enough to administer true justice. That such judges will protect them from the abusive exercise of power by the wadera, the ‘seth’ or the SHO.

We seek to inculcate the belief that laws are not meant to be jealously preserved in jurisprudential tomes but to be applied, by activist judges, for the protection of the common man, and that the rule of law is an idea worth fighting for. To do so, we have to change the mindset of our judges about their true duties and functions. This is our second aim. For too long they have functioned as if they were part of our military-bureaucracy, and now the plundering capitalist (the attempted sale of the Steel Mills being a case in point), establishment. They need to realise that they are no longer part of a foreign force seeking to forcibly impose its will upon the people. They need to end their alienation from the masses and align themselves with the wishes of the people.

Why is it that Justice M.R. Kayani considered it acceptable to contest elections and become president of the Civil Servants of Pakistan Association while he was sitting on the bench of the high court, particularly when the major portion of his duties involved the judicial review of the wrongful acts of civil servants? It was not because of any particular lack of integrity on his part. Rather, he was known as an outspoken and honest judge. It is simply the pernicious elitism that pervades our entire judiciary that leads them to ally themselves with the ruling classes rather than with the masses. Our judges can easily identify with the causes of senior government officials but not those of a ‘kissan’. That is exactly why I call for a Supreme Court of the People of Pakistan.

Why is it that high court and Supreme Court judges consider it perfectly acceptable to lunch in elitist clubs and exchange views with industrialists, government ministers and advisers, bureaucrats et al, but shy away from sharing a cup of tea with the labourer or political worker at a trade union function? Does this not distort their perception about the needs and aspirations of the people of Pakistan?

The visit of the governor of Sindh — fresh from his debriefing in London — to the Sindh High Court is illuminating. Eyebrows were raised when seven honourable judges examining the May 12 tragedy refused to meet him and he was told that there could be no discussion on that issue. Why should there have been even an iota of surprise?

The government of Sindh, and the party to which the governor belongs, had been directly implicated in the tragedy of May 12. I say that at the risk of my life and that of my children. Would there have been any astonishment if any judge refused to entertain a common litigant who wanted to have a cup of tea in the judge’s chamber and discuss the facts of his case? The commendable behaviour of the Sindh High Court judges was newsworthy because too often in the past our judges have fallen short of this standard of rectitude when it comes to the power elite.

The idea that judges interpret the law in splendid isolation strictly in accordance with recognised and time-tested legal doctrines is entirely fallacious. Our Supreme Court has repeatedly pointed out that the Constitution is an organic document and needs continuous reinterpretation in light of changing times and needs. So who will inform them about the changing needs of the hour? Must it be the generals, the industrialists and the bureaucrats?

Take the example of the reviled doctrine of necessity. Blatantly illegal and unconstitutional acts were repeatedly justified by our Supreme Court on the basis that they were necessary for survival of the nation. And who was the spokesman for the nation? The generals.

Why can’t the needs of the nation be determined by directly listening to the voice of the nation? Why must the doctrine of necessity always be employed in favour of the military-bureaucracy establishment? Can it never be used in the other direction — to force a general (even if he has invented a specious legal cover for his actions) to respect the legitimate desires and aspirations of the people?

I recall discussing this issue with the late Justice Dorab Patel. A splendidly honest man, he felt compelled, nevertheless, to defend his brethren. He justified previous judicial decisions based on expediency on the grounds that they were made by a few old men left alone in face of the entire army’s might. This movement seeks to reassure our judges that they are not alone. If they choose to do the right thing, the whole legal community and the entire nation will turn out in their support.

The learned Chief Justice is no charismatic politician. His speeches, on purely legal issues, do not enthral the nation. But when hundreds of thousands of people stand all day in Lahore’s scorching heat and brave all night Faisalabad’s thunderstorms waiting to catch a glimpse of him, they do so to salute the courage of the man. They do so to show their support for a judge who dares to say ‘no’.

Our aim is to instil that courage in every judge throughout the land. Our aim is to illuminate a path that leads beyond the Maulvi Tamizuddin, Dosso, Nusrat Bhutto and Zafar Ali Shah cases.

Our third objective is to restore civilian supremacy in Pakistan. We are no longer prepared to live under the barrel of the gun. Those guns and their wielders must return to their rightful positions; facing outwards at the frontiers of our land. The people will rule themselves. Of course, our elected politicians will make mistakes, both honest and dishonest, and there will be misrule. But the court of accountability must be 170 million Pakistanis and not nine corps commanders. Elected governments must complete their tenure and face up to their failures at the time of polling instead of being handed a convenient excuse by their forced ouster at the hands of the military.

Fourthly, our aim is to strengthen all the institutions of our state; the executive, the legislature, the judiciary as well as the media. Only by strengthening these pillars and strictly enforcing the limits on their separate powers in accordance with the Constitution can we protect ourselves from tyranny and secure the rule of law. Only then can we rid ourselves of the inequities of the past.

To achieve these goals, we welcome the support of every segment of civil society; the media as well as labour unions, NGOs as well as political parties. But our demands are non-negotiable. We will not sacrifice our principles at the altar of expediency. Any dialogue with the establishment can only begin after they take steps that concretely display their commitment to these principles.

Our history is replete with tragic compromises. We don’t need to go too far. The Zafar Ali Shah case was a compromise by the judiciary. Musharraf’s military takeover was legitimised in exchange for a promise that elections would be held and a civilian government installed within three years.

Five years have passed since those elections, but all power still rests with Musharraf and his corps commanders rather than with the prime minister and his cabinet. On March 9, 2007, while cabinet ministers hunkered under their beds, the ISI, MI and IB chiefs wreaked havoc.
The Seventeenth Amendment was a compromise by the politicians. Musharraf was allowed to continue as president despite his uniform in exchange for, essentially, a verbal promise that he would shed it in a year. Characteristically, he reneged and four years later he was donning the same uniform when he attempted to fire the Chief Justice. No amount of apology, no matter how sincere, will bring back lost times and opportunities.

For once in our history, people from every segment of civil society, judges and politicians alike, need to stand up for ideals and eschew the culture of deal-making. The struggle is not for tawdry offices and superficial power; it is about principles. If we can maintain our united commitment to these principles, we shall triumph and overwhelm all opposition. But if we fail to learn from history, we will be condemned to relive it.

Interview with Muneer A Malik

The following is an interview with Muneer A Malik, by Hissaan, a student of LUMS. It was taken before he was shifted to Karachi.

1. How are you feeling Sir?

I think I’ve turned the corner. My kidneys have started to function and I’m off dialysis. Tomorrow (28/11/07) I will be discharged from PIMS and will leave for Karachi.

2. I know that you have been asked this question a number of times, but now with the student community and other members of the civil society also joining you, let’s clarify any ambiguities and set the record straight. What are the aims of the lawyers mov’t?

We wanted to bring apart from lawyers other segments of the society like students, doctors, teachers and other professionals together. We looked for the largest common denominator and then decided that there are three aims of this movement and we are clear on this from the beginning. Rule of law, Independence of the judiciary and ‘Cause and Effect’- to elucidate causes and implications for the periodic intervention of army in the politics. Every society has people with different political ideologies. They may be secular, leftist, communists, Taliban and so on. Yet there is another significant segment who would strive for personal gains and try to force themselves into limelight to achieve just that. By sticking to our raison d’être , and the fact that the lawyers movement has no political affiliation, we have been able to bind the legal community together until now. We need other members of civil society who have no political affiliations, like students to be in this movement. We do not want student politics of yore like NSF to muddle our focus. We want institutions like LUMS to come forward, who represent the cream of this society and also have the intellect for a positive input.

3. At this present moment, I would ask what do you think this movement has achieved and what more is in the agenda?

We have managed to make 2 irreversible changes in the country. Number one, we have made the meaning of justice clear. We have shown that judiciary is a not a pawn to be used by the establishment for reaching their nefarious goals, a practice inherited from our colonial masters. With this we have changed minds forever - Minds of both the judiciary and the people. This is reflected by the pro-activity of the judiciary which is unprecedented in the history of the country! It is the first time that a majority of the judiciary has refused to do bow down to the rule of the army boot. We have supported the judiciary in their endeavor to find their rightful place in the state. Now our target is to to make the political parties realize that Pakistan’s fate must be governed by the masses and not from anywhere else. We realize that there is a capitalistic mafia, which would resist our efforts but we are ready to slog on.

4. It has often been claimed that you are politicizing this movement. What do you have to say about that?

The governing clique whether its army or a civilian is a matter of politics and it does concern me. What I am not involved in, is partisan politics.

5. How do you see the 1973 constitution and its effectiveness considering the numerous amendments? Do you think that the revival of judicial activisim would make any difference in improving the situation?

What we have to understand is that the constitution is an organic document. This means that it is open to interpretations at different. For example let’s look at the 14^th amendment in the USA constitution. The blacks and whites in the United States drank from different waters, went to different schools, had segregated motels but were considered ‘separate but equal.’

Later it was said that the notion that ‘separate but equal’ is inherently unequal. The problem in Pakistan is that the interpretations have been done by the army and they have used the doctrine of necessity at their whim. In an article I wrote, late Justice Durab Patel was skeptical, that how could few judges stand against military might. But we feel that we have turned a corner and unlike previous judges the present judiciary would be able to interpret the constitution in its spirit. In the Ramday case the doctrine of necessity was buried forever. This is why the government has resorted to extra-constitutional measures.

6. Musharraf has said that elections will be held under the emergency. This means that there is a possibility that the legitimate judiciary might not be restored. How hopeful are you about the rein-station of the judges?

I feel that participating in this charade would be giving a lifeline to this tottering regime. Let me tell you that this is a defining moment for Pakistan. If the legal community remains together, supported by the students and if the political parties can play their cards intelligently, this might be over. There has to be an end to this. How can a brigadier, who replies only in yes sir and no sir, is a vice-chancellor of an educational institute that seeks to find the truth. How can people who refer to non army people as ‘bloody civilians’ rule the very same people? They may use all the tricks like the martial law but it behoves us not to let them succeed. There has to be an end to this and I repeat that this is a defining moment.

7. Lawyers movement is being supported by the student community. LUMS, QA, FAST and other various instiutions have joined the struggle. This might be the revival of moribund student politics. How can this nascent movement become more mainstream and effective?

I believe that this it is the repression of the student unions that has been a source of strength for the student unions. The student unions should not be an extension of the political parties but should be a vanguard of the political parties. They are bright people. They are clean people. They don’t have vested interests. They are selfless. They should be the vanguard of the political parties. Look at Indonesia. Suharto’s regime was toppled by the students. You people have a lot of potential.

Malik Muneer also said that he was proud of the LUMS and the student community. He said that he is grateful for their support and expressed his wish to visit LUMS someday. Interviewed on the 27^th of November 2007 by Hissaan Butt

Force MMA to boycott!!

The mass contact campaign seems to be working very effectively. I would like all of you to continue with this campaign and request you all to go crazy with your phone-calls and SMSes again.

MMA is meeting on Saturday (today) in Islamabad to discuss the election strategy. It is clear that the state-sponsored-Fazl-ur-Rehman will be trying to convince the rest to forget the election boycott. We can not allow this to happen. Below are the telephone numbers of the MMA. Please call and sms to show solidarity to the MMA parties who have announced boycott of the elections and put pressure on Fazl-ur-Rehman to join the rest of the APDM.

Our stance: no elections till the judges are restored to pre-Nov 3 position. There will be NO compromise on this.


The Rickshaws JUI-F:

Moulana Fazal ur Rehman
0345-8506684
0345-9872244
0333-5279999

Hafiz Hussain Ahmed JUI
0333-6487832
0300-8569363
0333-6487832


Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri
0333-7806545 , 0320-4936933

Haji Gul Muhammad Dumar
0300-8653141

Maulana Amanullah Khan
0333-9133421
0320-4291938

Maulana Khalil Ahmad
0333-9143080

Maulana Muhammad Gohar Shah
0333-9139136

Maulana Muhammad Qasim
0320-5284799

Maulana Nasib Ali Shah
0300-9433250

Maulana Rehmat Ullah
0333-9125148

Maulvi Muhammad Khan Sherani
0300-9383921

Molvi Noor Muhammad
0320-4789343

Molvi Abdul Haleem
(missing)

Moulvi Rehmatullah
0300-3811575

Mufti Ibrar Sultan
0300-5156979

Qari Abdul Baees Saddiqui
0300-5748355
0333-9481888

Qari Fayazur Rehman Alvi
0300-5907294
0320-495591

Qari Muhammad Yousaf
0300-5175706

Qazi Hameedullah Khan
0300-6422324

Shujaul Mulk
0300-9175954


Dr. Muhammad Ismail Buledi
0333-5164666

Liaqat Ali Bangulzai
0333-5224210




Akhunzada Mohammad Sadiq
0333-5179142


Dr. Khalid Mahmood Soomro. (JUI)
0300-3411651,
0300-2242521

Kamran Murtaza. (JUI)
0320-4782598


Muhammad Talha Mahmood Aryan.
0333-5116995

Other Important MMA leaders:

Liaquat Balouch
0300-8456292


Qazi Hussian
0300-8449313
0333 4132833

Saifullah Gondal
MMA Parlimentry Affair
0301-8567951


Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim Khan.
03339102413


Rehmatullah Kaker
0300-9383920,
0333-5221218


Sahibzada Khalid Jan
0320-5212864


Muhammad Hanif Abbasi
0300-8550132


Mr. Farid Ahmed Paracha
042-5414239

Student Protest in Lahore - Eyewitness Account

Students from 21 universities, under the banner of Student Action Committee Lahore, gathered today at Liberty Chowk to publicly voice their dissent. The streets were lined with hundreds of Police Elite forces which warned the students that they would be arrested if they did not disperse within fifteen minutes. Amidst chants of "NO" to this question of dispersal, student's made it clear that police or no police, they would not disperse without making themselves heard. Students brandishing colorful placards and wearing black armbands flooded the liberty roundabout. Some members of the civil society, the lawyer's movement, doctors, and human rights activists also came to express solidarity and support for the student initiative.

The students sat displaying their banners and placards peacefully while negotiations with the Police SP were made. Afterwards, everyone made a human chain around the enormous roundabout, and chanted anti-Musharraf, pro-judiciary and pro-democracy slogans. After circling the roundabout for half an hour the procession of nearly 600 gathered in the middle, chanting freedom slogans with ever more vigor.

There were speeches made by students from a few of the participating universities, the content of which resonated around the necessity of empowering the common people of Pakistan and putting an end once and for all to the tyranny of the military. The students made it clear that this movement will be a long term struggle to ensure that true democracy is given a chance to take root in the country and that justice prevails. The students made it very clear that no elections can be legitimate without a free and independent judiciary overseeing them.

One demand declared as non-negotiable was the restoration of the judiciary as of 2^nd Nov. Without the judicial organ being independent and un-terrorized, it will fail in its function of providing the necessary check and balance on the executive. After the speeches, the national anthem was sung by the all assembled. After this hour long protest, the gathering peacefully dispersed, distributing flyers to the public to educate them of their demands.

What made this assembly remarkable was the level of organization that was evident. Not a single flower was trampled nor any paper trash left behind; the students stuffed their own pockets and bags with the litter instead. Today's protest will not be forgotten easily from the memory of the people of Lahore. Today's country-wide protest demonstrated to the people of Pakistan the unwillingness of the youth of the nation to silently sit through the slow death of their nation.

Hundreds rally in Islamabad - Eyewitness account

The Protest Rally in Islamabad on Friday turned out to be a huge success, with around 300 people showing up to express their outrage at the continued subversion of the judiciary and media, and to stress on the boycott of the upcoming elections. The protest, co-ordinated with similar rallies around the country and abroad, consisted of students, journalists, lawyers, civil rights activists and ordinary citizens of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, who showed up despite the downpour in the twin cities in the afternoon. The crowd first gathered outside the Press Club at 3 PM, holding placards in support of the judiciary, prominent figures in the movement, such as Muneer A Malik, as well as the media. The protestors chanted slogans against the unconstitutional acts of the government and hailed Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and his supporters as the heroes of the day. Several prominent figures from among the student, journalist and legal community stepped forward to address the gathering and outline their demands.
After 4 PM, the protest moved in the form of a car rally to the Marriot Hotel, near the Judicial residence. There, the numbers of protestors swelled as lawyers and members of civil society joined them in their march towards the Judge's residence. In the highly-charged atmosphere, the protestors pledged to prevent the eviction of the judges from their residences, as threatened by the government. Several prominent figures, such as Asma Jahangir and Roedad Khan joined the protestors, as they marched towards the Judicial residences.
Also prominent among the protestors were relatives of the missing people illegally abducted by intelligence agencies throughout the country. Carrying photos of their loved ones, the people joined the procession, calling for the reinstatement of the judges who had tried to get their relatives released from illegal custody.
The procession stopped at the police barricades, where the sloganeering continued even as hundreds of police personnel surrounded the protestors and prevented them from going further. Several more speeches were made as the protestors pledged to continue their struggle and boycott the elections until the judiciary, constitution and media was restored. The protestors then dispersed with plans to stage another major rally in the coming few days.

The movement continues..

In Complete Unity

Pictures of Student Rally in Lahore, Friday, 30th November

Nationwide Student Rally - Student Action Committee, Lahore Protest at Liberty Chowk

Student in many of the major cities of Pakistan gathered today in a coordinated mass protest. In Lahore, student protestors from 21 universities converged at Liberty Chowk today under the banner of Student Action Committee Lahore. They wore black armbands and brandished colourful placards. They were also joined by some lawyers, doctors and other members of the civil society, and a total of nearly six hundred people circled the roundabout in a human chain. They vigourously shouted pro-judiciary slogans, with a number of students making speeches calling for first and foremost the immediate restoration of the judiciary and then the devolution of power to the common people through a free and fair electoral process, with a withdrawal of military influence from all civilian affairs. The students stressed that no one should expect their movement to soon fizzle out, for they are definitely in it for the long haul and would not stop agitating for the cause of truth and justice. The students made it clear that no elections would be considered legitimate without the restoration of the pre-Nov 3^rd judiciary. The gathering dispersed after the singing of the national anthem and distribution of flyers aiming to spread awareness about their demands. As one student said, "We have proved today that people do not need to fear student politics. We have not triggered chaos and violence. We made sure to make our protest totally peaceful and also totally environment friendly, with not even a single flower being trampled and no littering on the grass. The students of Pakistan have come out with a sincere desire to work for and call for the welfare of our nation." The protest took place facing hundreds of members of the Elite Police Force, who initially issued an ultimatum to the protestors to disperse within fifteen minutes or else face arrests. Faced with loud refusals by the students, however, the police remained on the sidelines and the protestors continued their rally for an hour.

Talat Hussein Live outside the Press Club

Talat Hussein takes his show to the streets in Islamabad. Also present are Mushtaq Minhas, Kashif Abbasi, Nusrat Javed and Nasim Zehra.

Nationwide Student Protest Today!!!

Pakistani students at home and abroad have risen up to fight for their rights. From now on they will be taking their movement outside of their universities, computers, cellphones and into the streets. The statement is attached below. WE STRONGLY URGE LAWYERS, NGOs AND ALL SECTION OF THE CIVIL SOCIETY TO JOIN IN THESE PROTESTS TO SUPPORT THE STUDENTS! Please forward this email to everyone who might be willing to come!

These are only a build up for MASSIVE WORLD WIDE PROTESTS to be held until the country goes back to pre-Nov 2 position (restoration of judges, freedom of media, release of political prisoners, etc). Please contact emergencyinpakistan@gmail.com if you want to hold protest in your cities and want them to be included in the next newsletter!

You are advised to participate in the events and to distribute this to as many people as possible.
Media coverage has been asked for but please do not forget to bring your own cameras. In addition feel free to inform about these events to any media personnel.

Here are the details of the events:

FRIDAY NOV 30th
[Updated]
Islamabad: 3pm, Infront of Holiday Inn (opp Press Club) for Capital talk then join judges and lawyers at 4 30 in front of Marriot to march to CJs house.

Lahore: 2pm, Liberty Chowk Lahore

Karachi: 3pm, Mazar-e-Quaid

Waiting confirmation from other cities in Pakistan.


INTERNATIONAL VENUES:

Nov 30th:

Toronto 3 pm, Queen's Park,Toronto, ON Contact:416.879.7246
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=5935509669

Chicago contact Shahzad ,
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=588342233 or (773) - 817-1689.

Geneva, 3 pm, infront of the UN building. contact Ayesha
http://www.facebook.com/s.php?k=100000080&id=501392142

Oslo, contact Oslo: farukh_qureshi@hotmail.com phone # 004747391608

Boston, contact Saad Rizvi, saadmustafa.rizvi@gmail.com, 857-334-8012

Dec 1:
Orlando, 1 pm, Lake Eola Park, Downtown, Orlando

London, 1 pm , parliament avenue , contact Mutahir--07943005302

New York, 12pm, Infront of UN in Manhattan, NY. 42nd street, and 1st Avenue

Dublin, 1 pm, outside PARLIAMENT HOUSE Marion House,

APDM announces election boycott

The APDM has announced that it will boycott the upcoming elections, in a meeting held in Lahore on Thursday. The Chief of the alliance and leader of the PML-N, Nawaz Sharif said they had decided to stay away as the elections would not be transparent under President Musharraf. He also rejected his televised address in which the lifting of the emergency on Dec 16th was announced.
The alliance has formed two committees for the purpose of persuading Benazir Bhutto and Maulana Fazlur Rehman to join the boycott. Both of the leaders have expressed their willingness to participate in the elections.

(This decision of the APDM must be applauded as a monumental and principled one. The same amount of pressure must be put on the rest of the political parties to join the boycott of these sham elections. Unless and until the judiciary is restored, there must be no compromise.)

In Complete Unity

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry urges nation to boycott elections

[Courtesty JURIST - jurist.law.pitt.edu] Ousted Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry [JURIST news archive] Tuesday urged Pakistan's political parties and people to boycott parliamentary elections scheduled for January 8, saying that they were comprised by being held under unconstitutional emergency rule and should not proceed because Pakistan was in unusual circumstances with the rights of its judges, lawyers and people restricted or suspended. Lahore High Court Bar Association Secretary Sarfraz Cheema Chaudhry said the chief justice talked to him by telephone from his official residence, which he has not been allowed to leave. Chaudhry's boycott call was echoed by retired Supreme Court Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed [Wikipedia profile], an anti-Musharraf candidate in the presidential election in October and one of 17 retired Pakistani judges who Tuesday issued a joint declaration calling for the reinstatement of the constitution and for an end to emergency rule. Pakistan's Dawn has more. The News has additional coverage.

On the President's Oath-taking

Umer

The snake may slough its skin, but it DOES NOT lost its venom. The man with a stick still has a job to do - an unfinished job that he can ignore only at his peril. You know what I mean. Strike the snake dead.

He has changed his skin. No doubt.

But look at the venom – the threat posed to sustainable foundations of good governance in this country. Look at the language: "Kiyani and I will take good care of this country…

The judges, and the ex-Chief Justice were involved in a conspiracy to derail the third phase of democracy… I am honoured by the nation which has put its trust in me"

Not in our name, please. Someone is saying, in the name of the nation, that, after all, it was the judges who were conspiring. Wasn't someone an army officer in his 45 ^th year of service trying to grab the chief civilian post of power. When the case went to the highest court of the land, and it looked as they wouldn't be able to provide constitutional disguise to this blatant mockery of justice, someone put more than half of all the serving higher judiciary of the country in illegal detention, stormed the court premises to pick up thousands of lawyers from within court premises (I saw this with my own eyes in Lahore), filled up the courts with the choicest amongst incompetent imposters. And then the imposters spoke in Law's name what someone had always wanted them to speak, and even though an overwhelming majority of the people spoke against them. And to crown this 'process of justice' someone just shouted his oath taking cue from the whisperings of the chief of puppets, who sounded just so ashamed of himself.

The snake of course, is never ashamed. It knows no course of action other than what it does. It has a nature that cannot be helped. If there is anyone to blame it is the man with the stick, who scares the snake but then backs off taking heart from the snake's new skin leaving his job undone.

Woe to him who thinks that the snake in new skin is safe and even worth honour and appreciation. By the Lord of Heaven and Hell full of smakes, as long as a snake is up and beating, viciously willing to spew venom at innocent victims, no one is safe. The nation is not safe. A job half-done demands completion. Where is the man with the stick? Don't back out now, please.

Student Action Committee Lahore urges boycott of elections

The following is a letter from the Student Action Committee Lahore to the country’s political parties on participation in the upcoming elections:

To the leadership of the APDM, PML-N, PPP and PTI,

The students of over 15 universities and institutes of Lahore have united to form the Student Action Committee, Lahore. We are also collaborating with the Student Action Committees of Islamabad and Peshawar. Together, we call to you at a time when the nation is required to unite. The institutions of the state have been maligned again and we, the students, have united to oppose their blatant subversion. In the absence of organized structures, it has taken us a while to unite, but united we stand to ensure that our country has a future. Our voices were raised and, then, attempted to be muffled from the first day following the emergency but we have remained steadfast in the face of mounting pressures and we request you to do the same.

Collectively, we have demanded the lifting of Martial Law, the reinstatement of the judiciary, the restoration of the constitution, the freedom of the media and the release of protest prisoners before we can even consider the upcoming election to be free and fair. Therefore, we have collectively agreed that unless the aforementioned are undertaken, we shall advocate a complete boycott of the elections and attempt to mount a movement for the fulfillment of this struggle.

This letter is a call to you with a single agenda – a boycott of the scheduled elections – for we must lend no legitimacy to any course that the present executive takes to justify the imposition of martial law against the judiciary and the citizenry of Pakistan. Therefore, in this appeal to your party leadership, we call upon you to stand by your own manifest cause – the restoration of democratic rule to Pakistan.

What is vital today is that we stand together for the judiciary, who had begun to take the first steps to uphold our constitution. The restoration of the judiciary to its position as of the 2nd of November 2007 must be a pre-condition before extending any degree of participation in the electoral process. These elections are a slight to democracy and all its advocates.

Therefore, we make this call to your alliance to stand steadfast for once: for we have oft seen you waver since your creation. We need our political leaders to stand together for the cause that they have oft championed. If you do stand steadfast and withdraw from the upcoming mockery (the elections) then we do promise that we will do our utmost to stand by you in protest and, perhaps, even, stand ahead of you for this country, in our united struggle for the institution of true democracy in the country.

Our task is simple and needs no elaboration: the restoration of people’s rule to the citizens of Pakistan. If, indeed, you be ready to stand by the people of this nation, then, we shall commend you and respect you and struggle alongside you for the sake of our future. However, if you too give in to the imperatives of short term power then unfortunately, you too shall stand as an affront to our cause.

We, the humble students of the universities and institutions of Lahore, hereby, call upon you to boycott the upcoming election as candidates and as political parties. We shall call upon the people to do so in our capacity as (inshallah) the next generation of Pakistan. We hope that in doing so we can collectively mount a campaign that may change the currently teetering course of our nation.

In anticipation of principles,

The Student Action Committee, Lahore

Retired Senior Officers urge Musharraf to step down as President

A group of retired senior officers from the armed forces, including several Lt -Generals and Major Generals urged General Musharraf on Tuesday, to step down, not only as the Army Chief but as the President of Pakistan as well. They called on him to restore the constitution, revoke the PCO, withdraw media curbs, reinstate the pre-emergency judiciary and release political detainees. In their joint statement, they also said that since the President had admitted in an interview to performing an illegal act on the 3^rd of November, he had lost all moral and legal authority to retain his position. They further stated that he was responsible for bringing the Armed Forces into disrepute. The statement contained the signatures of Air Marshall (Retd) Noor Khan, Admiral Fasih Bokhari, Air Chief Marshall Pervez Mehdi, Air Vice-Marshall Abbas Mirza, Lt-Gen Talat Masood, Lt-Gen Asad Durrani, Lt-Gen Ali Kuli Khan, Lt-Gen Naeem Akbar, Lt-Gen Jamshed Gulzar Kiani, Lt-Gen Ghulam Mustafa, Maj-Gen Saeed Ahmed, Maj-Gen Rizwan Qureshi, Maj-Gen Pervez Akmal, Maj-Gen Ziaullah Khan, Air Commodore Aurangzeb Azim, Brig Shaukat Qadir, Col Ahsan Siddiqui, Capt Naeem Sarfaraz, Capt Safir Mallal and Commander Mumtaz Fazal Naqshbandi.

Students welcome removal of uniform but stress restoration of the judiciary

Members of the LUMS Student Movement welcome President Musharraf's long-awaited move of removing his military uniform. However, they stress that this does not detract from the main issue which has mobilised such a storm of opposition to the regime's actions in recent weeks; the primary issue continues to be the restoration of the legitimate judiciary as it was before November 3rd, 2007. The Judiciary's independence and soveriegnty is the fundamental right and demand of the people of Pakistan. The students express the hope that the removal of President Musharraf's uniform is not merely a cosmetic overture and marks a real change of attitude in the government towards beginning a genuine process of lessening the degree to which the military is entrenched within the affairs of the executive and affecting a real seperation between the judicial, executive and military institutions of the regime. Students' protests in defence of the judiciary will continue unabated.

Is there a safe passage?

By Javed Hussain

IN 1933, Hitler was nominated the chancellor of Germany by President Hindenberg. But before he could take office he was required to get his appointment approved by a new Reichstag (parliament).

Afraid that his Nazi party would not win an absolute majority in the elections, Hitler decided to create a situation which would necessitate the imposition of an emergency. He engineered the burning of the Reichstag. Following this he got the president to issue an emergency decree for the ‘Protection of the people and the state’, which enabled him to suspend fundamental rights and imprison anyone without trial.

The Reichstag elections were held in November 1933 in which the Nazi party got 43.9 per cent of the votes, not an absolute majority. Therefore, in order to free himself of any parliamentary restraint, he sought the passage of the ‘Enabling Act’, which would give him the power to make laws without the approval of the Reichstag.

Since the Act deviated from the constitution, it needed a two-thirds majority to be adopted. Using subterfuge, intimidation and violence, he managed to get the Act passed by 444 votes to 94.

He thus became a legal dictator and promptly brought all political and social institutions, including the press and the courts, under his control. But he made sure that the privileged position of the army was secured.

Seventy-four years later Hitler’s extremist political credo is being replicated in Pakistan. In 1999, people had welcomed the Musharraf coup. Many thought that the saviour had finally arrived. They had great expectations for their country’s and their own future. Yet on Mar 9, their hopes came crashing down as he showed his true colours.
He thought that by intimidating the Chief Justice he would force him to resign; he was surprised. He then filed a reference; he was surprised again.

... But his scheme could fail if the political parties get their act together and spearhead the movement launched by the lawyers, journalists and civil society. If the movement reaches a crescendo before the elections, it could force a rethink on his western and local sponsors about the wisdom of supporting a person who has become a liability.

One of Hitler’s cronies had thundered that “the government will brutally beat down everyone who opposes it. We do not say an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth; no, he who knocks out one of our eyes will get his head cut off, and he who knocks out one of our teeth will get his jaw smashed in.”

From the stage at the carnival in Islamabad [May 12], while the dead and the dying were lying in the streets of Karachi, the president had thundered in similar style.

While the dissenters were “brutally beaten down”, they continue to resist. The courage, honour and sacrifice of people like Asma Jehangir, Aitzaz Ahsan, Munir Malik, Ali Ahmad Kurd, Tariq Mahmood, Chief Justice Iftikhar Choudhry and his colleagues, and Imran Khan, have not only turned them into national heroes, but also inspired the tormented people of Pakistan to rise from their slumber. He will be surprised yet again.

Like Field Marshal Paulus and his 6th German Army at Stalingrad, he has been encircled. But unlike Paulus, a safe passage may yet be made available to him.

The writer is a retired brigadier of the SSG of the Pakistan Army.

( The above piece was posted on "Dawn" newspapers' opinion page, of the Nov. 28th circulation.)

For many Pakistanis, an Economic Emergency

(Courtesy The LA Times, Nov 28, 2007)
Henry Chu

MUSTAFABAD, PAKISTAN -- Mohammed Rafiq has only to look at his dinner table to find reasons to hate President Pervez Musharraf.

What would a meal be without chapati, the flatbread that is a staple of Pakistani cuisine? But flour, when you can get it, costs a third more than it did just a few months ago. How can anybody drink unsweetened tea? But the price of sugar has shot up by half.

"These are basic necessities," said Rafiq, 50. "The maximum wage for a laborer is 200 rupees a day [about $3.30]. How can he manage everything on that?"

Pakistanis' anger with Musharraf's military-backed government has hit a new high since Nov. 3, when he imposed de facto martial law. Civil liberties have been withdrawn, and images of bloodied protesters getting hustled away by police have sparked outrage here and abroad.

But the president's deepening unpopularity at home has as much to do with economic as political grievances. Conversations with ordinary Pakistanis quickly turn from the state of emergency of their national polity to the state of emergency afflicting their household budgets. Price hikes are routinely cited as one of the biggest problems, if not the biggest, facing the nation.

In Islamabad, the capital, Musharraf and his ministers frequently boast about Pakistan's robust annual economic growth rate of 8%. But on the ground in towns such as Mustafabad, outside the eastern city of Lahore, people complain of hard times.

Workers like Rafiq, who serves tea from a roadside stand, have watched in alarm as the cost of such staples as rice, tomatoes, onions and cooking oil seems to increase weekly.

For that alone -- never mind emergency rule, to which they also vociferously object -- Musharraf ought to go, many Pakistanis say.

"I'm 40 years old, and I've never seen a ruler like him," farmer Sajid Khan said in disgust. "The government has [lost] control over prices. Shopkeepers are raising prices however much they want, and there's no authority to check that."

"All of Pakistan is suffering," said Mohammed Aftab, a dark-bearded young driver. "It's all because of Musharraf."

Economists say the blame for steep inflation cannot be laid entirely at the government's door. Like other countries, Pakistan is a victim of the relentless climb of oil prices. Getting goods to the market, especially on the woefully inadequate roads, is a more expensive proposition than before. The rise in the price of crude also has boosted the cost of utilities such as electricity.

But policies directly within the government's purview have contributed to the problem, said economics professor Qais Aslam. The state price-support program for farmers, rather than benefiting them and consumers, has enriched middlemen and owners of flour and sugar mills -- many of them politically well-connected. They have hoarded their commodities and artificially pushed up prices.

And sectors that have shown impressive growth, such as services and real estate, have proved most profitable for the educated, landed Pakistanis who already occupy the upper stratum of society and shop at designer stores in big cities, not the millions who eke out hard lives in the villages. Annual per capita income in Pakistan is only $720, according to the World Bank.

"The government's policies have helped the rich make more money rather than helped the poor settle their budgets," said Aslam, who teaches at the University of Central Punjab in Lahore. "The economic gains have not been translated into social gains."

When Waseem Abbas peers out from behind the counter of his corner store here in dusty Mustafabad, he sees nothing for the government to brag about.

One of Musharraf's allies, the chief minister of Punjab province, came to the area recently for a pomp-filled ceremony marking the supposed completion of a road in front of Abbas' shop. Abbas just laughs, because the road is still in sorry shape, like so much else here, despite official self-congratulation over Pakistan's economic growth.

"How can you say that when you don't have electricity in this country, when you have load-shedding for five hours a day? How can you say there's prosperity?" said Abbas, who turned his anger on Musharraf. "He's a liar."

Customers sometimes quarrel with Abbas and his business partner, Abdul Razzaq, over the prices in their store. But the owners say they feel as hammered as anybody by an acute shortage of flour and by price hikes, since last year, of nearly 100% for rice and 100% for ghee, or clarified butter.

The simmering economic discontent has not translated directly into protests. The demonstrations that rocked Pakistan's streets after Musharraf's Nov. 3 edict were political, and were led by lawyers, human rights activists and other professionals.

Lower-income Pakistanis have shied away, out of grim economic reality. "We don't have time to go and protest," said Aftab, the driver. "If we do that, who will earn our money for us?"

But the significance of political change is not lost on them. Musharraf must step down as president, they say, because of his autocratic ways and the lack of improvement in their lives. An elected leader would at least feel a sense of obligation to voters and could be called to account for failing to deliver, they say.

"Democracy should come," Razzaq said. "Democracy is the only solution."

(Original version on www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakecon28nov28,1,3970417.story?coll=la-headlines-world)

Important: Pressure PML-N

Thank you for your help in putting pressure on PPP. The campaign turned out to be great and inside sources suggest that they party leaders had an overwhelming number of people contacting them.

PML-N is in a meeting right now which will decide their position on the elections. EVERYONE START SMSING/CALLING ASAP! If they get enough calls/msgs/ etc we can perhaps convince them to boycott these sham elections under a puppet judiciary.

Please also forward this to as many lists as possible.

Thanks
EM


Raja Muhammad Zafar-ul-Haq
051-2823475

Makhdoom Javed Hashmi
0300-9630740
92-61511553

Muhammad Ali Khan Hoti
0937-862049 (off)
0937-863159 (R)

Mr. Saranjam Zamindar
0300-9591094
091-824444-824222
051-2280033
0303-6902811
0931-66666-63333
0931-64444

Begum Tehmina
042-5725894-5721780
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Syed Zafar Ali Shah
0333-5202949
051-2872299
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Ahsan Iqbal
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Muhammad Pervez Malik
0300-8440280
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9207477 (279)
042-5878201
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Iqbal Zafar Jhagra
091-262675-263336
0300-9590653
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Ch. Mohammad Jafar Iqbal
051-2856501 ®
051-2651000 (O)
0300-8678844

Khawaja Muhammad Asif
051-2262478
042-5720478
0432-261478-262478
0300-8440640

Sardar Rahim
0333-2200696
021-5896589
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Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
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Raja Ashfaq Sarwar
051-2296982
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Khurram Dastgir Khan
055-257935
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Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan
051-2872046
0992-382323
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Ch. Nisar Ali Khan
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Ghulam Dastgir Khan
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0300/8641479
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Ch. Abdul Ghafoor
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Begum Najma Hameed
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Safdar Rehman
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Sartaj Aziz
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Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa
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Khawaja Saad Rafique
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Syed Ghous Ali Shah
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Pir Sabir Shah
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Iqbal Zafar Jhagra
091-262675-263336
0300-9590653
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Sardar Yaqoob Khan Nasir
051-2275891
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Syed Zafar Ali Shah
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Begum Ishrat Ashraf
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Raja Nadir Pervez Khan
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Khawaja Saad Rafique
03009455669
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042-7658457

Video of Student, Journalist Protest at Lahore Press Club, Tuesday

Students Action Committee - Tester Protest - GEO Stall Davis Road, Lahore from formanite10 on Vimeo.

Student Action Committee Lahore stages first protest

Students Action Committee, Lahore staged their first protest today. This was termed as a 'tester' before the mega protest they have announced on coming Friday, to analyze the reaction of cops and the students.Around 70 members of the Students Action Committee, Lahore gathered at Lahore Press Club building around 2 PM. Students representatives from FAST, NCA, PU, LUMS, LGS, BNU, UCL and a few other institutes were welcomed by the Lahore Press Club Management where they first started designing placards. The students then started chanting slogans 'Go Musharraf Go !' , 'Laathi Goli ki Sarkay, Nahe Chalay ge Nahe Chalay ge' and 'Adlia' Azaad Karo'. The members of Lahore Press Club and lawyers joined them soon and media guys shot the action. 'Chillars' (Police) ? Obviously they were there, even before the students were there. The cops assembled at the gate of the Lahore Press Club building to monitor the situation. Later, the students decided to move out of the building, quite daring and bold step, knowing that the cops were ready for action. But quite surprisingly they did not interfere. The students, holding the placards moved out and queued up at the foot-path around the Press Club building. The cops told the students not to come forward on the road. The sloganeering continued even there for 15-20 minutes and pamphlets were distributed to the pass-byers, motorists and those in cars. It was encouraging to see people passing by showing victory sign (with fingers) to the protesters - at least people support the cause if can not participate.The students, forming a human hand-chain moved to the GEO Stall, opposite to Jung building at Davis Road to sow solidarity and support to the media guys and to raise their voice against the curb on media. Team GEO warmly welcomed the students and handed over the mic to the students for sloganeering, which continued with a few new ones added as per the environment, like, 'GEO ko jeenay do' , 'Media ko azaad karo' etc. One of the students then recited a couple of revolutionary poems from Jalib and Faiz.

(Courtesy ALE Expressed: http://ale-xpressed.blogspot.com)

Between Despair and Hope

Rasul Bakhsh Rais

What would define chaos better than a swift reconstitution of the judiciary, imposition of Emergency rule and holding the Constitution in abeyance? This institutional chaos has pushed the elections as an issue to the margins of political debate. Why would anyone consider elections under the conditions described above as sincere, credible, free and fair?

After eight years of Musharraf- centred politics, we see some signs of change in the politics of Pakistan. The first major change that will redefine politics issues, alignments and the political process in the coming weeks and months is the announcement that General Musharraf is going to take off his military uniform on November 29 and get himself sworn in as a civilian president. Many a times before, pledges, declarations and commitments were not honoured. Therefore, there should be a bit of caution while accepting that the final episode of General Musharraf's career is about to begin.

The moment it happens, the dynamics of Pakistani politics will greatly change, and that will be a very positive development for the country. It would mark the beginning of a major political transition. The indications of such a transition are apparent: Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, two leaders the General despised the most and kept out of the country for nearly a decade, have returned.

What made General Musharraf and the ruling clique rethink their position on the leaders of the two major political parties? Not a sudden change of heart about democracy and constitutional rule, but a sudden loss of moral authority, because otherwise, Musharraf was and is Chief of the Army Staff and the 'elected president' who has the support of three major political groups that were ready to follow his political direction.

The General has come to realise that between March 9 and November 3, he placed his own ambitions above Pakistan, its vital institutions and norms of governance. While this inversion of priorities was apparent to even the dullest of political minds, the General was adamant that all his thoughts and actions were guided only by considerations for Pakistan's security, stability and prosperity.

The people of Pakistan accepted him without questioning the legitimacy of his military takeover and all institutions, including the Supreme Court of Pakistan, extended him whatever support he needed to fulfil his pledge of guiding Pakistan to genuine democracy and improving the economy. Contrary to popular expectations, his politics was based on the familiar thought that politicians can be bought for a bargain. Musharraf's every political move, including allying with some of the most corrupt politicians in the country and rigging elections, proved beyond any doubt that he did not represent the forces of social and political change but was quite comfortable with the herd as long as he was the shepherd.

In Pakistan's cyclical history, there is a strange pattern where every military ruler undermines his position by committing blunder upon blunder even before the opposition forces do anything to him. Mr Sharif's return to Pakistan, despite regular threats that he would not be allowed into the country before completing the term of his exile and last ditch efforts by the regime to stop him, tells a great deal about how much the Musharraf's government has weakened. Emergency rule is the only armour protecting his dangerously exposed political flanks. But even that has hardly served its purpose. Everything that Musharraf has attempted since March 9 has backfired badly.

Pakistan is in serious trouble today with a lot of uncertain, unstable and even chaotic situations. What would define chaos better than a swift reconstitution of the judiciary, imposition of Emergency rule and holding the Constitution in abeyance? This institutional chaos has pushed the elections as an issue to the margins of political debate. Why would anyone consider elections under the conditions described above as sincere, credible, free and fair?

There is now an increased possibility of more political parties boycotting the elections with the return of Sharif, who considers Musharraf to be the mother and father of all of Pakistan's problems. He has presented a charter of demands that will be difficult for the Musharraf government to accept, including the General's removal from power. If Sharif decides to stay out of the elections, even if Bhutto participates, the polls will have no integrity at all.

Also, the return of the two old political rivals is not a precursor of a major change in the politics of Pakistan, other than perhaps ousting Musharraf, and even that has serious question marks attached to it. While there are ample reasons for the lack of trust and confidence in mainstream political parties whose leaders have little regard for democracy within their own parties, in the objective conditions of the country, they can be the only medium of political transition in the traditional sense of politics. It is not clear whether their ascendancy in the post-Musharraf era will be the beginning of a major political transition in the structural sense. It could be more of the same old wine in new bottles.

The real indications of change and hope are in the new social movement of the students, media, lawyers and intelligentsia. It is not about conventional politics and leaders with their ambitions and deals. It is about the basics of Pakistani politics and society that need to be defined in the vastly changed national and global climate. There is a realisation that simply changing political horses who have been tried before will not help Pakistani society modernise and progress. Structural change with respect to the independence of judiciary, constitutionalism, rule of law and fundamental freedoms including, most importantly, the media, will gradually move society in that direction.

The sentiment and capacity of the new social forces, and their willingness to accept suffering for the cause of true democracy and civility in politics is as mesmerising as its courage and youthfulness. Musharraf, despite a good start, lost moral power and influence because he failed to go with the forces of change and elected to rely on politicians of questionable integrity. The fate of two other leaders, each tried twice in the past, may be no different if they don't embrace the ideal of the new social movement, which wants real change and is willing to fight for as long as it takes. This is the true sign of hope.

The author is a professor of Political Science at the Lahore University of Management Sciences. He can be reached at rasul@lums.edu.pk

Details of Justice Tariq Mahmood's condition

(Courtesy The News)
ISLAMABAD: The moving ordeal of an ailing but defiant Justice (retd) Tariq Mahmood lodged in the Sahiwal jail for the last 23 days, as narrated by his struggling wife, brought tears to the eyes of hundreds of members of the civil society and political workers who watched the 'Capital Talk' show of Geo TV live on the footpath of Islamabad on Monday.
Justice Tariq, once the top judge of the Balochistan High Court, who had resigned after refusing to conduct the controversial presidential referendum of 2002, was now being made to sleep on the cold floor of the Sahiwal jail to break his nerves and punish him for his acts of defiance since he quit the judiciary to register his protest.
As his health condition deteriorated in the Sahiwal jail, Tariq Mahmood who is said to have developed severe back pain has now been rushed to a Lahore hospital for his medical tests. To acknowledge his act of defiance, lawyers' community had elevated him to the prestigious office of president of Supreme Court Bar Association. He again earned respect after he became member of the legal team which successfully defended the deposed chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
She told the shocked audience of the show amid moving scenes how her husband was being ill treated in the jail and taught a brutal lesson for his commitment to the forces of truth and justice.
Justice Tariq was arrested on November 3 along with Munir A Malik, Aitzaz Ahsan and Ali Ahmed Kurd, the dream team which fought the case of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.
Hundreds of participants stood up to show their respect to the wife of Justice Tariq and to show their support and admiration. Mrs Tariq asked in a very emotional tone what was her husband's fault who had only tried to stand with the people who were struggling for freedom.

Student Protestors barred from reaching Parliament

(Courtesy The Nation)
ISLAMABAD-Dozens of students of different universities and colleges of Capital City tried to march towards the Parliament House on Monday to protest against the imposition of emergency but they were stopped by police personnel to reach the destined value.The students, however, said that they managed to register their protest peacefully against the ongoing state of emergency and suspension of fundamental rights despite the use of police force to stop them from marching towards the parliament. Representing different universities and colleges of the federal capital including Quaid-e-Azam University, International Islamic University Islamabad, Bahria University and West Minister’s College, the students gathered near the Saudi Pak Tower. They started marching on the Service Road and tried to go to the Parliament House. But the security officials reached there on time and stopped them forcing them to disperse peacefully. Later, the students, without raising any anti-government or anti- Musharraf slogans staged a sit-in in front of Mohammed Ali Jinnah University located in the Blue Area. They were holding placards inscribed with slogans like “Bol kay Lab Azaad Hain Taray” and “we want democracy”.The students demanded of the political parties to boycott the upcoming elections that according to them should not be held under the state of emergency. They said the society has been intentionally depoliticised and students have no unions or any other platform at their educational institutions to express themselves. “We want democracy in the country, we want media to be freed. We believe that the media is a great source of knowledge and information for us” said a charged student, Tariq. He said, “We don’t want to create any mess, we just want to show the world that we can register our protest peacefully.” The students said they were being threatened by the administration to expel from the universities and the colleges and would not be able to get admission further in any educational institution forever.“Our phones are being tapped by the authorities. But it could not deter our struggle, which we are planning to launch on a grand scale. We have formed a Student Action Committee in which the students will represent all the educational institutions. This committee will start a massive protest across the country,” another student, Ahsan told TheNation.

Missing in Pakistan - Documentary

The following is an extremely touching film about the Missing People at the heart of the controversies that led to the Chief Justice's initial dismissal. It was set to be released on Nov 21st in a viewing at FAST-NU Lahore but the authorities clamped down on this and prevented the viewing. Since then, it has moved on to the digital world, originally uploaded at [The Critique Aggregator ] while simultaneously uploaded on the Missing in Pakistan blog. Watch the video and spread the word, if you want to download a full screen version then download from RapidShare 103MB.

Justice Tariq Mahmood in critical condition

It has just been reported on a mailing list that another political prisoner Justice (retd) Tariq Mahmood is also in critical condition and has been shifted from the Kot Lakhpat prison to Service Hospital, more updates to follow.
Muneer A Malik's condition is still deemed to be serious. There has been no word on Ali Ahmed Kurdas of yet.