Musharraf's Economic Deception

By Dr. Tariq Naeem-

General Musharraf took over the reigns of power in 1999 from Nawaz Sharif with the Pakistan economy on the verge of bankruptcy. So desperate was the situation Nawaz Sharif toured the world visiting Pakistanis with a begging bowl requesting them to invest in Pakistan due to the sanctions imposed on Pakistan for carrying out nuclear tests. Incoherent, short-term policies had resulted in a minority of people benefiting immensely, who incidentally were directly linked to the Sharif family.
Both the IMF and the World Bank have consistently praised the Musharraf government for solid macroeconomic recovery and saving the Pakistan economy from the brink of economic collapse. They cite the $128bn generated under his tenure. Many commentators are eager to explain that the Musharraf government has made substantial macroeconomic reforms since taking over the economy in 1999. The argument of the few Musharraf loyalists being that he has brought a degree of stability to Pakistan that the country never knew under civilian rule.
Part 1 of this two part series will assess this claim and analyse the current state of Pakistan’s economy which shows it is in a far more precarious position:

Reform, reform, reform

Once the dust settled on Musharraf’s coup he set about organising the nation, he formed a small working cabinet consisting mainly of experts and technocrats in their respective fields. These individuals were selected on the basis of expertise in their respective fields including a new team of economic managers, which included expatriate Pakistanis’ working in international institutions. Several committees, constituted with experts drawn from both within and outside Pakistan whose job was to make recommendations on the content, phasing and implementation timelines of the various reforms Musharraf planned to turn round the economy.
The most important committee was the Debt Reduction Management headed by ex-Chief Economist of the World Bank. This committee’s recommendations formed the basis of subsequent actions in this area. Another committee, under the leadership of a former Senior Vice President of the World Bank and assisted by consultants from the Lahore University of Management Sciences, submitted a blue print for the reform of the Central Board of Revenue. Another group was commissioned to review financial sector reforms and the services of several ex-World Bank staff were secured for this purpose on a full time basis. An Agriculture Taxation Committee, headed by a former planning secretary, produced a consensus view on the introduction of agriculture tax by provincial governments. An Interim Poverty Strategy Paper was developed in consultation with stakeholders from both within the government as well as from civil society, laying out the broad contours of the road map for economic policies and reforms.
The strategy was, as Musharaf’s economic team put it:

1. To effect a sustainable reduction in debt ratios (reduce debt)
2. To reduce fiscal deficit through revenue mobilisation. (i.e balance government budgets)
3. To restructure key public sector institutions and stop their losses (privatisation)
4. To pursue a prudent monetary policy and hold inflation down. (Raise interest rates)
5. To liberalise the foreign exchange regime and allow market forces to determine the level of exchange rate (remove all obstacles to currency transfer)
6. To create a level playing field for all economic actors (removal of state subsidies to key industries)
   

Such objectives were to be met with a number of reforms or changes to the way the economy was previously run. What needs to be understood is such objectives were all geared towards gaining credibility abroad rather then deal with domestic woes. Musharaf’s team was composed of experts from the very institutions that had indebted Pakistan and insisted on policies that would reduce debt. They proposed a number of reforms to achieve the above objectives, which included:

1. The privatisation of the banking and financial sector
2. The removal and reductions of all tariffs which protected Pakistan industry and agriculture
3. The privatisation of all public sector enterprises
4. Sale of shares to public through stock exchanges
5. Removal of subsidies and administered prices on agriculture commodities
6. The removal of all barriers on agriculture exports and imports
7. The removal of all price controls, leaving essential prices to market forces
8. Removal of domestic price controls of petroleum products and aligned with international prices domestically

Privatisation: past and present

Misgivings about the concentration of wealth in Pakistan (both East and West at this time) were voiced in official circles as early as 1959, when it was noted by Credit Inquiry Committee of State Bank of Pakistan that 222 depositors were making use of 66% of the total credit facilities offered by Pakistan’s banking system. In a study in the same period by Gustav Papanek, who today is President of the Boston Institute for Developing Economies and Professor of Economics Emeritus at Boston University, however at the time he was Harvard advisor to Pakistan, established that 24 individuals, firms and companies controlled nearly all of the country’s industrial assets. Both the Awami League in East Pakistan and PPP in West Pakistan came to power promising nationalisation. The heavy concentration of wealth among non-Bengalis is considered one of the key factors leading to a separatist sentiment in East Pakistan, and members of the leading families admit that, in anticipation of separation, they moved all investment and headquarters to West Pakistan. Following the separation of East Pakistan, these families were dealt a heavy blow, as the assets of non-Bengalis over 1.5m rupees were nationalised in now separate Bangladesh.
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto ushered in the era of nationalisation with key industrial units coming under government control. The shock of nationalisation and loss of millions in assets for the leading industrial families resulted in the absence of any large industrial projects. Business leaders had became risk-averse, avoiding the capital-intensive industries, which were easy to seize, but are also key engines of growth and employment. Many of the leading families left Pakistan in the 1970s, withdrawing capital permanently for investment in the West.
In 1988, Benazir Bhutto’s government commissioned a privatisation plan from Rothschild and Son, which recommended Thatcher style privatisation through the stock exchange. When Benazir’s government was dismissed in 1990 Nawaz Sharif continued western style privatisation identifying 115 units for privatisation. The Musharraf government has continued with the privatisation drive and sold off remaining enterprises. The most important aspect of Musharraf’s economic reform package has been the wide scale mass sell-off of state industry, energy, and telecommunications, banking and public enterprises.
The justification for the privatisation policies was that the units were performing poorly, and that their sale would generate much-valued revenue for the state. However, in practice the promised gains amounted to nothing. Although the Musharraf government championed the privatisation programme as bringing competition, competitiveness and efficiencies to their respective sectors they were sold below their market values to make them attractive. They were sold by placing them on the stock market which led to them being bought by speculative investors only interested in short term gains and the proceeds were used to reduce the mounting debt burden.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

Pakistan has been praised heavily for deregulating its economy allowing foreign multinationals to invest in Pakistan taking advantage of its mineral resources. Foreign direct investment (FDI) has soared to $2.2 billion in 2006; by the end of 2007 FDI will be $7 billion. Pakistan assembles Suzuki’s, defence equipment (submarines, tanks, and radars), salt, marble, onyx, engineering goods, and many other items. BMW, Toyota, and Honda have also invested in manufacturing facilities in the country.
However the sustainability of such a policy for domestic development has to be questioned. The usefulness of foreign direct investment, whereby foreign investors bring their capital and repatriate their earnings, profits, debt servicing, royalties, technical fees and even capital, without any restrictions in reality brings no benefit to Pakistan. Under the guise of globalisation many western companies place production facilities in the Third world making use of lax laws, cheap labour then sell the very same items for extortionate prices abroad.
Pakistan has not become an important destination for investors as India has over the last decade. India offers the promise of political stability, a legal system that can protect investors, a highly trained workforce, and a fairly large rate of domestic savings. It also has a large domestic market, which is of interest to foreign companies. Pakistan, on the other hand, is a country with a high level of illiteracy (only 54% of people above the age of 15 can read or write), in which political instability continues to threaten the pursuit of economic policies that could be sustained. If foreign investors have been attracted to the country it is only those who either are tapping the large market for basic goods for their own consumption. When the government claims that it has made possible large foreign direct investment into the country, it does not mention that FDI has come in the form of purchase of domestic cigarette manufacturing by America’s Altria group, or by an expansion in the presence of food and beverage companies such as Pepsi Cola and McDonald’s.
But investment in consumer products and domestic services cannot be the basis of long-term sustainable growth. The vulnerability of the economy to external funds was revealed by the data on investments and its sources by the finance ministry. During the Musharraf period, the rate of investment has increased by a third, from 17.2% of GDP in 2001-02 to 23% in 2006-07. However domestic savings have declined from 17.8% to 16.1% of GDP in the same period. This means that the economy is even more dependent on foreign flows than was the case in the 1990s. This dependence may not mean that the continuing political support of western governments and development institutions such as the World Bank is absolutely critical for economic progress. But there is now reliance on foreign companies and the money they invest in Pakistan. Hence Pakistan’s reliance on foreign funds has changed from international institutes to international companies. The claim of Islamabad that the economy is now moving on a sustainable course and that it will not be derailed by political storms is hard to accept. This is because a reliance on foreign funds can never be sustainable as foreign companies will choose the cheapest markets for production facilities that will not always be Pakistan; hence any economy which relies on foreign investment remains vulnerable to external shocks.

The role of the Service Sector

The services sector has been the driving force behind Musharraf’s so called success. It is now 54% of Pakistan’s economy but employs only 36% of the population. The regime has failed to develop foundations of a modern, competitive, and productive economy and as a result its reliance has been on services sector, real estate, and the stock market. The real productive sectors of the economy, both industry and agriculture have been completely ignored.
The privatisation programme saw most of Pakistan’s assets end up on the stock market; by 2004 Pakistan’s KSE 100 Index was the best-performing stock market index in the world as declared by the international magazine “Business Week.”[1] The stock market capitalisation of listed companies in Pakistan was valued at $10 billion in 2005 by the World Bank. Transport, storage, communications, finance, and insurance accounted for most of the services sector.
The property sector has expanded twenty-threefold since 2001, particularly in metropolises like Lahore. However the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimated in late 2006 that the overall production of housing units in Pakistan has to be increased to 500 000 units annually to address 6 million backlog of housing in Pakistan for meeting the housing shortfall in next 20 years. The report notes that the present housing stock is also rapidly ageing and an estimate suggests that more than 50% of stock is over 50 years old. It is also estimated that 50 percent of the urban population now lives in slums and squatter settlements. The report said that meeting the backlog in housing, besides replacement of out-lived housing units is beyond the financial resources of the government. This necessitates putting in place a framework to facilitate financing from the private sector and mobilise non-government resources for a market-based housing finance system.[2]
Pakistan has a population of 160 million, the 5th largest in the world and only generates $128 billion a year, this is the equivalent of Israel which does so with a population of 7 million (the size of Lahore). Half of this wealth is being generated from the services sector, which employs only a minority of the population. Hence only the rich have benefited from Musharraf’s policies as it is they who consume, spend and sustain the service sector which ultimately caters for them. The majority of people are unable to spend on real estate, purchase shares of the stock market or buy luxury goods as 72% of Pakistan live on less then $2 a day (World Bank, 2006). The size of the services sector shows Musharraf’s policies have been developed for the rich, by the rich and to sustain the rich.

Pakistani Debt continues to rise

General Musharraf’s regime has broken all records in borrowing and has pushed the country into a debt trap. Recent State Bank reports showed the government had borrowed a staggering amount of over $15 billion in the past four years, as the country’s total debt and liabilities had peaked to an all time high of $40 billion. Such debt apart from additional borrowing is also composed of rescheduled debt as the Musharraf government continued borrowing to fund basic government duties and the inability to generate sufficient wealth from the domestic economy. Such amounts of debt have never existed in the history of Pakistan. By the end of 2004, the total external debt was $33 billion. If the government had stopped borrowing as it claimed, the country’s total debt would have declined to $23 billion based upon Pakistan’s regular yearly payments by the end of June 2007.
With the absence of basic industry in Pakistan, imports have become critical and have been rising due to this. Pakistan now faces an all time high trade deficit. Pakistan has borrowed over $3 billion during 2006-2007. The figures reveal that the huge borrowing was made to pay debt and continuous current account deficits. This is because the Pakistan government was unable to provide for the basic needs of the country, were forced to import larger amounts from in excess of exports and this has resulted in a deficit. Average annual payment of debt servicing has reached $3.3 billion in 2007. The current account deficit for the fiscal year ending on June 30, 2007 had increased by 41% reaching $7 billion. Instead of focusing on increasing exports the Musharraf government is relying on unreliable sources like foreign direct investment (FDI), remittances by overseas Pakistanis and privatisation to meet the gap.
This clearly shows the Musharraf regime’s lack of vision has failed to develop the foundations of a productive economy. In previous eight years its reliance has been on the services sector, real estate, and stock market. The real productive sectors of the economy, both industry and agriculture, were ignored. The infrastructure in Pakistan has not been upgraded and as a result the country now faces a serious energy crisis. The social sectors continue to be neglected with expenditure for education and health sectors much lower than those of previous governments.

Poverty

Although Pakistan generates $128 billion the people of Pakistan see very little of this wealth and live in severe poverty. Wealth distribution represents a glaring failure on part of the Musharraf government as its policies have only benefited the select few, life for most Pakistani’s is a daily struggle of making ends meet which has got even worse since Musharraf took over. Depending on which measure is used the World Bank puts 17% of the population living on less then $1 a day whilst 73% of the population lives on less then $2 a day. The World Bank also puts 33% (the size of South Korea) of the population living under the poverty line, another measure, which is a national estimate based on population-weighted subgroup estimates which is decided by national governments.
The blatant inequality is something all the people of Pakistan can see. The Pakistan Economic Survey 2006-07 acknowledges that the gap between the rich and the poor in the country widened in the period 2001 and 2005 (when the two surveys that have provided the data were held). The ratio of the income of the richest 20% and the poorest 20% went up from 3.76 to 4.15. The Gini Coefficient, which is universally regarded as an efficient measure of income equality, changed from 0.2752 to 0.2976 (that is for the worse). The thrust towards privatisation of facilities in the social sectors, especially education and health, has made these services more costly and less affordable for the common man. People are now compelled to spend more on most basic necessities. The government’s own figures say that the poor are now spending 14.6% more (as compared to 2001) on health. Ironically, the rich are spending 6% less - thanks to the better food, environment and living conditions they can afford. The poor are spending 50% more on transport and 11% more on food. The Musharraf regime has attempted to gloss the figures over by juggling around with statistics and definitions. Such shifts in the yardsticks adopted have distorted results beyond belief. For instance, a new methodology has led the government to change the poverty line figure in 2001. Thus an income of Rs878 per month per capita has been taken as the poverty line. This amount is at complete odds with the facts on the ground. Not surprisingly, the figures cited by the government for people living below the poverty line have come to be widely questioned. With poverty alleviation being the buzzword in Pakistan’s economic development and a key criterion for aid givers, policymakers are desperately trying to prove the success of their strategy in terms of falling poverty levels. What is so shocking is the fact that although the situation of most of Pakistan is one of abject poverty according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation, Pakistan in 2005 was the worlds:

Largest producer of Ghee
2nd largest producer of Chickpeas
4th largest producer of Apricot, Cotton and Sugarcane
5th largest producer of Milk and Onion
6th largest producer of Date Palm
7th largest producer of Mango
8th largest producer of Tangerines, mandarin orange and Rice
9th largest producer of Wheat, and
10th largest producer of Oranges

Inflation has also pushed many people into poverty as prices continue to rise. Add to this the increase of the general sales tax (GST), life for most Pakistanis has become more difficult in the last decade. The huge surge in prices has been caused by huge increase in money supply particularly private credit, which has risen by an astounding average annual rate of 25% over the last five years. Such credit has caused considerable damage to the economy and the country’s poverty stricken citizens. The credit has fuelled inflation, which officially stands at 10%. However that is the average price increase, most essential items have risen much higher in price including staple foods like flour and cooking oil. During the last six years essential kitchen items have increased by 200% - 300%. Opposition MP Ahsan Iqbal exposed the Musharraf government emphasising “The government policies are pushing the country towards a serious crisis. The cost of borrowing could be a threat to the country’s economy as,” he said. “The State Bank has been purchasing billions of dollars from the local market by flooding the local currency and creating inflation in the country.”[3]

Conclusions

The Musharraf strategy for the economy is comparable to using ointment to deal with a tooth ache; it may psychologically make one feel better but in no way deals with underlying problem making the inevitable pain to re-surface at a later time. Musharraf has managed to win the hearts of the West as he has opened the economy to them and rescheduled debt which 8 years ago was on the verge of being defaulted. Domestically only a handful of people have benefited from the wealth the economy has generated who could be considered Musharraf’s support base. However many of those who live in Pakistan have not been fooled by Musharraf’s polices and for them the recent state of emergency symbolises the beginning of the end of Musharraf. So desperate is Musharraf he recently awarded his core generals plots of land ensuring they do not desert him. Pakistani economists continue to argue free markets has brought much success to Pakistan however has not been the case as most of Pakistan’s economic policies are short term, political and not sustainable for the well-being of the nation. Hence although the economy may be growing Pakistan’s economy remains dysfunctional and unable to cater for its own citizens. Hence the economy needs a complete overhaul not mere cosmetic surgery. As Shahid Javed Burki, former vice president of World Bank who was in charge of the bank’s Latin American division when Mexico was hit by a financial crisis in 1994 put it “Pakistan is facing symptoms that preceded the Mexican financial crisis more than 10 years ago”. He points to the nation’s current account deficit, ‘excessive’ speculative business activity and weak banking system is all heading in only one direction.[4]

In part 2 policies will be presented on how the Pakistan economy should be structured and a vision for the future direction of the economy.

Peoples Resistance calls for meeting at Karachi Press Club

Friends,
This is an open call issued by members of the People's Resistance group to all activists in Karachi to attend a meeting at the Karachi Press Club

Venue: Karachi Press Club
Date: 6th Dec 2007
Time: 5:00pm

Agenda:

A number of civil society groups, laborer's, student bodies and political parties are invited to join hands to plan and issue a call for a city wide protest in the near future (13th or 14th Dec) [decision pending]. It must be remembered that People's Resistance would also like to also issue a unified stand on the present political situation during the meeting, and we anticipate a total consensus amongst the participating organizations, founding the basis of our future protests and coalition, which are as follows

1) We consider the PCO to be unconstitutional and all actions taken under this, as illegal.
2) We demand the immediate repeal of the PCO, Army Act 2007, PEMRA Ordinances 2007, and demand the restoration of the judiciary and complete freedom of the media.
3) We reject army rule - overt and covert
4) We reject the holding of elections under the Musharraf regime
5) We reject Pervez Musharraf as an illegal and illegitimate entity.

Please remember this is just a meeting, with no intention of agitation or protests, and would strongly urge all activists in Karachi to show up in numbers and be a part of this important process. Request to please help propagate this message to a wider audience. In Complete Unity for Pakistan

15 Baloch Students arrested from a Quran Khawani!

Courtesy- Dawn News

QUETTA, Dec 4:

The Baloch Students Organisation (BSO) has alleged that police have arrested 15 students of the Lasbela University of Agriculture, Water and Marine Sciences in Uthal for organising a Quran Khwani on the campus for Baloch leader Nawabzada Balaach Marri who was killed few days ago. Addressing a news conference on Tuesday, BSO’s central executive committee member Farida Baloch accused police of torturing the students.She said atrocities would not compel the Baloch people to give up the struggle for their rights. Balochs had been facing the excesses of rulers for 60 years, she added. She said that forces were not only targeting BSO members but also implicating members of their families in false cases.

(We strongly condemn this despicably brutal act by the police upon innocent students gathered for a sombre and religious cause. If the state cannot even respect religious customs, it is sad evidence of the fact that they have renounced every ounce of humanity that could possibly remain. It is baffling as to how sheer tyranny and bigotry of this sort can even be tolerated, let alone ordered by any government. It is a stark reminder of the fact that the Musharraf regime is the only real extremist around and is an evil that must be rooted out at all costs. We reach out to our fellow Balochi Students in support and solidarity and solemnly pledge to remain committed to our cause for civil freedom, liberty and rule of law, until we the citizens are no longer subjected to further such state brutalities. We recognize that the Baloch's have been targeted by despotic rulers for many decades now, and it is only very recently that we have recieved a taste of what they have endured for so long. We salute them for their strength and resilience and reach out to them in these times in complete unity.)

The Emergency Times- Eds

Observe Dec 10 as 'Black Day'!

Lahore 05 December 2007:

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan calls upon all members of civil society to observe the Universal Human Rights Day as a "black day". The worst human rights abuses, in the history of the country, were recorded in 2007. The rights of ordinary people have been violated by the government with impunity. More than 400 people have been picked up by security forces and many remain missing. The Musharraf regime obstructed the Supreme Court in providing justice to those who remain disappeared, as well as those who recorded their statements of having suffered extreme forms of torture at the hands of the security forces. Reports of torture, threats, intimidation, and arbitrary arrests run into thousands. Incidents of extrajudicial killings continue to be reported but never investigated.

The situation has now reached alarming proportions. The coercive apparatus of the State are being blatantly used against all sections of civil society. The media is chained and free expression censured. Thousands of lawyers, journalists, students, teachers and human rights activists were arrested. A number of them remain incarcerated under deplorable conditions. Lawyers and others have been accused of offences falling under the Anti-Terrorism Act. Thirty-five judges of superior courts have been put under house arrest. The family of the Chief Justice of Pakistan is also confined to their residence. This is unprecedented.
The rights of the people are being usurped on the pretext of curbing terrorism. It is the people who are suffering terrorism; both at the hands of non-state militants and state agents. The government has failed to bring militants to justice or to disarm them. On the contrary, at several occasions, the government and its agents have patronized or in the least, ignored criminal acts carried out by militants acting in the name of Islam.

HRCP warns that the claim made by Musharraf of moving towards a transition to democracy is a total farce. The assertion is yet another smack on the face of the people of Pakistan. Amendments to the Legal Practitioners and Bar Council Act as well as the Army Act are only a few examples of the government's grand plan to subjugate the spirit of peaceful members of civil society. Much more is to follow.

HRCP, along with other civil society groups, will organize a black day on the 10th of December. Black flags and bands should be displayed on this unworthy occasion. In order to record the laudable struggle of the legal fraternity of Pakistan HRCP will award the best documentary film made on this movement. All entries are to be submitted by 30 June 2008.

Asma Jahangir
Chairperson Human Rights Commission of Pakistan

People's Resistance- Press Release

Civil society organizations condemn government crackdown on peaceful dissent

KARACHI, Dec 5: The People's Resistance, a coalition of civil society organization and individuals, strongly condemns the government's hard-line and brutal actions against peaceful dissent. These recent actions only betray the government's own weakness:

The Law Ministry's notification about the retirement of the judges who did not take oath under the PCO, and the attempted eviction of such judges from their official residences, in particular Justice M.A. Shahid Siddiqui in Lahore.

The FIRs registered against LUMS faculty members for wall-chalking -- Rasul Bakhsh Rais, Aasim S. Akhtar (who is not even in Lahore), Osama Siddique and Farhat Haq (who has not been at the university for past two years) and a student.

The brutal lathi-charge on the huge student-led demonstration in Islamabad on Dec 4.

The arrest and deportation of two American peace activists who were in Pakistan to express their solidarity with the people. This action and the way it was carried out, by armed, plainclothesmen, further tarnished the image of Pakistan.

We demand:
- The Law Ministry should immediately withdraw its shameful notification about the judges' retirement. Caretaker Law Minister Afzal Haider needs to stand up for constitutionality and legality as he is duty bound to do.
- The immediate withdrawal of the FIRs against the LUMS faculty and student.

We call on the democracy-loving people of Pakistan to join in the struggle for justice. We invite people to form a physical barrier at the homes of those judges who are being evicted, as the courageous activists of Lahore have been doing. We reiterate our refusal to accept the current dispensation with its curbs on the media and the judiciary.

Pictures from the Lums Protest

Press Release- Lums Student Movement

Lahore 05.12.2007 -

Despite intimidation by the police, LUMS students continued their protest today (Wednesday). A sit-in was held at 1 pm outside the PDC. Students and faculty members made speeches, condemning the FIRs registered against members of the LUMS community and asking the protestors to continue their fight for justice. The eviction of Justice Shahid Siddiqui from his residence and the disgraceful treatment meted out to US peace activists Medea Benjamin and Tighe Barry were also strongly condemned. Students from LUMS were present at Justice Siddiqui's residence at 2 am this morning and during the day today (Wednesday), forming part of a human shield to prevent the police from entering the premises.

Student Representatives from the LUMS Action committee along with prominent human rights activists, PMDC members, Lawyers, students and civil society members, attended a debate organized by The Campaign for Democracy and Rule of Law, at the Lahore Press Club today. The debate was held between the aforementioned groups and party members from most of the political parties to discuss party stances regarding the upcoming elections. Other than the ANP and PPP, party representatives confirmed that they would be boycotting the elections under the present circumstances.

A talk is planned for 9 pm today on campus, followed by a screening of the documentary 'Missing People'. The LUMS Student Action Committee has also organised a protest to be held on campus tomorrow.

-- RegardsPublic Relations ManagerLUMS Student Movement

PML Q's banner's adorned with Graffiti =)

Dear all,

This morning while going to the office I came upon a very pleasant sight, which I want to share with all of you. A day earlier, PML (Q) had hung its banners (depicting PML (Q) election symbol bicycle in white on a sparkling green background) with lamp posts along different roads of Lahore. This morning, most of them had black stickers carrying the slogan General nahi Judge, Emergency nahi Insaf pasted on them. Some of them had Vote Zulm or Lotay in black spray paint. I was filled with admiration for the courage of those (most probably students or lawyers) who carried out the audacious task and sent a strong message to both the PML (Q) and the public.

As is evident from the statement of political leaders, there is only a meek chance of the opposition going for boycott of elections or standing for the cause of the judiciary. Benazir and Nawaz Sharif have agreed to leave the matter of the restoration of judges to the next parliament. By all indications, in the long run, there is bound to be a divergence between the political parties and the civil society, which is struggling for the restoration of the judiciary and democracy with a clear vision. In that event, this would be a good idea to give other political parties too a message that the public boycott them for their opportunism and expediency – graffiti on their banners and hoardings.

(The Emergency Times- Eds This is coincidentally humorous since we all know that some students and faculty have already been charged for wall chalking. In the present circumstances, with our legal right to free expression robbed from us, wall chalking and banner graffiti amid other innovations cheerfully becomes an avenue for artistic and political expression. Paint away folks, our thoughts and ideas cannot be caged)

Justice Siddiqui suffers angina attack!

Dear all,

Late last night/early this morning, the police did, in fact come to Justice Siddiqui's house in Lahore and removed the barricades ( i.e. chairs, bedding etc. placed by the protesters) in preparation of the eviction. Justice Siddiqui suffered an angina episode and was admitted at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. Please send notes, flowers to show your continued support for him in this ordeal. For those outside the city or country, you can e-mail your letter of support to concernedpakistan@gmail.com - we will make sure the letter reaches him.

Thanks & God bless you all

In Complete Solidarity

CCP ( Concerned Citizens of Pakistan Team)

News report on LUMS student protests in BBC Urdu

عباد الحق بی بی سی اردو ڈاٹ کام، لاہور


’طلباء موجودہ صورت حال سے لاتعلق نہیں رہ سکتے‘
لاہور پولیس نے لاہور یونیورسٹی آف مینجمنٹ سائنسز (لمز)یورسٹی کے چار پروفیسروں اور دو طالب علموں کے خلاف اندیشۂ نقصِ امن عامہ سمیت دیگر دفعات کے تحت مقدمہ درج کرلیا گیا ہے۔
’لمز‘ لاہور کا پہلا تعلیمی ادارہ ہے جہاں ایمرجنسی کے نفاذ اور عبوری آئینی حکم کے اجراء کے خلاف طلبہ نے احتجاج شروع کیا تھا اور یہ احتجاج مختلف انداز میں جاری ہے۔
جن افراد کے خلاف پولیس سٹیشن ڈیفننس میں مقدمہ درج کیا گیا ہے ان میں یونیورسٹی کے سینئر پروفیسر رسول بخش رئیس، اسامہ صدیق، فرحت الحق اور عاصم سجاد کے علاوہ دو طلباء سعد لطیف اور عمر شامل ہیں۔
مقدمہ میں دفعہ ایک سو چوالیس کی خلاف ورزی کرنے، ایم پی او سولہ اور وال چاکنگ ایکٹ کی خلاف ورزی کرنے کے الزامات عائد کیے گئے ہیں۔
لمز یونیورسٹی کے کسی استاد یا طالب علم کا کسی سیاسی جماعت سے کوئی تعلق نہیں ہے اور یہ تمام لوگ اپنے طور یہ محسوس کرتے ہیں کہ ملک میں عدلیہ کو آزاد ہونا چاہیے۔ یونیورسٹی کے طلبہ میں یہ سوچنے اور سمجھنے کی صلاحیت پیدا کی جاتی ہے اور اس لیے وہ موجودہ صورت حال سے لاتعلق نہیں رہ سکتے۔

ڈاکٹر رسول بخش رئیس
ممتاز تجزیہ نگار اور پروفیسر ڈاکٹر رسول بخش رئیس نے بی بی سی سے گفتگو کرتے ہوئے بتایا کہ منگل کو ایک پولیس انسپکٹر کی طرف سے یہ نوٹس دیا گیا ہے جس میں کہا گیا کہ خود ان سمیت یونیورسٹی کے چار پروفیسروں اور دو طالب علموں کے خلاف سولہ ایم پی او سمیت دیگر دفعات کے تحت مقدمہ درج کیا گیا ہے۔
ان کے بقول’لمز یونیورسٹی کے کسی استاد یا طالب علم کا کسی سیاسی جماعت سے کوئی تعلق نہیں ہے اور یہ تمام لوگ اپنے طور یہ محسوس کرتے ہیں کہ ملک میں عدلیہ کو آزاد ہونا چاہیے‘۔ ان کا کہنا ہے کہ’یونیورسٹی کے طلبہ میں یہ سوچنے اور سمجھنے کی صلاحیت پیدا کی جاتی ہے اور اس لیے وہ موجودہ صورت حال سے لاتعلق نہیں رہ سکتے‘۔
ادھر منگل کو ہی سٹوڈنٹ ایکشن کمیٹی نے عدلیہ اور میڈیا کی آزادی کے لیے لاہور پریس کلب کے باہر ایک مظاہرہ کیا۔ اس مظاہرے کی وجہ سے پولیس نے لمز یونیورسٹی کا محاصرہ بھی کیا لیکن کے باوجود لمز کے طلبہ کی بڑی تعداد نے مظاہرے میں شرکت کی۔ مظاہرے میں انسانی حقوق کمیشن کی حنا جیلانی کے علاوہ وکلا اور سول سوسائٹی کے ارکان نے بھی شرکت کی۔
دریں اثناء امن کے لیے کام کرنے والی ایک تنظیم کے ٹیری اور بنجمن نامی دو امریکی ارکان کو پاکستان میں ایمرجنسی کے نفاذ کے خلاف احتجاج کرنے حراست میں لے کر امریکی قونصلیٹ کی تحویل میں دے دیا گیا ہے اور امکان ہے کہ ان کو ملک بدر کر دیا جائےگا۔
دونوں امریکی شہریوں نے بیرسٹر اعتزاز احسن کی رہائی کے علاوہ لاہور شہر میں مختلف مقامات پر ہونے والے اجتجاج میں بھرپور حصہ لیا اور حکومت کے خلاف نعرے بازی کرتے رہے۔ دونوں امریکن شہریوں نے اعتزاز احسن سے ملاقات کے لیے آنے والی امریکی سفیر کی روانگی کے موقع پر بش اور مشرف کے خلاف نعرہ بازی بھی کی تھی۔

'Not Without My Khakis'

He said it. He probably could not control his emotions on the day when he bid farewell to the army in a ceremony reeking of pomp and excess, but Musharraf summed up, in one sentence, the supreme military psyche: “Without this army, the entity of Pakistan cannot exist” [emphasis added].

Right. And we lost East Pakistan partly because this glorious army surrendered when it most mattered that they put up a fight! Thanks to this very army the “entity of Pakistan” is struggling to stay alive today. Its interference, time and again, in the political process-not to mention its other ambitious money-making schemes- has done irreparable damage to the country’s institutions (in addition to that caused by some politicians).

Pakistanis too, are fast developing an intense dislike for the country’s army. Only the other day someone remarked “Show me an army officer, and I’ll show you a real estate agent.” What a shameful image the institution has created for itself.

What sham democracy are we heading towards, where the general-turned-president firmly believes that the army is the ‘be all and end all’ for the country, that our “existence” (no mild choice of words, mind you) depends on an institution that has, time and again, proved itself hungry only for power and wealth.

One is astounded at the audacity of the former general as he callously reduced Pakistan to a mere “entity” whose past and future rests on the shoulders of this bungling mob of soldiers called an army. And, to give credit where it is due, for so many months now and with many a heavy heart, the lower ranks of the military have been fighting fellow Pakistanis. While we empathize with them, we cannot ignore the fact that they are part of an institution that has rarely served the country faithfully. This cannot have been what armies were created for.

It is but natural then that, in these unfortunate times, Pakistanis all over the world should gasp for a breath of fresh air, and struggle to revive that document which almost every other country in the world believes is the real key to a nation’s existence – the constitution. Surely, in the 21st century the life of any nation does not depend upon its army? And yet, in Pakistan our civilian president proclaims that his heart will remain inundated with love for the army. We only hope he can get his head out of the murky waters of military-style politics before his policies spell total ruin for Pakistan. Nevertheless, be warned all those who err to believe that Mr. Musharraf will be a force for positive change in Pakistan: you can take the man out of the army, but you will never take the army out of the man.

The struggle must continue. Musharraf may have shed his “skin” but there may be others conspiring to seize the much-coveted throne, illegally and extra-constitutionally. We can no longer allow the army, or any single person, be it a general or a politician, to attach to himself the label of indispensability. They must know that they are accountable to the people of Pakistan and, no number of self-constructed halos over their heads will detract from the oppression and misery they have wrought on Pakistan for sixty years!

We do not accept the sherwani in place of his khakis. Musharraf, the time has come for you and your beloved army to surrender your rein on power and make a full retreat!

Maria
Islamabad, Pakistan
December 2007

Abhee Na Rukna - Poetry of Defiance

click on image to read

Pictures from the Lahore Press Club Protest

Pictures from the Islamabad Protest

© photos copyright Fauzia Minallah

All Pictures are credited to Fauzia Minallah

-Eds

Massive Student Protest in Islamabad - Eyewitness Account

On the call of the Student Action Committee (Islamabad) over a 1000 protesters gathered at Aabpara Chowk in Islamabad today. The rally consisted mostly of students from many different universities of Islamabad and surrounding areas. Lawyers, NGOs, Human Rights workers, journalists and members of civil society also joined in to show their support to the students. They were holding flags, banners, placards, posters and flags and were demanding an end to all the draconian policies post Nov-3 and an immediate restoration of the deposed judges and lifting on all curbs on media.
The protest started peacefully at 3 pm. Participants showed their extreme hate towards inhumane ordinances with slogans such as "Rule of Guns and batons, will not work", "The policies of terror, are unacceptable". There was a specially prepared car with a loudspeaker on top that played national anthems and songs in praise of the brave Pakistanis who were fighting for their right for a normal democratic country.
As the protest started moving towards the police club, the police surrounded the protesters threatening dire consequences if they continued to move on. The protesters had made their mind that they will use their fundamental right to protest peacefully and non-violently and resisted to police intimidation. After a few rounds of negotiation the police allowed the protesters to proceed in "groups of 4" for "security reasons". Apparently, students are the new terrorists to them.
Female students proceeded initially but when police stopped all men from joining the proceedings they returned and refused to move till their male counterparts were also allowed to proceed. Someone had heard a few policemen talking about arresting the male protesters under Section 114 which suspends the fundamental human right of organizing a group meeting or rally and no one was willing to risk an arrest of any of their fellows. It was really heartening to see much solidarity amongst students who had all come from different schools, colleges and universities and from diverse backgrounds to come to the help of each other. We can find solace in the fact that the future leaders of Pakistan are united in their demand to save Pakistan and have forgotten their personal differences.
After the first cordon-off, the police surrounded the students another time this time hoping to intimidate them again to stop the protest. The indiscriminately hit a few students in a cowardly attempt to shatter their morale and stop their peaceful struggle. The students did not resist but more importantly did not give up. They sat down in front of the police and again after negotiations they were allowed to move forward but this time one at a time.
The students regrouped again and started moving together as one body. Many had received threats from bullies sitting in government offices to stop speaking up against tyranny and so were really particular in not moving ahead alone. Given thousands have 'disappeared' without charges or ever being brought before a court, it hardly came as a surprise. They wanted to be safe.
This time the police stooped to a new low and started targeting women. Ghazala Minallah sustained injuries on her face. Other prominent human rights activists were also targetted. Farzana Bari, Hajra Ahmad, Alia and Asha Amir Ali also got hit with batons. After watching such police brutality the students of Pakistan could not hold themselves any longer. The retaliated in self-defence and to protect the innocent women who were being specifically targeted. Many came forward to protect the women and put themselves as shields. Some were brave enough to pull batons away from the policemen. Some used their own flags to prevent the police from hitting women. In the struggle that followed many students got beaten up while a significant proportion of policemen also suffering some beating.
A few helmets of the Riot police fell to the ground, many of their batons were taken by the students and it adequately depicted the future to come: students will resist illegal authority, protect their fellow citizens of Pakistan and of course topple a draconian regime the same way they forced the police to withdraw. Forthwith the procession went ahead to the press club uninterrupted to show solidarity with the journalists. Many prominent speakers ranging from Iqbal Haider from the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and Marvi Samad, an activist spoke to this reinvigorated crowd that was louder than before.
The Students of Pakistan are not dead. They are coming out numbers to take back their Pakistan!
- Caped Avenger

Call for condemning this inhumane targeted beating of women by Policemen:

The police today was from a section of Capital Police. The Additional SP in today's protest was Nasir Aftab (who was also responsible for ordering baton charge on students and arresting 48 juveniles.) You can call him at 0300-8505563 to show your disgust as this level of indecency shown today. The Magistrate for today's protest was Kamran Cheema who is the same Magistrate who has repeatedly claimed that the CJ and the other honorable judges are allowed to move freely and who also suggested that Benazir was free to move about when police had barricaded her house. He can be reached at 9261163 (between 9-5). Please do convey your sentiments to these "defenders of the people of Pakistan" and anyone relevant.

Pictures From the Vigil at Justice Shahid Siddiqui's GOR residence

Human shield prevents forcible eviction of Justice Shahid Siddiqui!

Attempts to forcibly evict Justice Shahid Siddiqui from his official residence: Civil society activists, lawyers and retired judges – including Asma Jahangir, Hina Jilani, Asad Jamal and many others stayed outside his house all night (in the bitter Lahore cold).

They are rotating some 40-50 protesters outside the house at any given time forming a human shield to prevent the Punjab government from forcibly evicting him, said Hamid Khan (former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association). He said that there are only two non-PCO judges living in government housing in Lahore's GOR, Justice Shahid Siddiqui and Justice Ijaz Ahmed Choudhry – the others live in their own residences.

Several student protesters from the lahore press club protest later joined the vigil outside Justice Siddiqui's house. By4.30 pm, scores of student activists had gathered there. "The Justice also came out to speak to the protesters and lauded the efforts of the lawyers, students, media and activists. The protest went ahead despite threats from the police to arrest students from the universities involved."

When the current 'CJ' sent eviction orders to them (in violation of their own rules, which state that even on forced retirement an employee is given six months notice to find alternate accommodation), Shahid Siddiqui responded by challenging his authority and serving a contempt of court notice on him (posted yesterday on this list).

FIR AGAINST STUDENTS AND FACULTY FROM LUMS!

An FIR against two students and 4 faculty members was given to the LUMS guards today, probably in the late afternoon. They have been charged for nothing less than: Wall Chalking the police station wall. There is a problem with this:

1. Saad Latif, the Student Council President was out on an LAS trip for the last two weeks or so. In Manglixir, he could not have wall chalked the DHA thana.
2. Currently, there is no such Professor Farhat ul Haq at LUMS. In the last month or so there has not been any such person in LUMS.
3. Dr. Rasool Baksh: He's an aged dignified Professor, not an angry teenager, for God sakes...
4. Osama Siddiqi: He's been in the US for some time, meeting the who's who of America. I hope he will get back at these people.
5. Aasim Sajjad: Everyone knows that he is in the streets of Islamabad, doing bigger things than wallchalking. They just did a one-thousand-people-strong protest in Islamabad today.

Is this the kind of 'terrorism' that this Emergency was supposed to deter? Are these the infamous 'terrorists' and 'criminals'? Is this the kind of totalitarian state you want to live in?

If not, join us. Dont leave us alone in this critical hour. We may forget the acts of our enemy but we will never forget the silence of our friends.

Response to Ghazala Minallah's letter to Benazir Bhutto

(This is a response to the demands of the boycott; it puts things in their context and sheds light on what we know little about: the politics of boycott)


Dear Civil Society colleagues,

I have been reading the emotional e-mails and blogpostings by some of you (most notably GhazalaMinAllah's open Letter to Benazir Bhutto) demanding that Pakistan's political parties, especially PPP, follow non-political civil society organizations indemanding restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and other members of the unlawfully removed judiciary over and above all else.
There is also clamour that elections should be boycotted until judges are restored to their offices.
Civil society is fresh from its success of getting Justice Chaudhry restored a few months ago. But thenthe mechanism of restoration was street protests (backed by opposition parties) and a successful appeal to the Supreme Court itself. What mechanism do people have in mind this time? To think that General Musharraf will roll up his bed and go home after our demonstrations and the flurry of emails is a mistake.He could hand over power to another General, which won't solve Pakistan's rule of law problem.
It is time we take a long, hard look at our relationship with political parties and put our weight behind them rather than making the unrealistic demand that they follow us. The goal remains the same--restoration of the judiciary and supremacy of the constitution--but the "trashing the mainstream parties" approach should give way to respecting their weight and sacrifices, too. Aitzaz Ahsan, a PPP candidate for the National Assembly again, would most likely agree with me.
There is a long history of suspicion and criticism of the PPP by civil society organizations and admittedly Pakistan's politicians and parties are far from perfect. But let us face it, in the real world civi society assists political parties. It is not a substitute for them.
Wherever civil society has erroneously convinced itself that it can operate against or independent of politics, the establishment has thrived. Take the example of Egypt, which has more NGOs per capita than any other country. These NGOs denigrated Egypt's mainstream political parties in the 1980s and 1990s just as we are running down the PPP nowadays. The result is the entrenchment of Hosni Mubarak's Mukhabarat (Intelligence agencies) dictatorship.

Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto has been unequivocal in her support for the judiciary and there is no need to launch into long letters based on a single sentence here or there. She is a politician and must deal with multiple constituencies and demands, unlike most of us who have no compulsions. Our personal worst case scenario is that our next blog posting would be hacked. Ms Bhutto, her family and her party have paid a heavy price for confronting Pakistan's military and intelligence machinery. Their flaws and faults aside, there is no denying they have fought and borne the brunt of the repression of the Zia and Musharraf dictatorships.
Benazir Bhutto is on record as saying "Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary is our Chief Justice." Why do we not proceed on that statement and seek its reiteration instead of attacking Mohtarma?
The problem is that civil society has a strong non-political component whereas Ms Bhutto is a political leader. A politician must weigh all options. What if a polls boycott fails and, like 1985, the new assembly becomes operational without any real opposition? Then civil society would be easily smashed.
Also, an election campaign can help mobilize masses (as it did in 1977) and become the forerunner of a bigger protest movement against polls rigging. Imran Khan and some of his supporters are wrongly assuming that Benazir Bhutto's concern in not limiting themselves to the judiciary demand relates to NRO.
Having shouted at the top of their voices for a decade about the cases these people really believe that is Benazir Bhutto's real problem. It is not. Spain has already dismissed the case on grounds of inadequate evidence. The Swiss case is in its death throes. The London case is being quashed by the Appeals Court and the Pakistani cases will get nowhere given that they got nowhere in eleven years. So silly suggestions like"If we reassure Mohtarma that we will end the cases to get her to boycott the elections then maybe PPP will boycott" are based on a wrong premise.
Those who have never contested, lost or won an election do not understand the dynamic of elections. Especially in rural areas it is very difficult to stop people from voting. An election is one occasion when the poor get attention from the candidates. They do not want to miss this opportunity.
Even now, a boycott would be successful only in Lahore, Peshawar and possibly Rawalpindi-Islamabad. The Chaudhries will ensure a high turnout in Gujranwala division. Southern Punjab will turn out to vote for the traditional leaders and MQM will get the vote out in Sindh's large cities like Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur. If PPP boycotts, there might be low turnout in rural Sindh but who will be there to see it? Poor Balochistan seldom counts in electoral arithmetic. The result of a boycott would be a two-thirds majority for Musharraf's PML-Q, which would then do whatever it pleases wih the constitution.
In 1985, Ziaul Haq used smaller parties in MRD to pressure Benazir Bhutto into boycotting the non-party polls. All those advocating the boycott later turned out to be ISI's people. (Read accounts of that election in books by General K.M. Arif and others).
In principle, it sounds very logical to argue "We will not legitimize the election" by participating. In practice, let us go through the mechanism of what might happen. Elections take place, are boycotted by the opposition, result in a four-fifths "win" for PML-Q and JUI.

Then what? Street protests against the illegitimate assemblies? Who will ensure these protests will be big enough to make a difference? Assuming the protests are very large and sufficient to force Musharraf's hand, what would be the next step? Resignation and handing over power to the army chief? Is that what we want or need? Let us give the politicians, especially Benazir Bhutto, credit in figuring out how to work out a political formula of participating in elections under protest and then using the polls campaign as a springboard for a methodical protest campaign. Let us remember that civil society is very important but it is never a substitute for political parties. If international pressure makes the polls freer, the opposition can win and force Musharraf's hand. If the election is rigged, a wider anti-rigging campaign can be launched with the involvement of the poor voters who will feel cheated. In either case, Musharraf will have to talk to the opposition and an alternative way for his exit can be found than another military intervention.

As for the judiciary, civil society should focus on getting an unequivocal commitment from the political parties that they will restore the pre-November 3 judiciary upon being elected. And make the judiciary issue part of the polls campaign, alongside economic and other issues, instead of insisting that it be considered a separate matter from the country's overall politics.I know my view runs contrary to the sentiment of most civil society activists but I request that it be given careful consideration. After all, I am one of you and am not part of the Pakistani political system.

Sincerely,
Wasiq Ali

( The Emergency Times Eds- While its clear what stance we the students have taken on the issue of elections, this article admittedly does provoke thought and debate regarding the PPP's stance and the political subtleties that parties must consider. Critical responses to this article will be posted soon. While in no way do we denounce strategic moves such as using electioneering as a tool to mobilise the masses, our basic demand of non participation in the actual election remains. As such the particular gameplans of the parties are not our concern but on this principled stance we stand united. As to the merits and demerits of a boycott in the current context, an exegesis shall follow)

GEO Petition Dismissed!

Dec 4 update:

This morning, after dragging the case for weeks, the Sindh High Court dismissed Geo's petition to restore at least its non-news channels (sports, entertainment and youth) as 'non-maintainable under the PCO'.

US Human Rights Activists Harassed!

Press Release: December 4
Contact in Pakistan: 0308-204-2346

US Human Rights Activists Harassed by Pakistani GovernmentU.S. human rights activists Medea Benjamin and Tighe Barry were on their way to a student rally at the Lahore Press Club at 3pm on Tuesday, December 4, when they were stopped outside the Club gates by six plainclothes government agents. They were told they had to leave the country because their visas had expired. Both, however, have valid visas.The government agents grabbed Barry by the arm and tried to hold him. Benjamin got help from some journalists, who managed to escort the two activists inside the Club. At 5pm, prominent lawyer Khummeram Khosa drove his car into the Press Club premises to escort the activists out of the Club. The government agents, on three motorcycles, followed their car through the city streets. When the activists tried to call the media, they discovered that their phone was being jammed. The activists returned to the Press Club to alert the media about this harassment. They also advised the U.S. Embassy. "It's a sad state of affairs when the Pakistani government—a government that is trying to portray itself to the West as democratic—tries to harass and deport U.S. human rights activists," say Benjamin. "If they do this to us, who have the protection of being US citizens, imagine what they do to their own citizens." "We will not be intimidated," says Barry. "We will continue our activities here in support of Pakistanis struggling for democracy, and we call on the Pakistani government to stop harassing us and respect our rights." Benjamin and Barry are members of the U.S. human rights group Global Exchange and the women's peace group CODEPINK. They have been in Pakistan since November 25 on a mission to learn about and support Pakistani civil society. They have been meeting with lawyers, students, judges, journalists and political leaders. They also conducted a 24-hour vigil outside the home of prominent lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, who is under house arrest. Through these activities, they have received tremendous support and appreciation from the Pakistani people. Today, they received a Letter of Thanks from the Lahore High Court Bar Association. The lawyer extended "heartfelt gratitude for showing solidarity with the legal community of Pakistan" and for helping to "boost the moral of the Pakistani lawyers in their just struggle for the restoration of the Constitution."

A student movement?

It is not yet a student movement but at least the student community is in motion and ferment again after a lapse of a couple of decades. Whether this will develop into a movement is still to be seen. Students who had been absent, during the period from March to November in the struggle for the rule of law and for the freedom of the press, were suddenly galvanised by the events of 3rd November and the subsequent destruction of the constitution and the judiciary by Gen Musharraf. This is all the more remarkable as these students are primarily from the elite universities whom one would think have benefited most from the consumer boom and the neo-liberal policies of Musharraf and Shaukat Aziz. It is easy to be cynical about this embryo movement but there has already been one very significant and positive development and that is the fact that after nearly forty years the hold of the IJT on the Punjab University Campus seems to be broken. It is astonishing how rapidly the “hawa” of the IJT collapsed with the visit of Imran Khan to PU. In retrospect it is clear that the political atmosphere there had changed and it only required a trigger to precipitate that change. That trigger was provided by Imran’s visit. For the first time girls at PU are able to voice their opinions without the fear of the IJT goondas.

A few days ago I attended a meeting of students, from various universities in Lahore, who are organising the student demonstrations against Musharraf and for the restoration of the pre 3rd of November Supreme Court. The students, like other sectors of society, are demonstrating for the withdrawal of Emergency, restoration of the Constitution will all fundamental rights, for a free judiciary, removal of judges appointed under the infamous PCO and the withdrawal of the ban and restrictions on all print and electronic media. They see these minimum steps as prerequisites to re-establishing the rule of law in this country, so blatantly violated by Musharraf, and to ensuring that there will be free and fair elections.

The meeting took me back forty years to when I attended meetings of the Students for a Democratic Society, the famous SDS, at the University of Chicago. The SDS originally was concerned with civil rights issues, like the condition of Black Americans and the question of free speech (recall the Berkeley Free Speech Movement, led by Mario Savio). It later became the leading student group against the war on most US campuses. Its working strategy was based on participatory democracy and direct action. It was characterised by radicalism and student power. It had a strong belief in decentralisation and a distrust for most organisation and operated on a meagre budget and did not have a strong central bureaucracy. The meeting in Lahore reflected many of these aspects of the SDS. The same idealistic, youthful faces, chaotic meeting, no acceptance of leaders, wariness of leaders within the student movement and without, a multitude of different positions, a fear of the major parties using the student movement for their own purposes, hours and hours of discussion before any decision was taken, the striving for consensus and the stress on non-violence.

Following this meeting I participated in the student demonstration at Liberty Chowk on Friday the 30th. It was wonderful to see the youthful energy, the enthusiasm and the idealism of these students. It was the more surprising in that the majority of these students belonged to the well off classes, coming mostly from elite universities like LUMS, FAST, BNU with very few from PU for example. For me what is amazing is that these students are coming out to protest not for themselves per se (they are pretty well off and their future is assured) but for democratic principles and to safeguard the future of Pakistan. Unlike the SDS’s Free Speech Movement, which was for the right of free speech on campuses, or the anti-Vietnam movement, which was fuelled by the fear of the draft, Pakistani students are taking a stand on principles, which they rightly believe are necessary for a democratic and modern Pakistan. They see that the future of Pakistan is inexorably linked with democracy and the rule of law and for the end of military rule, whether direct or disguised. I do not here intend to belittle the SDS because not only did it play a vital role in the anti-Vietnam war movement but in spite of being essentially a white middle class organisation based in the elite universities (Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, Berkeley) it did actively make civil rights for Black Americans a central part of its programme and activities.

It is very easy to be critical of these upper class students. But from what I saw they are sincere in their wish to see Pakistan a democratic and just society. However, unlike the SDS which took up the cause of the disenfranchised and oppressed black population of the States, the student movement in Pakistan, much like the rest of the so-called civil society (a phrase which I dislike as it doesn’t mean anything; are others uncivil?), has not yet talked about the tremendous poverty in this country and has not yet taken up the issues of economic and social justice. The history of the SDS was different as it grew out of a socialist educational organisation. In contrast to the SDS, the Students Action Committee in Lahore is fairly heterogeneous, with very few students who consider themselves “leftists” (socialism is still a taboo word). However I had the impression that the leading role was being taken by progressive students. There were students, at the meeting, who could be classified as “rightists”. But these are early days and there is the need for unity of action concentrated on immediate issues of democracy and justice. Nevertheless some students who believe that the struggle should be linked to issues of social and economic justice have formed a more restricted Progressive Student Action Committee.

Given the class background of most of these students, they are still wary of taking direct action on the streets unlike the legal community and journalists. Most of the action has been limited to protests on campus but recently in Lahore there have been two major demonstrations on the streets organised by students, one a march from the Press Club to the Geo offices on Davis Road and the other the demonstration at Liberty. However there have been small quick `guerrilla’ actions by a handful of students. The students are not yet prepared to really go on the streets, like for example protest on the Mall and stop the traffic. They do not want a confrontation with the police, even in a non-violent manner.

Another interesting fact already mentioned above is that from March till 3rd November students as a group did not take active part in the protests. True there were individual students who were very active in Islamabad in front of the Supreme Court during all this time but they were there as individuals. But November 3 produced a qualitative change in that students joined the protests collectively. Something clicked at that point. As usual there are coincidental, contingent reasons for this change, e.g. the fact that some LUMS teachers happened to be at the HRCP office in Lahore on the 4th of November when the police arrived to break up the meeting and arrest the participants, including the LUMS teachers. This is what triggered student activism at LUMS and focussed the minds of students on the nature of the Musharraf regime. If there had not been this incident I doubt if LUMS students would have protested. But history is full of contingent causes.

In spite of these limitations I believe that the involvement of students is a very positive step towards the establishment of democracy and justice in Pakistan. I don’t want to overestimate the nascent student movement but neither do I want to downplay its significance. There is a call by the Students Action Committee for a nationwide student protest on 4th December. Students in the major cities of Pakistan are linking up and the success or otherwise of this protest day will tell us about the real strength of this movement and the prospects of its growth. One of the demands, which is beginning to be formulated, is student specific and that is for lifting the ban on student unions. In my opinion student unions are a healthy expression of student aspirations. Students are an important conscious element of society and their collective voice should be heard.

Another fact worth noting is that the lawyers and journalists movement has been joined not only by the usual suspects, NGOs and `civil society’ organisations and now students but also, perhaps surprisingly, by young professionals particularly in the IT sector. Both students and IT professionals are characterised by the fact that they belong to the modern Internet linked world. They have access to world media, particularly alternate media and this has broadened their perspectives on Pakistan. They are in a better position to situate Pakistan in the larger world context and are able to see how other countries and societies benefit from a democratic dispensation. Although the vast majority of the poor working classes are missing from this movement it is significant and a very positive development that at least some segments of the educated section of society are concerned with justice and democracy and do not just think of their own immediate welfare.

Within the last couple of years two events have given me hope for the future of Pakistan. The first event was the tremendous response by the people of Pakistan to the tragedy of the October 2005 earthquake. There was a huge aid effort mounted by ordinary people to help their fellow citizens in Kashmir and NWFP. But what I want to stress here is the response of the children of the elite. Students from all schools and universities, be they state or private, mobilised to collect relief and transport this to the affected areas. My point here is that the rich upper class students of institutions like LUMS, whom one would have suspected to have been immune to the suffering of the poor, also made large and significant contributions. I don’t want to make too much of this as I know that they still belong to the exploiting classes and when they went home after doing all the charity work they still had their drivers and servants. They didn’t think about raising their salaries or treating them better. But at least there is still a spark alive in them which allowed them to see for a moment the fellow humanity of the poor people affected by the earthquake. One can of course dismiss the earthquake charity work as noblesse oblige but I think it is more than that.

The earthquake relief effort by poor and rich alike from as far as Baluchistan and Sindh demonstrated that the ordinary people of Pakistan have a sense of unity. The earthquake brought out the feeling that we all, who live on this piece of earth, are in this together and we have to support and help each other. This feeling was more real and worth much more than all the platitudes mouthed by our dictators about national unity while they continue to bomb and kill their own fellow citizens.

The second series of events that give me hope for Pakistan is the response to the removal of the Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in March and the whole movement for the establishment of the rule of law and the end of one-man military rule in Pakistan. The fact that the educated conscious segment of society has come out for the defence of principles rather than personal short term gains is a good harbinger for the future of Pakistan. It is easy to say where are the masses? Does one forget so easily the thousands who came out to cheer and welcome the CJ on his drive from Islamabad to Lahore and the large crowds who gathered to listen to him wherever he went? These were not just lawyers. There were many ordinary citizens who realised that this was a historical period in Pakistan where for the first time the judiciary had stood up to defend the rule of law and its own institution against the arbitrary actions of a military dictator. The fact that students have joined them, even in limited numbers, is of great significance. Student activism on campus should be welcomed because for too long students have become apolitical and only interested in their own careers. If these events trigger even a few minds to think about the broader social and political problems of this country it will be a major positive development. For too long university campuses have become sterile without a semblance of debate. It is time that campuses again reverberate to fervent passionate debate and become breeding grounds for people who want to promote progressive social and political change in Pakistan.

Faheem Hussain
Visiting Professor of Physics
School of Science and Engineering
LUMS

Student Action Committee Protest at the Lahore Press Club

Lahore 04-12-2007:

A protest was held at the Lahore Press Club at 3 pm today (Tuesday) under the auspices of the Student Action Committee Lahore, which is comprised of 21 universities. At the same time, a parallel protest was being held in Islamabad, organised by the Islamabad Student Action Committee. In Lahore, about 200 students, lawyers, civil society activists and journalists gathered inside the press club holding placards and posters. The protesters formed a human chain around the Shimla Pahari, shouting slogans such as 'Adlia ki azadi tak jang rahe gi', 'Lathi goli ki sarkar nahin chale gi', 'Tulba maangain azadi', and 'Girti hui diwaar ko aik dhaka aur doo'. The protesters had originally aimed to march to the Geo office on Davis Road. However, since traffic was being blocked, the protesters decided to return to the press club so as not to cause inconvenience to motorists. Inside the press club, a number of speeches were made. Activist Hina Jillani, Bushra Aitzaz, and students from participating universities were among those who spoke. The speakers called for the reinstatement of the pre-November 3rd judiciary and the freeing of the media, and demanded that all political parties boycott the upcoming sham elections. The eviction of Justice Shahid Siddiqui, who refused to take oath under the PCO, from his house in GOR-I was condemned and the protesters were encouraged to go and protest outside the Justice's house. All the speakers encouraged the protesters to keep up their efforts and not back down until their goals had been achieved. The protesters then disbanded and many of them left for GOR-I. At the judge's residence, students joined lawyers, journalists and other activists outside Justice Shahid Siddiqui's house and chanted slogans. The Justice also came out to speak to the protesters and lauded the efforts of the lawyers, students, media and activists. The protest went ahead despite threats from the police to arrest students from the universities involved. FIRs have been registered against student and faculty who are thought to be leading the movement.-- RegardsPublic Relations ManagerLUMS Student Movement

(The Emergency Times -Eds_ Reports for the Islamabad protest will follow but of what is known it was a huge event with over 1000 protestors present and has succesfully registered the students demands.)

LUMS beseiged by Police

LUMS is currently surrounded by police personnel who have set up barricades near the front entrance. Inspection of all traffic going in and out of the University is underway. The professed motive is to prevent students from attending today's student rally at the Press Club.

Yesterday, a local SHO visited the LUMS campus and issued, in no uncertain terms, threats to abduct students who continued to participate in the protests. Similar intimidation attempts have been made in Islamabad, at people's homes.

The state continues to use totalitarian measures to curb the students' voice.

We will not back down.

In Complete Unity.

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