APDM to boycott elections

ISLAMABAD, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- A major opposition alliance in Pakistan Saturday decided it would boycott parliamentary elections if the constitution and sacked judges were not restored in four days.
At a meeting held here on Saturday, the All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) also demanded withdrawal of the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) and restrictions on media in four days, according to the private NNI news agency.

(We welcome this decision by the APDM. One hopes the PPP and other parties will follow suit. These sham elections cannot be legitimized by participating in them. We encourage everyone to contact leaders from the political parties (especially the PPP) and relay to them this concern.)

the tide continues to turn..

What are we fighting for?

Battleground High Court: hundreds upon hundreds of lawyers, young and old, men and women are dragged by their foreheads into dark and narrow police vans and no one knows where they are being taken. Court property is smashed, innocents are beaten up. On November the fifth, a false hope which had long bred inaction is killed, a nation is shocked to its senses. Someone up in the echelons of power is counting upon our silence but makes a fatal mistake and drags into the fight a force that should have been there all along: the students. Perhaps by another mistake, the students are allowed to leave battleground High Court.

We have been asked if we were there to observe as the country’s institutional foundations were set ablaze. Somehow, people manage to be surprised when we tell them that we were there to join the fight – the fight that lawyers and other civil society groups were, and still are, putting up for constitutional governance in Pakistan. More than two weeks down the lane, we are still fighting. We have rallied and protested, spoken and assembled countless times and in countless places. We have reached out to the halls of power, inside and outside this country. Above, all we are reaching out to the people. Let there be no mistake: we are not here to quit. No ruler should even count on our silence again. We cannot stay out of it any more because the nation has called. We will overthrow absolutist and arbitrary government and we will stay to safeguard democracy once we usher it in.

We do not fight at the behest of any political party or any political figure. We fight, just like the lawyers, as an independent, peaceful and organized group of citizens – the students. Our objectives are: the restoration of the constitution and the judiciary to what they were before November 3; release of martial law prisoners; revocation of curbs on the media; and revival of representative government by free and fair elections. These are rights that we are entitled to as humans and citizens. If we are denied these, we will not wait and observe, because half a century of waiting and observing by us and our parents has landed us nowhere. We will not beg for a ruler’s mercy because we, the people, are above that. We must fight until we get them. It is true that the re-emergence of students in politics is a complex phenomenon. But the bottom-line is that simple.

In this fight, we refuse to use or condone violence. Violence is the oppressors’ weapon; we shall win the hearts and minds. We stand on a higher moral ground and ultimately the moral force of our struggle will melt all that confronts it. We know who it is that we are up against. But there is no power on God’s earth greater than the power of the people, if they stand together.

As oppressors quiver, our loved ones’ hearts also quake. But in their heart of hearts they, and the whole nation, are proud of us. They know that the time has come for the youth to inherit the earth with all its bounties and all its struggles. We strive for constitutional and representative governance because it is worth our while and because we are convinced that somewhere, somehow, victory is just around the corner.

- Student Action Comittee at LUMS

LUMS faculty condemns arrest of PU faculty members

Appeal by teachers of the Lahore University of Management Sciences against the Intimidation and Harassment of faculty members of Punjab University.

23 November 2007

As a continuation of the attack on all civil institutions, and in line with Extra-Constitutional Rule, Gen. Musharraf and the interim Government of Punjab have instituted sedition charges against 14 members of the academic staff of Punjab University.

The FIR against them, under sections 124-A, 188, 143/149 and 16-MPO, was registered at the Muslim Town Police station. They have been charged with sedition and provoking the masses against the government for its action of imposing emergency and promulgating the PCO. The FIR was registered after the above teachers had taken part in demonstrations against the suspension of the constitution, the promulgation of emergency and for the restoration of the constitution and the judiciary. These were peaceful protests held inside the campus.

The academic staff of Punjab University is continuing its protest against the government and the Chancellor of the university and is demanding the withdrawal of FIRs against all 14 members of faculty.

The undersigned faculty members of the Lahore University of Management Sciences condemn the attempt, through harassment and intimidation, to silence voices of reason whose only fault is their desire to restore democracy and the rule of law in Pakistan. We also condemn extra Constitutional Rule that suspends academia’s and the wider citizenries’ constitutional rights of freedom of assembly and association.

We demand the withdrawal of the charges against the faculty members of Punjab University. We express solidarity with our colleagues at Punjab University and all citizens engaged in the just struggle to end the state of emergency, restore the constitution and the rule of law, the lifting of the ban on the press and the restoration of the Supreme Court and the Judiciary.

Signatories to appeal:

Syed Aun Abbas
Asad Abidi
Nasir Afghan
Khurram Afridi
Shazia Afzal
Zeeshan Ahmed
Asad Alam
Syed Mubashir Ali
Syed Zahid Ali
Naveed Arshad
Hassan Azad
Sadaf Aziz
Shahab Baqai
Faisal Bari
Mohammad Basharullah
Faqir Bhatti
Shaukat Brah
Abid Burki
Aslam Butt
Ali Cheema
Saeed Ghazi
Syed Nomanul Haq
Ehsan ul Haque
Omair Haroon
Syed Zahoor Hassan
Faheem Hussain
Turab Hussain
Wasiq Hussain
Jahangir Ikram
M. Ashraf Iqbal
Faheem ul Islam
Tariq M. Jadoon
Zaeem Jafri
Asim Karim
Furrukh Khan
Jamshed H. Khan
Maryam Khan
Jawwad S. Khawaja
Miguel Loureiro
Shahid Masud
Shandana Mohmand
Khalid Mir
Nabil Mustafa
Shehreen Najam
M. Farooq Naseer
Anjum Nasim
Roger Normand
Manasa Patnam
Taimur Rahman
Rasul Baksh Rais
Hassna Ramay
Khalid Rasheed
Imran Rashid
Reehana Raza
Masood H. Shah
Sultan Sial
Osama Siddique
Sarah Zaidi
Tasneem Zehra
Nouman Zubair

Witness account of the arrest of Advocate Athar Minallah

21st November 2007

Athar Minallah was arrested on the 21^st of Nov. 2007 at approx. 1.30pm .He had been accompanying Retd. Justice Wajiuddin Ahmad the whole of that morning. After the arrival of the judge from Karachi Athar took him to the District courts of Islamabad in the F-8 sector where the Hon . Retd. Judge delivered a speech to the lawyers.While still at the dist. Courts ,someone conveyed a message that the Chief Justice, Justice Iftikhar Mohd Chaudhry had left his house and was trying to go to the Supreme Court, but was being prevented by the police.That very day a govt. spokesperson had announced in the newspapers that the judges "WERE NOT DETAINED '' .It was due to this news that the Chief Justice and Justice Bhagwandas decided to go to the SC.

When Justice Wajiuddin and an entourage of lawyers arrived at the scene the place was crawling with police carrying batons and shields and wearing helmets.When Jus. Wajiuddin wanted to go and visit the CJ, he was denied access to the road leading to the detained judges houses , and when he demanded an explanation as to why he being prevented ,the reply was "HOW COULD HE BE ALLOWED TO GO TO THE SUPREME COURT.There were some clashes between the police and the lawyers ,and a lot of loud and angry slogans were being chanted After the chaos died down, Athar and Justice Wajiuddin headed towards the Islamabad Club, where they were to meet a group of foreign media persons.

They had not gone very far when 2 police mobile vans forced them to stop, one of them in front and the other behind.Around six or seven PLAINCLOTHES INTELLIGENCE persons got out of the vans and walked towards the car.They opened the door on Athar's side and started pulling him out of the car, saying that they had a WARRANT for his arrest.Jus Waji called out to them to stop pulling and to show them the document.The men DRAGGED Athar out of the car and took him to their vehicle and SHOVED him inside.These details were given by Retd. Jus. Waji himself. He was very shaken and extremely upset . He made his way to the club and informed the journalists about what had happened. From there he went to the Dist. Courts in Rawalpindi and addressed the lawyers , informing them of the incident.Then he addressed a huge gathering of people from all walks of life and narrated the same again at a seminar held in the Holiday Inn, Islamabad.

In the mean time I was informed by my driver , who had been driving their car, that both of them had been arrested. I immediately started calling all the journalists whose numbers I had in my mobile phone. Since the arrest was made near the Marriot hotel ,the Secretariat Police Station would be the right one. I went there at approx 2pm with some friends but the place had a deserted look.The duty officer said he had no knowledge of the incident and neither could he help us.

ATHAR INFORMED ME IN MY MEETING WITH HIM TODAY AT ADIALA JAIL THAT WHEN WE WENT TO THE POLICE STATION LOOKING FOR HIM , HE COULD HEAR OUR VOICES SINCE HE WAS IN A ROOM NEXT DOOR AND HAD BEEN THREATENED TO KEEP QUIET. THE MOMENT WE LEFT HE WAS BUNDLED INTO A PRIVATE CAR WHICH SPED TOWARDS PINDI. ATHAR KEPT ASKING WHERE THEY WERE TAKING HIM BUT THERE WAS NO REPLY, HE WAS TAKEN TO THE SIHALA POLICE STATION AND FORCED TO WAIT FOR HOURS.ATHAR KEPT ASKING THEM WHERE THEY WOULD BE TAKING HIM AND THEY KEPT SAYING THEY WERE AWAITING ORDERS.HE WAS KEPT THERE TILL APROX 6PM AND THEN TAKEN TO ADIALA JAIL.

In the mean time I had been going to the Police Stations all over Islamabad trying to find him but we had no luck. I started getting very worried and my biggest fear was that since plainclothes men had arrested him they might take him to some unknown destination. At approx 4pm I decided to attend the seminar which was being held in the Holiday Inn. I was desperate and wanted to meet Retd.Justice Wajiuddin regarding some advice as to the next step. It was there that I received a phonecall from a reliable source that Athar was being shifted to Adiala.

I went the next day to meet Athar but after waiting outside the prison for 4 hrs I was informed that I needed the permission of the Home Secy.The next day I was able to get permission .

Inside the prison I followed a policeman through several corridors and several locked gates till we got to the room where I was to meet him. There were policemen constantly sitting in the room with us .Athar looked fine but he said that those few hours of urcertainty had been very taxing on his nerves , not to mention my agony. He is in a cell with other prisoners and they sleep on the floor. Matresses , pillows or quilts are not allowed .We were told that the max capacity of the prison was 2000 wheres the number of prisoners at the moment 6000.

My heart goes out to the families of those who are missing, without any charge. For the wives of thousands of lawyers who are arrested after November 3. Unfortunatey we are living in the stone age right now.There are no courts, no judges, no constitution, no law, no fundamental rights. The custodians of law and order have their guns pointed towards the people they are paid to protect.We are cursed with the most despicable dictatorship, the army is busy wiping out their own people, the Chief Justice and judges of the SC are locked in their houses with locks and chains on the gates, the President says FAIR AND FREE ELECTIONS will be held ACCORDING TO THE CONSTITUTION.The prisons are bursting at their seams with people who have stood up for the independence of the judiciary and the corridors of power are also bursting with the most amazing collection of spineless people one could ever imagine.

HRCP denounces Ballach’s killing

Press Release:

Lahore, November 23: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is shocked and grieved at the killing of Ballach Marri. Whatever anybody may have had against the slain Baloch leader and whatever the circumstances of his liquidation the incident is likely to increase the Balochistan people’s alienation from the state. What is needed now is not merely a thorough probe to determine the truth about the most regrettable happening, it is time reliance on force as the sole means of securing peace and tranquility in Balochistan was given up.

Reflecting on Khalil Jibran in current times

Pity the nation that is full of beliefs and empty of religion.
Pity the nation that wears a cloth it does not weave, eats a bread it
does not harvest, and drinks a wine that flows not from its own wine-press.

Pity the nation that acclaims the bully as hero, and that deems the glittering conqueror bountiful.
Pity a nation that despises a passion in its dream, yet submits in its awakening.
Pity the nation that raises not its voice save when it walks in a funeral, boasts not except among its ruins, and will rebel not save when its neck is laid between the sword and the block.

Pity the nation whose statesman is a fox, whose philosopher is a juggler, and whose art is the art of patching and mimicking.
Pity the nation that welcomes its new ruler with trumpeting, and farewells him with hooting, only to welcome another with trumpeting again.

Pity the nation whose sages are dumb with years and whose strong men are yet in the cradle.
Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.

A message from a student worker in the Pakistan Movement

The following is a letter we recieved from Mr.Moizuddin, a student worker in the Pakistan Movement.. His words offer a great deal of perspective for us, as students, to gain strength and inspiration in these dark days..

"Bravo young persons.. You have shown a light at the end of a tunnel ..The tunnel is long and appears to be getting longer .. But the light is there .. Shown by you.. Imagine who is saying so ! An unknown student-worker in the Pakistan Movement I passed my Matriculation in 1945 Saw Hazrat Quaid e Azam RahmatuLlah alaih in 1945, and then from 14th August 1947 onward in Karachi. Had he been alive todayhe would have patted you on the back Patted the way he used to pat the members of All India Muslim Students Federation ... the students of Aligarh Muslim University ... of Islamia College Lahore... of Islamia College Peshawar ... of Bombay University and everywhere. Students were his hope in the fulfillment of his dreams during his life time... The students made him breathe his last peacefully... 76 years old persons like me also wish to die peacefully; they can not come out and be a part of your meetings,demonstrations, protest march .. But there is a big stride intechnology. I can be with you electronically In my youthful days it was impossible to take out a mass message in print ... The Printing Press was under strict surveillance. The cyclostyling-machine(ever seen one?) was available far and wide. Maybe one in miles, often owned by a Hindu. Now you have all the access to dissemination of information, at the click of a finger. You ought to be able to perform much, much more Please keep your Agenda brief In my times the agenda was one point " ley ke rahenge Pakistan" Avoid direct clash with Police Our Quaid was never arrested But when he gave the call of 'Direct Action' for 16th (or 15th) August 1946, thousands laid their life in one day Most of them in Calcutta It was a call for one day onlyI am in no position to give any suggestion to you But In my age I am as convinced of the power in Prayer.. as in the power to demonstrate publicly May I be permitted to please suggest that you find some moments for prayers or public prayers in the open How to pray publicly and jointly? Please find an answer to this by public consensus..The prayers work .. They did in my days too ! ---------------------I wish you all the success in all that you may do.."

Corruption under Musharraf

As all of us know, Transparancy International is the most well known corruption rating agency worldwide. Overthrows of most civilian governments in the 1990's were justified by referring to this agency's findings. They had rated Pakistan the third most corrupt country in the world in 1996. Musharraf regime made wide use of their findings in projecting a negative image of all political parties and leaderships. It is another matter that he included the most corrupt elements among the civilians in his own governments. Using the same methodology, Transparancy International has claimed in their 2006 report that the Musharraf government (2002-2006) is more corrupt (67%) than PPP's second government (48%) and Nawaz Sharif phase II (34%). Unfortunately, for some strange reason, the mainstream political parties and civil society organizations have not used the data presented in this report the way the military regime had used against the civilian governments. It has been the most frequently used weapon by the military regime to malign civilians and justify continuation of military rule in Pakistan in the last eight years and many supporters of Musharraf in the liberal elite hold the same view. This report presents a very dark picture of corruption in Pakistan under Musharraf. It is high time that civil society organizations expose both institutional and common corruption under the military rulers and break the myth of clean government under them.

Delegates throng candle light vigil at LUMS

As LUMS is hosting the model united nations moot, where atleast 1,200 delegates from different schools/colleges and universities are participating, a call by (non-LUMUN) LUMS students for a Vigil was responded overwhelmly from the delegates. Despite their busy schedules, and moot activities parallel to the protest, over 200 delegates showed up at the protest held in front of the PDC. A few faculty members, students and alumni spoke at the occasion. They remarked that at this point in time, the fundamental human rights of people of Pakistan were being suppressed by one-man-rule. The charter of humanity, the traditions of society and most important of all The Constitution of Pakistan guarantees them their rights, which were effectively violated on by proclamation of "Martial Law" on 3rd November. The basic human rights in UN Charter & Constitution were cited out and told that the 160 million Pakistanis do not have their rights at the moment. And it was not the first time in history this has been done so. Out of 60 years of independence, 31 have been spent under military rule & 4 under ad-hoc governments. Even though there were times when people enjoyed democracy, they were less than 4 years in succession at most. As usual it was appealed to students to keep their protests peaceful and apply a non-violent protesting methodology. Teachers of visiting delegates also graced the occassion. In the end as is routine in candle light vigils, a collective prayer was offerred, asking the divine entity for a better leadership of Pakistan in future, and for the integrity of Pakistan. The crowed then dispersed peacefully

Relevance of Iqbal in today's times

kitaab-e-millat-e-bezaa ki phir shiraazaH bandi hai

yeh shaakH-e-haashmi karney ko hai phir barg-o-bar paida

[kitaab-e-millat-bezaa=blank book of the community; shiraazaH bandi=binding or systematize

shaakH-e-haashmi=family of the Prophet Muhammad (saaw); barg-o-bar=leaves and fruits]

The above couplet by Allama Muhammad Iqbal, beautifully describes the past, present and future of Pakistan. It shows that whatever has happened till today is the result of the apathy of the nation in general and the lack of will to change the system. The reason that the book of the community is blank is the acceptance that the people of Pakistan have given to corruption. Since we, as a nation, never really fought against corruption by fighting the corrupt, we deserve to face such a situation. Everyone has developed the most self- destructive belief that he/she cannot change the system. And that is why the book is blank.

However, the ever increasing frequency of protests by every kind of group in the country including politicians, lawyers and now by the most effective group which is students, against the established norms by the undemocratically established government shows an extremely positive picture of the future of this country. As Iqbal said that, this community is now organizing, the consequence of which is much needed and the awaited act shall be witnessing new leaves and fruits in the form of a better future of Pakistan where people will have democracy and welfare instead of a being mislead about prosperity on the basis of an increasing GDP.

Nevertheless, it is of utmost importance that we take up every effort to unite ourselves and forget all the difference of personal, religious, professional, political differences that exist between us etc. There has to be a bigger goal but that should be achieved with small goals and the one of those small goals should be to first unite, no matter how big the differences may be. We must learn to accept each other with these differences if we wish to see new leaves and fruits.

Khuda tujhe kisi toofan sey aashna ker dey

Keh teray behar ki mojon mein iztiraab nahin

We, the people of Pakistan should be thankful to Allama Muhammad Iqbal that he admonished people like us

LUMS protests continue..

The protests at LUMS continued unabated on Thursday and throughout the week. Two flash protests were held earlier in the week, while today, a banner was signed by students not just from LUMS but also by students from all over Pakistan attending the LUMS Model United Nations. The students were demanding the restoration of the judiciary, freeing the protest prisoners, and the independence of the media. The recent crackdown on political debate in universities by the federal government was widely condemned by the student body. It directly contradicts General Musharraf's proclaimed agenda of bringing 'enlightened moderation' to this country. Building walls around people's minds can never achieve any kind of enlightenment. This move is evidence that the government's increasingly oppressive policies are now beginning to cast a shadow in the private sphere as well. As one student in LUMS put it, one wonders if the next ban will be on political debate in the household. The question is, does General Musharraf want to turn this country into Stalinist Russia?

Pakistan suspended from Commonwealth

Pakistan has been suspended from the Commonwealth because of its imposition of emergency rule, the organisation has announced after a meeting in Uganda. Secretary General Don McKinnon said Pakistan was being suspended "pending restoration of democracy and the rule of law". Earlier Pakistan's Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to Pervez Musharraf's re-election as president.

UN demands reinstatement of Judges before vote

Pressure is mounting on Pakistan from all directions. First it was suspended from the Commonwealth earlier today, by a majority vote. Now the UN has called for Pakistan to release the Judges currently under house arrest, before it goes to polls.

Reuters reports:

Earlier in the day the Supreme Court, now stacked with judges friendly to Musharraf, threw out the last challenge to his October 6 re-election and paved the way for him to quit as army chief.

Arbour, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and a former prosecutor for international criminal tribunals on Yugoslavia and Rwanda, said Pakistan faced a "terrible deficit in governance" without a free judiciary.

"It is not enough to move towards free and fair elections unless all the judges who were dismissed or suspended are fully reinstated in their previous capacity," she told reporters in Dublin.

"Otherwise we will have a very twisted form of democracy where the judicial branch will have been made totally subservient to the executive," she said on the sidelines of a human rights conference.

Despite the President's assertion on the contrary, with a second Commonwealth suspension in tow, it increasingly appears that, Pakistan is heading to the where we had started from in 1999.

Teachers charged with sedition

As a continuation of the attack on all civil institutions, the illegal and unconstitutional government of Gen. Musharraf has instituted sedition charges against the following 14 members of the academic staff of Punjab University:

1. Dr. Mumtaz Salik, President, Punjab University Academic Staff Association (PUASA)
2. Dr. Asmatullah, Secretary General, PUASA
3. Dr. Haris Rashid, Director, Centre for High Energy Physics
4. Samee Uzair, Law College
5. Amanullah, Law College
6. Mujahid Mansoori, ICS
7. Dr. Shafiq Jallandhari, ICS
8. Nayyar Raza Zaidi, Director, IBIT
9. Dr. Mujahid Kamran, Chairman, Department of Physics
10. Ziaullah Shah, IER
11. Rana Majid IER
12. Prof. Bashir Ahmad, Pharmacy College
13. Prof. Chaudhry Muhammad Nazir, Department of Geology
14. Prof. Abdul Ghaffar, Department of Geography

The FIR against the above 14 teachers of Punjab University under sections 124-A, 188, 143/149 and 16-MPO was registered at the Muslim Town police. They have been charged with sedition and provoking the masses against the government for its action of imposing emergency and promulgating the PCO. This FIR was registered after the above teachers had taken part in demonstrations against the promulgation of emergency and for the restoration of the constitution and the judiciary. These were peaceful protests held inside the campus.

The academic staff of Punjab University are continuing their protest against the government and the Chancellor of the university and are demanding the withdrawal of the FIR.

More news here

Letter of Support by LUMS Students to SHC, LHC and SC Judges

Dear Sir,

Our generation - born and bred in the politically disappointing decade of 1990s that ushered in another military rule in Pakistan - had always doubted the possibility of change. Our parents and peers told us that the only way to live in the country was to subject our ideals to the “system” and that the only code of conduct was that of bribery and bullying. They quoted history books and told us how pointless it was to struggle for justice and democracy in Pakistan. Newspapers and TV channels simply added facts that proved their arguments and our own little experiences with “practical life” verified them.

We didn’t see people around us as good and bad, or right and wrong, but simply as the smart and the stupid in terms of their dealings with political reality. We weren’t able to take any sides because we didn’t see any. All we saw was a jumble of interests, each and every one of which could be compromised at a certain price. The theories and principles we learned at school and college seemed utterly devoid of any relevance to our real lives.

But then we saw some people fighting, not for their personal material interests, but for ideas and institutions. Ideas and institutions that form the basis of justice and democracy. We saw them fighting with a passion and selflessness that simply astounded our conventional understanding. We also saw them being oppressed and tortured with such heartlessness that offended the very notion of being human. For the first time in our lives, we saw a conflict where compromise was not an option. For the first times in our lives, we were in doubt about which side to take.

Many judges of superior courts have been put under house arrest. Hundreds of lawyers have been arrested, put under house arrest or forced to go underground. Despite all this, thousands of them are resolved to take the fight to its rightful end, and are bravely facing the inhumane violence being meted out to them on the orders of a power-hungry military dictator. But let us assure you, the lawyers are not alone in this struggle.

We, the students of LUMS and those of many other universities, have joined lawyers in many protests for the independence of judiciary and have witnessed the despicable yoke of dictatorship with our own naked eyes. We have also witnessed the purity of intentions with which lawyers have struggled to throw off this yoke. This purity of intentions and resolve has shown us a much-awaited glimmer of hope. It has shown us the possibility of change.

For giving us this glimmer of hope, this tangible inspiration, this possibility of change, we thank you.

For your courage and resolve, for your steadfastness, for your selflessness, we salute you.

For carrying on the struggle and showing all of Pakistan what a principled stand really means, we congratulate you.

And rest assured, we wouldn’t let you down.

Signed,

The Student Body of Lahore University of Management Sciences

Pakistan likely to be suspended from the Commonwealth

The Commonwealth has indicated that is likely to suspend Pakistan's membership due to state of emergency being imposed and suspension of human rights. At a pre- conference summit in Uganda where 53 foreign ministers of the Commonwealth have convened, a decision whether to suspend Pakistan from the body is the top agenda, amidst escalating political crisis in the country. The issue is going to go before vote today, however Secretary General Don Mckinnon, of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) has said, "It is going to be a tough decision."

However, Pakistan has been informed its membership status will be reviewed again once the January 8 elections are held.

To read more click here

Judges need immediate show of support

N.Q

There is increased severe pressure on the non-PCO judges of Sind High Court to sign on PCO or break away from their brother judges who didnot take oath under the PCO.
The initial spate of visits to judges has worn off and there haven't been any visits lately. And believe me, most of them are not aware of the protests that are taking place all over for the judiciary.
It would be a tragedy if they were to take oath because of lack ofinformation coupled with pressure from the govt.
We urgently need to reaffirm our support for them. We need to tell them that their clear stand is what galvanised the entire nation to stand up and raise its voice with them.
The following is a list of judges of the Sindh High Court who refused to take oath under the PCO. Let us all, in whatever way we can, reach out to them. They are indeed the heroes of the hour.

Political debate banned in colleges

(Courtesy DAWN)
ISLAMABAD, Nov 21: The federal government on Tuesday imposed a ban on open debate on media curbs, suspension of judges and emergency in all colleges and universities in the country.Well-placed sources said students of various universities and colleges in Islamabad, had been strongly protesting against emergency rule, curbs on the media and suspension of judges, for the last few days to express solidaritywith the electronic media. Taking notice of the situation, the federal government has banned debate in all colleges and universities and warned of strict action against violators. Students, civil society activists and others have been continuouslyprotesting against the imposition of emergency for the last 12 days.

(Yet another milestone of the Police State..One wonders if a seperate directive will be issued for households soon)

[Finally] Musharraf to doff uniform by Saturday

from cagel e toons

"It may happen on Saturday," "I know the president, and he will honor his commitment."

- Principled words of Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum to reporters

After having his loyal group of handpicked judges dispensing a tailor-made ruling, Musharraf will be stepping down as Chief of Armed Services on Saturday and swearing a Presidential oath for a five year term.

It's about time.

QAU observes black day

Qaudi Azam University students continue to protest against the emergency. Today they observe Yaum- e- Siyah (Black Day) and marked the event by making a human hand in hand chain. The protest by students and faculty has been the largest since emergency was imposed. About 1500 students and faculty members chanted anti- emergency slogans and demanded restoration of the constitution and democracy.

The News further reports:

“Azadi,” freedom of expression, “Go Musharraf go” and “Restore judiciary” were the slogans adorning trees, walls, pillars and poles at Quaid-i-Azam University. The students, teachers and employees are about to complete third week of their protest campaign against sacking of judges, proclamation of emergency and suspension of the 1973 Constitution.

Everyday, the campus community with students in overwhelming majority assemble at Social Sciences parking lot and making round of different departments terminate their march at buses terminal, the chowk renamed by the students as Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Square some days ago.

Tuesday was another day of protest, which continued unabated since Nov 3 interrupted only by public holidays and Fridays. They were chanting slogans of “Restore electronic media,” “Muk gia tera show Musharraf, go Musharraf, go Musharraf” and “Restore the deposed judges.” They carried black flags also inscribed with similar slogans.

Addressing the gathering, Alia Amirali, a student of anthropology, said that according to Gen Musharraf, terrorism was the reason behind emergency. Are jails of Pakistan stuffed by lawyers, journalists, students, labourers, human rights activists and political workers or by terrorists? she posed a question. She lamented that one person has made the whole country hostage only for remaining in power.

The protesting students announced to observe Thursday as Black Day and appealed to the students, teachers and employees to come in black dress. A human chain will be made from Bab-ul-Quaid to Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Square near cafeteria on that day. It was also announced that the students will stage a protest rally at 2:30p.m as per routine.