In another desperate measure, the government has banned access to blogs (particularly blogspot/wordpress) from Pakistan. Hence, The Emergency Times and other such avenues of information are no longer accessible to Pakistanis.
Don't worry. They can't stop us.
Sites you can use to access banned blogs:
1) www.pkblogs.com
So for instance you want to access The Emergency Times, type
http://www.pkblogs.com/pakistanmartiallaw
2) Free Online Anonymizers such as
http://www.siatec.net/proxyanonymizer/index.php
Anonymizers, conceal your IP hence making tracking activity even harder.
Stay safe. Stay a step ahead.
We will continue to work on our newsletter, which will be mailed out everyday. If you wish to subscribe to it, send an email to theemergencytimes@gmail.com. Let's thwart this new attempt of the state to deprive the people of their right to information.
In Complete Unity,
The Emergency Times Team.
P.S. If you have not had chance to have a look at the draconian cyber crimes bill it is posted at:
http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/2007/09/08/draconian-cyber-crime-law-in-pakistan/
Though it doesn't make a difference to the current regime. There are already many held without any crimes.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Blogs banned in Pakistan
Monday, January 14, 2008
A cowardly threat by the Establishment - A courageous reply by the Lawyers
Dear All,
As it was being predicted that the year 2008 will be the continuity of the shameful acts of the Establishment to restrain the civil society from challenging the unconstitutional and illegal deeds done by post 99 regime. One of its brutal examples was observed on 10 Jan, when the masterminds controlling the situation to make it in 'their' favor, once again showed their brutality to the citizens of Pakistan. The objective of the bomb blast at the gate of the High Court, a high security area, shows a clear message to the lawyer community.....Stop demanding rule of law and supermacy of constitution or u will be hit anytime, anywhere,anyway......This threat to the lawyer community did not work. The lawyers and the civil society showed their determination by announcing to keep their struggle on and on, until the objectives are not acheived.
The best example of the lawyers courage could have been observed today 12 Jan, when despite the fears/threats of attacks from establishment-led masterminds, the election of the Lahore Bar Association were held with an even better turn-out. The establishment has badly failed to assess the courage and determination of the legal community.
Another important fact: out of 55 major suicide attacks during year 2007, government has failed to investigate and get the culprits to justice in every single case. Not one case solved. This should be a real eye-opener for every concerned citizen.
Ali Imran
Advocate High Court
Vigil and arrests at Karachi - eyewitness account
Today (Sunday, Jan 13th), at 6:30 p.m, around 20 people from the civil society coalition -- People's Resistance -- held a peaceful candlelight vigil outside the residence of Justice (retd) Bhagwandas in Clifton, Karachi. Justice Bhagwandas was placed under house arrest on Saturday. Two minutes after we arrived, a police moble came rushing into the street, with a loud siren, and some menacing plainclothes policemen got out. It is most likely that they were part of the intelligence agencies, particularly one Mr. Intelligence Fanatic (IF) - picture attached. Another mobile came about five minutes after that. It was very amusing for us to see how threatened the state's repressive apparatus felt by a group of 20 civil society activists holding candles outside the residence of a retired judge. We lit candles, sang the national anthem, sent a handwritten note inside to Justice Bhagwandas, and chanted slogans. The police watched, and media teams from Express, Geo and KTN videotaped.
We were getting ready to leave after 20 minutes or so, when Mr. IF tried to arrest a young, male member of the Communist Mazdoor Kisan Party -- a member who looked more vulnerable compared to other elite members that were around. When he was rescued by other protestors, we started to leave immediately, and then suddenly the lights of the entire street went out. IF and other policemen charged towards us, manhandled a female activist, and grabbed several protestors. All this seemed to be pre-planned, as no media could cover the abuse and arrests that happened in the dark. They arrested 9 men, who have been booked under section 144 and last we heard, were trying to negotiate their release. Many of us felt that the police/intelligence action was aimed at setting an example..even 20 protestors who gather for 20 minutes need to be terrorized and tamed. As intimidating and disempowering as such situations are, we know that we cannot give up. Through sustained efforts and multiple strategies, we need to keep working towards reinstating the rule of law and preventing the rising rule of terror.
Pakistanis Demand Resignation of Dictator PervezMusharraf
Originally intended to represent the best of Pakistan, the new Army HQ is now being seen as a symbol of all that is wrong with the country.
Amid nationwide anger over the killing of the Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and a widespread belief that the country's military or intelligence may have been involved, the population is turning against the Army for the first time.
From the wailing rice-pickers at Bhutto's grave in the dusty village of Garhi Khuda Bakhsh in the southern province of Sindh to the western-educated elite sipping whisky and soda in the drawing rooms of Lahore, the message is the same: Pervez Musharraf, must go and the Army must return to its barracks.
Feelings are running so high that officers have been advised not to venture into the bazaar in uniform for fear of reprisals.
"The interests of the people of Pakistan are now totally at odds with those of the Army," said Asma Jahangir, the head of Pakistan's Human Rights Commission, who was one of hundreds of lawyers placed under house arrest in November.
"If a civilian President had done what Musharraf has done, he would have been dragged by his hair to the sea."
It is not just civilians who argue that, if the country is to stay together, power must go back into the hands of the politicians, however corrupt or inept.
Asad Durrani, a retired General, headed the notorious Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) bureau during the 1990 elections when, he admits, it spent millions of dollars to prevent Bhutto being voted back into power. Now he believes the Army should step back.
"If you are in charge for such a long time, you can't blame anyone else for the state of the country," he said. "You have to take responsibility for the situation."
"We are all trying to get across the message [to Musharraf] that 'you are the problem'," said another retired General. "I am hearing the same from serving generals."
For decades children in Pakistan have grown up on text-books glorifying the Pakistani Army and glossing over its defeat in three wars and loss of half the country in 1971 (to become Bangladesh). When Army chiefs have seized power they have generally been welcomed. But none of Pakistan's military rulers have stepped down voluntarily and Musharraf, it seems, is no different, picking an unpopular fight with the country's judiciary when they tried to take him on.
Elections scheduled for last week were delayed after Bhutto's assassination. The new date is February 18 [2008], but there is scepticism about whether they will go ahead. A bomb that killed 22 in Lahore last week was seen as another step in creating a climate of insecurity that makes voting impossible.
Even if they do go ahead, the elections are widely expected to be rigged in favour of Musharraf's allies [PML-Q and MQM]. Last Wednesday the head of the European Union observer mission visited the [dictator] with a list of 10 concerns about a lack of transparency.
Bhutto's death has left her one-time rival [Muhammad] Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League [PML-N], as the main Opposition figure. Although he emerged on the political scene in the 1980s under the patronage of Pakistan's last military ruler, General [Muhammad]Zia ul Haq, he now insists the Army must stop interfering in politics."The only way to move forward is for people to defy the Army and to realise that these generals who keep staging coups are our real enemies," he told The Sunday Times in an interview at his heavily guarded farmhouse outside Lahore.
"It is not the job of generals to hold the Prime Minister, Cabinet or Parliament accountable," he added. "They are accountable to the people. The Army has to go back to barracks or we will never have a functioning state."
Resentment against the men in khaki is particularly acute in Bhutto's home province of Sindh. To Sindhis, she was killed not because of her stand for democracy and against terrorism but because of where she came from. After her death many Sindhis went on the rampage, burning lorries, trains and banks.
They have been reined in by Bhutto's husband, Asif [Ali] Zardari, who has taken over running her Pakistan People's Party [PPP]. But he warns: "If elections are rigged or don't go ahead, this may be impossible to contain."
Those close to Musharraf say he still believes he is the only person able to sort out Pakistan, even though under his rule bombs have become an almost daily occurrence.
"The problem is that 9/11 went to his head," said Durrani. "After that I found him a changed man. He went from being a pariah to applause, saviour of Pakistan and the West."
Washington and London are clinging to Musharraf for want of other options and the [false] belief that he represents the best hope of preventing Pakistan's 50 or so nuclear warheads falling into militant hands. The West had hoped that Bhutto would be brought in as Prime Minister to provide his regime with a democratic face, but are now working on co-opting Sharif or Zardari.
Sharif, who has received three calls from David Miliband, the [UK] Foreign Secretary, since Bhutto's assassination, was the PrimeMinister ousted by Musharraf in [October] 1999. He insists that working with Musharraf is not an option.
Were free elections to go ahead and the Opposition parties to achieve a two-thirds majority, they would be in a position to impeach the[illegal] President. But few believe that, with Musharraf's hand-picked caretaker government overseeing the elections, this is a realistic possibility.
The only way he might go is if the Army were to decide he had outlived his purpose.
More than 700 Pakistani soldiers have been killed in the fight in the tribal areas against militants said to be linked to [fictitious] "Al-Qaeda", and officers admit that morale has not been so low since they lost Bangladesh in 1971.
"We are being asked to bomb our own people and shrug it off as collateral damage," said a Mirage pilot. "I call it killing women andchildren."
Hope rests on General Ashfaq [Parvez] Kayani who took command of the Army in late November [2007], when Musharraf succumbedto pressure to take off his [Army] uniform and become a civilian.
Little is known about Kayani apart from his love of golf and his professionalism as a soldier. He is said to be unhappy about the Army's involvement in politics and might pull back if elections proceed smoothly.
"Nobody is anyone's man once he becomes commander-in-chief with 700,000 soldiers under his command," says Imran Khan, the former cricketer turned politician.
CMKP and PR activists detained at vigil in Karachi
Over 10 citizens of Karachi who had come together to stage a peaceful candle light vigil outside the home of Justice Rana Bhagwandas have been arrested.
The candle light vigil was on for a good 20 minutes when all of sudden the area was plunged into darkness as a major electricity breakdown occurred in the area, within the darkness the police stationed there moved in and started harassing the men in the crowd and pulled the men to the side and arrested them one by one. They have been taken to Darkshan Police station and are said to be released soon.
Notice to the Chief Justice
While Musharraf continues to occupy Army House even after retiring, CJP Iftikhar Chaudhary has been served a one week notice to vacate his official residence in Islamabad. The Chief Justice has refused to vacate the residence as he pointed out that he is still the constitutional Chief Justice of Pakistan. Islamabad members should stay in touch with lawyers over any protests planned to force government to back down on its attempt to expel the Chief Justice of Pakistan from his official residence.
Musharraf is visiting Brussels, Belgium on 20 January 2008. If you are in Europe, you are strongly requested to join the protest against the dictator led by President PTI Belgium Shiekh Majid at 15:00 at Place la Bourse and at 20:00 to 22:00 in front of Hotel Conrad Brussels at Avenue Louis. You may contact Sheikh Majid, the organizer at: 00 32 485 688 735 or email: ventiuno2007@yahoo.fr.
Abeer Hamid.
Half of Pakistanis suspect officials' hand in Benazir's death: poll
ISLAMABAD: Almost half of all the Pakistanis believed that the government-allied agencies or politicians were responsible for the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, according to a survey released on Saturday.
Meanwhile, more than half backed Bilawal as the right person to succeed Benazir as the new party chief, the poll by Gallup Pakistan said.
The survey said 23 per cent of the people suspected the government intelligence or security agencies of being responsible for Benazir's killing, and a further 25 per cent believed the government-allied politicians were to blame.
Only 17 per cent of the Pakistanis believed the official account of the government that Al-Qaeda militants were to blame.
Benazir herself accused several senior government and intelligence officials of plotting to kill her following a double suicide attack on a parade to welcome her home from exile in October last year.
Twelve per cent suspected the United States, and four per cent blamed India.
On Benazir's succession, 53 per cent of those questioned said the PPP had made the right decision to choose Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as its new chairman.
A further 28 per cent said it was wrong and 19 per cent said they did not know.
Gallup Pakistan said it interviewed 1,300 men and women in towns and cities across Pakistan and the poll carried a margin of error of plus or minus five percentage points
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Shirkat Gah and People's Resistance Information Session
"CONSTITUTIONALISM AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: WHY THE RULE OF LAW MATTERS TO THE LIVES OF ORDINARY PEOPLE" with Qazi Faes Isa
•Isn't a constitution supposed to enforce our fundamental rights?
•Why does it seem to be silent on violations instead?
•What does the constitution have to say on communal and public property? On labour? On the environment? On sovereignty?
•Does it make any difference whether a constitution exists or not?
•How can we get the constitution to protect us?
•Can it keep being changed at will?
•What's wrong with it that it has to be changed?
•What is a constitution anyway?
These and other questions will be answered and discussed at an Info and Q&A session with Qazi Faez Isa, Barrister-at-Law and Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan.
Organised by The Green Economics & Globalization Initiative, SHIRKAT GAH in collaboration with the PEOPLE'S RESISTANCE.
Date: Tomorrow, Sunday, 13th January, 2008 Time: 4:00 p.m.Venue: Shirkat Gah Office, Meeting Room (1st Floor), 2 Bath Island Road, Parin Lodge, (near Bridge Store)Karachi.
We urge you to come and raise your issues.
Benazir killing's eyewitness gagged
WASHINGTON (Daily Times): A Canadian newspaper report claims that Ishtiaq Hussain Shah, the deputy superintendent of police who was alongside former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s vehicle when she died, has been gagged with no one allowed to visit him in the Rawalpindi hospitial where he is recovering from the injuries he suffered in the December 27 blast.
According to the Globe and Mail, there was no security cordon around Benazir as she left Liaquat Bagh in Rawalpindi where she was killed. The doctors at the hospital, who on the night of her death said she died of bullet wounds to the head and neck, mysteriously changed their story the next day.
Security arrangements: The report states, “To many in Pakistan, it all smacks of state complicity in the assassination. To others, it points, at the very least, to a concerted attempt to hide the extent of the security failure.” The PPP leader’s “own private security arrangements seemed poor and chaotic. Armoured cars are not typically fitted with sunroofs – Ms Bhutto’s vehicle was reportedly modified against all safety advice. After her death, her husband made the startling revelation that she was guarded by men he had met in prison. ‘Both the state and the internal security of the Pakistan People’s Party failed miserably,’ according to Masood Sharif Khattak, a retired former head of the Intelligence Bureau, Pakistan’s top civilian intelligence agency. ‘But state responsibility (for security) stands first and foremost.’ According to that suppressed report on the assassination, the authenticity of which could not be verified, a pistol made by the Chinese company Norinco was recovered from the scene, with lot No 311-90. An MUV-2 triggering mechanism for the bomb was also found, similar to the ones used in 15 previous suicide bombings, and with the same lot number and factory code.”
Another report in the Seattle Times notes, “The first report is from Ishtiaq Hussain Shah of the Rawalpindi police, who witnessed the assassination and said that as Benazir’s car headed onto Rawalpindi’s Liaquat Road after an election rally on December 27, a crowd appeared from nowhere and stopped the motorcade, shouting slogans of her Pakistan People’s Party and waving party banners. Benazir, apparently thinking she was greeting her supporters, emerged through the sunroof of the bullet-proof car to wave. ‘I don’t know who they were or from where they came … They just appeared on the road.’ But 10 feet from where he was standing, a man in the crowd wearing a jacket and sunglasses raised his arm and shot at the former prime minister. ‘I jumped to overpower him,’ Shah said later. ‘A mighty explosion took place soon afterwards.’ Shah, recuperating from injuries suffered in the attack, is in a Rawalpindi military hospital, guarded by agents of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence directorate.”
Justice (R) Bhagwandas put under house arrest
KARACHI (Daily Times): Justice (retd) Rana Bhagwandas of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, who had refused to take oath under PCO-2007, has again been put under house arrest, this time hours after he addressed members of the Karachi Bar Association (KBA). The action came soon after he returned home. Talking to Daily Times on the phone, the pusine judge he said that a police officer, SP Asif Aijaz Shaikh, had come to his residence along with other police officers and delivered verbal orders for his house arrest. The police officer told that he had received these orders from his high-ups but failed to furnish any reason. Bhagwandas himself had the impression that this was the government’s reaction to his meetings, speeches and talks to lawyers and the media. “They (the government) had must dislike [them],” he said.
The KBA’s Naeem Qureshi said that the house arrest was aimed at throttling dissent. According to sources, the orders of detention were served by a senior police official upon the ex-judge as he planned to address a number of bar associations. Justice Bhagwandas was working to rejuvenate the struggle for an independent judiciary which is why he was considered a threat, said a Sindh Bar Council member. Chief Justice of Pakistan (retd) Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has been under detention since Nov 3.
The exclusive interview with Munir Malik to the Asian Human Rights Commission
We are publishing an interview with Munir Malik, the former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association who was imprisoned and given drugs under the pretext of painkillers which caused him renal failure and liver damage, but who continues to be an inspiration for the movement for the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in Pakistan. His insights into the recent events will be helpful in understanding the movement of lawyers as well as the movement of democracy that is taking place in Pakistan now. This interview was conducted by Baber Ayaz on behalf of Asian Human Rights Commission. The Asian Human Rights Commission authorizes the faithful reproduction of this interview with due acknowledgements.
Munir Malik's interview by Baber Ayaz
Unprecedented movement of the legal fraternity for the independence of judiciary in Pakistan is still a cherished but elusive goal. On 20th July 2007, its victory was celebrated by all democratic forces in the country. But the gains of the movement were short-lived. On 3rd November 2007 President General Pervez Musharraf clamped Emergency on the country and chucked out all the independent judges. The struggle started again and it's a long way to go.
In this back ground I went to interview Munir Malik, the man who launched the incredible movement in March 2007, in his capacity as President of Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA). When I went to interview Munir, he was still wearing the hospital uniform and looked frail. Munir had fallen seriously ill during his detention at Attock Jail, where he was mal-treated by the government doctor. He was only shifted to Islamabad hospital when his kidneys collapsed and he developed a liver problem.
For a few weeks that followed civil society feared that the man who valiantly led a movement that became an example even for the lawyers of developed democracies, may not be able to survive due to serious negligence of his health. But the fighter Munir fought and came back.
Following are the excerpts of his interview:
Baber Ayaz (BA): When you got elected to the Supreme Court Bar at that point the chief justice (CJ) reference issue was not there, you must be having some agenda for your tenure. What was that?
Munir Malik (MM): Well I had contested the election precisely because I thought that this would be a defining year. There were a number of issues that were likely to come up in this defining year, for instance: Elections were supposed to be held; the issue that whether an army general can be elected as a president or can he hold two offices of the president and army chief at the same time, was to be decided; then there was the issue of the holding of dual nationality by members of parliament and cabinet ministers and whether they could swear allegiance to two constitutions. There was the issue of madaris' degrees (Degrees from fundamentalist Islamic seminaries) whether they were at par with college graduates, regular college graduates. By that time Malik Qayyum (the sitting Attorney General) and Sharifuddin Pirzada (legal advisor to the president) had established their credentials as supporters of the establishment. They were very close to Chief Justice Iftikhar. There was a feeling that the Supreme Court (SC) is trying to improve its moral image or its public image by taking Suo Motto (taking cases on the court's own initiative) notices of popular issues including especially the steel mills case where a decision was given against the government. It was feared that with this image the Supreme Court will give decisions favouring the government on crucial petitions like that related to the President's election and prices of pharmaceutical products.
So I was certain that we need an independent bar to keep a watch on the SC itself. I was certain in my mind that it would be a defining year. The very first step was that SCBA passed a resolution demanding the restoration of the constitution as it was before Musharraf's take over in 1999.
At that time, by and large the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) was very unpopular in the rank and file of the legal fraternity for the principle reason that he was very arrogant and the perception was that he dispenses justice in cases according to the face value of the counsel who appeared before him. If it was Sharifuddin Pirzada he was sugar and honey, and if the counsel was not an important figure he would be otherwise. I think he was over-zealous in clearing the back log even at the cost of miscarriage of justice. Lawyers from Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar and Lahore were given notice in the evening that your case is fixed in Islamabad tomorrow. This roster problem was agitating the lawyers. So I was ready to raise this issue with him as I think justice hurried is justice buried.
BA: But you had condemned the letter written by Naeem Bokhari before the reference was moved. Why?
MM: When Naeem Bokhari's letter appeared in mid-February It was applauded in the bar rooms. I took notice of this issue (despite the fact that other lawyers supported it). Yes, my view was that he should not weaken the judiciary by making these allegations in the press.
But I was still trying to get my pound of flesh, I wanted to have the CJP fix the roster problems which was troubling lawyers, and I would come out vocally in support of him. So he sent me a message through an intermediary that he was embattled and he wants me to issue a statement of support. I gave that statement, it was front page news in Dawn. Publication of this statement on the front page was surprising for me; I assumed it must have got a push from somewhere.
In one of his speeches in February he had said that Munir Malik has promised to give me his unconditional support. When my turn came to speak I said so long as this court moves in the direction of the independence of the judiciary.
Then came the bolt of 9th March, fortunately I was in Islamabad, it was a Friday. I was contacted by the press, at about 5:30 pm or so, they asked my views. The television had broadcast pictures of CJ meeting at the Army House, where sitting in military uniform the President asked the CJP to resign. I was very clear in my stand that this is a direct assault on the third organ of the state and we shall resist it.
BA: The President has a constitutional right to send a reference against a judge of the superior court. Was your reaction more because of the indecent manner in which it was done or was it because the reference was sent in the first place?
MM: Three grounds, first, the manner in which he was summoned and detained, at the army camp office. The message it sent was that the judiciary is really not an independent organ of the state and a uniformed President can do what he pleases. And by implication the legal fraternity was also helpless. Second reason was that Pervez Musharraf could not constitutionally make a judge dysfunctional. An executive order was issued, by the 'royal secretary' at 5:03pm saying that the CJ had been suspended and acting CJ was sworn in. This was a complete negation of the principle of separation of powers. Every judge would have felt insecure; all you had to do was send a reference. While it would have subsequently determined whether the reference was of substance or not, the harm to a judge's reputation would have been done. The third reason was that the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) was convened the same day with unholy haste. One of the judges was flown in via special plane. The other was tipped off in Lahore. And without hearing the CJ, the SJC imposed a restrain upon him.
BA: So if the President had followed the constitutional course you would have had no objection?
MM: He should have sent the reference to the SJC to handle, whenever they would take it. Then the manner in which CJP was held incommunicado, together with members of his family. His entire domestic staffs was replaced by ISI (military intelligence agency) agents, they were in his living room, in his lawn, 20-25 people. His cars were fork lifted, no visitors were permitted, only those whom the security gave clearance to come in, I think Asghar Khan was the first to be permitted.
BA: There was a tremendous response to the call of the SCBA when you launched the movement for the restoration of CJP. Were you certain that the people would come out like that or was it also a pleasant surprise?
MM: There was a wave of indignation in the manner of his dismissal and everybody I talked to from the legal fraternity said that though CJ was not a nice man but what has been done with him was not right. I only channelised this wave of indignation, it was boiling, the Supreme Court Bar just coordinated it and I think that the master strategy that everybody gathered around the SC building on every date the CJP was produced, worked. The administration over-reacted, they sealed all roads leading to the SC, and I had to walk 2km before I could get into the SC building.
CJP was supposed to be produced at 1:30 p.m. on 13th March, at 1p.m. images came on TV showing him being dragged by his hair. This agitated the lawyers who were practising in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and other adjoining courts and they started converging on the SC. I had given a call for the sit in at the SJC but I was not sure where it would meet because it was supposed to be in camera.
BA: So one of the reasons perhaps that your movement got such a big response was the contribution of the media?
MM: Absolutely, this was the difference between 2000 and 2007. In 2000 when 6 judges of the SC resigned, they were also detained in their houses and prevented from coming to the SC building. But at that time the print media had not given much importance to this and there was no independent electronic media. I don't think the CJ would have been re-instated without the media support.
I think one of the other factors was that, even though pre-9th March the chief was only paying lip-service to the cases of the missing persons, but those missing persons would continue to picket at the SC daily. But these issue attracted civil society.
BA: In the second Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif stint the judiciary was humiliated by both, but there was no massive movement against that. Why this time?
MM: Well, historically the judiciary has always been a collaborator, with the ruling elite. It has been the 'B' team of the army. It retains the old, imperial mindset that they are there to serve the government. If the president would call a judge of the high court he would probably take out his best suit, take a camera with him and it would be an event for him to remember, that he has been summoned by the president or the prime minister. In Bhutto's white paper that had been published after 1977 I think Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in one of his side notes remarked, 'they will come to you for petty favours' like a plot, for a diplomatic passport, an admission for a child, a posting for a relative. So they were only part of the establishment, they had no moral credibility. If a man in uniform said something that was the law. You could sense that if there was a case involving the corp. commander or cantonment land, the judge would think that before the corp. commander says something to me I should oblige him. So I think both the legal fraternity and the civil society felt why (they had to) support them.
This time the media brought to our drawing rooms a man saying 'No' to the establishment. So the image that came out was that this man has stood up to fight generals, and say that I will not resign I'm innocent.
BA: You had earlier said that there was a whole scheme of building up the image of the CJ and the SC and then getting the most crucial cases like the presidential election through; this means that the CJ was co-operating. Why did the establishment then decide to remove him?
MM: I think the CJ was co-operating with the President but not with the government. The conspiracy against the CJ as he tells me was drawn out by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, General Javed Hamid, the then Chief Justice of Lahore High Court Iftikhar Hussain and his brother who was the Cabinet Minister and the Law Secretary Mansoor. The CJ had stopped his appointment to the Commonwealth. The CJ was not on speaking terms with Justice Hussain. Shaukat Aziz was really cut up on the judgement quashing the Steel Mills' privatisation. Then the CJP would humiliate civilian officers. CJP never summoned the sitting general but if he summoned the IG police or a secretary, he would take his gripe to Shaukat Aziz. Pervez Musharraf says that they had good family relations, so this reference came from the civilian element of the establishment. Pervez Musharraf was also given the impression that this man is going to be CJ till 2013 and he's already started showing his colours. I think Musharraf was misled. What was Shaukat Aziz doing in the army camp office; he was there on 9th of March. He was there before the CJ had arrived; special planes had started since the morning.
BA: After 20th July, when the SC was restored, you said that the next struggle is to bring independence to lower judiciary and remove corruption. But then the slogan of removing the president was given. Now one view is that, it was an ambitious call without consolidating the gains, the judiciary and the legal fraternity became a bit adventurous and ended up with 9th November situation. Loves' labour was lost. What are your views on this view?
MM: Yes, I was very conscious of that, as a matter of fact I'm on record for having stated if you burden the SC with political cases, it will collapse under its own weight. Now, the problem was that the politicians always wanted to fire from the shoulder of the SC, they wouldn't take the battle to the streets of Pakistan. The CJ cannot dismiss petitions without hearing them. There were Qazi Hussain Ahmed and Imran Khan's petitions before the SC challenging the holding of the dual office by the President.
BA: Is it correct that they had scared Musharraf that he would give a judgement against him?
MM: You will notice that neither the SCBA nor the Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) intervened in these proceedings. We had held out, an olive branch, by saying that the CJ was not a vindictive man, he will not sit on benches hearing cases against Pervez Musharraf and that counsels who were his counsels would never appear before him. But there was one issue, in which we had taken a stand in virtually every public meeting that was the case of missing persons. Now the CJP was under pressure to hear these cases. In the aftermath of the movement of 9th March 2007 he had said that it is the responsibility of the state to account for every missing person. It was not so much that we went after Pervez Musharraf, but we went to look for the missing persons, that antagonized Washington DC because they thought that courts would now be throwing a spanner on the war on terror. Then all the signals that came from the CJP that is the way he constituted benches on these constitutional cases was that he would go slow. The 6-3 verdict that came against Qazi Hussain and Imran Khan Case was certain to go this way. One could have looked at the bench and said that it would be 6-3 split decision in favour of Musharraf. In Justice Wajihuddin case against presidential election, we would have lost that petition, because we didn't have a majority. The reports that went to Pervez Musharraf, from his intelligence people were that the SC would decide against him, that's why he imposed Emergency.
I guess in a sense you are right, that certain political issues for which the courts were not ready were brought before it, but the momentum of the events were such that if the courts did not make an attempt to address them then it would have become the old supreme court and that was not an idea worth fighting for.
We also have to remember, that although from 9th March to 20th of July we were able to rally lawyers of different political persuasions on the largest common denominator, independence of the judiciary, restoration of the CJ and supremacy of the rule of law. On this no democrat could disagree but after 20th July, I would say lawyers belonging to different political parties brought their political agendas forward and over that we had no control.
CJP attitude was that I have reached the position of the Chief Justice now I don't care what they do to me. He told me: "I would go down in history, as the CJ who took a stand, the title is something that comes and goes, I will remain in history."
BA: Do you think had everybody moved more cautiously 3rd November onslaught on superior judiciary could have been avoided?
MM: You see, this was a catch-22, if the judiciary did nothing its public image would have eroded giving an impression that this was a fight only for the CJ and not for the independence of the judiciary, not to preserve the institution. Then the judiciary would again have become weak. So the level of expectation from the masses, the legal fraternity and the civil society was such that there was no turning back without eroding your credibility, and once your credibility was eroded, they would attack again.
In retrospect I think they should have not stayed the notification of the presidential elections. 50% of the battle had been won with the re-instatement of the CJ and the president's assurance in the court that he will take off the uniform before taking oath. The stay order, perhaps gave the feeling to the President's camp that the next step of the court will be declaring the elections invalid.
BA: Most of the judges who refused to take oath under emergency Provisional Constitution Order (PCO) now, had taken the oath in February 2000 although a constitutional government was removed. Why does everybody support them now?
MM: Well even this CJ had taken an oath under the PCO in February 2000, but I think though judges say that they are not influenced by the public opinion, the fact is that this is very far from the truth. They do not sit in ivory towers. One of my favourite lines is from NY Court of Appeal's Chief Justice Cardozo, he said that "the great tides and the currents which engulf the rest of men do not in their course turn aside and pass the judges by." 9th March no one came to meet the CJ, but when the movement started, it had a domino effect. As soon as the people started coming on the streets, one fell, then the other and the other.
What we said was that, the courts say that they interpret the constitution according to the changing times; it's an organic document, not static. This is for the first time the people came to the streets and showed them that these are the changing times. There is an old dictum: "better late than never."
BA: Do you see any chance of the restoration of these judges and how it would be constitutionally possible under the current situation?
MM: I think the ball is now in the parliament's court. Historically, a usurper has sought parliamentary indemnity for the acts done during the period of deviation. Now we can't go before the present SC and expect restoration of judges. In fact they've already ruled that the 3rd November PCO amendments are a valid part of the constitution and they will not require any further parliamentary approval. And they have shifted the onus on parliament, that to undo it you have to repeal it by a 2/3 majority.
So this war will now be in the new parliament or in the streets. On the streets it's supposed to be run by the political leadership.
BA: Does that mean if political parties don't get 2/3 majority they can't change it?
MM: No sir, let's take this scenario, supposing Pakistan People's Party (PPP) gets simple majority, forms the government and the speaker asks to lay the constitution of Pakistan before the house, which one will they present, one with the amendments, or the one which was before Musharraf took over ?
BA: Can they do it legally?
MM: Like Illahi Baksh Soomro (former speaker of the national assembly) did it, when the 2002 Parliament sat, he asked for the 1973 Constitution for administering the oath. So this is a political leadership game.
BA: The government says that the SC was coming in the way of their resolve to fight terrorism. Now we all know that the problem of terrorism is there, it's an extra-ordinary situation, what can be done. The executive also needs certain powers or certain space to deal with terrorism. It is a reality, how do you fight it? And how can the judiciary really contribute to this?
MM: You see the executive ought not to shift the entire onus on the judiciary. I concede the proposition that citizen rights have to be balanced against the interest of state security. Now in England, we have the same problem but their parliament enacted a law.
The question is where do we draw this balance and who draws this balance? The balance is to be drawn by parliament, and then the executive will implement this law. Supposing the law is that they can keep a suspect incommunicado for 7 days. Ok, so they keep me incommunicado for 7 days but on the 8th day I should be produced before a magistrate. Decision on whether the executive has transgressed the law, is the judicial function. Now, in England, after 7/7 they have adopted legislations. We, on the other hand, haven't been able to define terrorism yet. What is terrorism? What is a terrorist act? The definition we have is that which is found in the Anti Terrorist Act as something which is liable to scare the general public. The classic definition of terrorists is state terrorism, where the state uses its coercive power to repress its citizens. Assuming that Al-Qaeda is a state within a state and it has to be dealt with, then the international community must come up with a framework of rules. Now tell me, supposing they pick you up on a charge of national security, doesn't your family have a right to know that they have you in their custody? So the degree of accounting will be less but accounting will have to be done. The state must account for persons. When they pick you up on preventive detention it is not a substantive charge but they say we have picked him up. They don't present you before a court but at least a person doesn't disappear.
BA: In the post 3rd November situation, gradually the movement is dying down. How do you see the future of the movement?
MM: Well, we've gone off the front pages for 2 or 3 reasons. Important events such as return of exile leadership, assassination of Ms. Bhutto and elections are getting prominent newspaper space. The problem is that we don't have many legal options; we don't have a court to turn to. Pre 20th July the struggle was within the courts and without the courts. Movement outside the courts was to put pressure and sensitize them.
Now we are re-thinking our strategy. The entire leadership of the bar was arrested. Aitzaz Ahsan, Tariq Mehmood and Kurd are still under detention.
BA: Now towards a personal side, when you were arrested, were you mistreated?
MM: I was not mistreated at Adiala Jail; I only had the inconvenience of being shifted at 3 a.m. to Attock Jail on the third day. In Attock, the civilian jail staff bent over backwards to do anything for me, but it was the intelligence that would lead them. They would be present at every meeting, at every visitation; they decided when the cell would open and when it would be closed. They would supervise and torture me psychologically. Medical treatment facilities were inadequate; I would get medicines after 3 days. At that time I was on pain killers and the pain killers they gave me, my doctors from Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) and Sindh Institution of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) tell me, would have killed a healthy man.
BA: Were you on any medication then?
MM: No, just painkillers. My problem was that they'd shut me in at 4pm and open it back at 7am, the cell only had space to lie on a mattress and the bathroom was right there too. There was nothing to do, all reading and writing material, was confiscated, there was no newspaper and first four days I was in solitary confinement. I would go to the toilet to urinate every hour on the hour. I went to the jail doctor and he said have this medicine and when nothing happened after two days, he changed the medicine.
Eventually my kidneys shut down, and my liver was also not functioning properly. This resulted in accumulation of fluid in my body. Fortunately, I was not disoriented mentally. I don't recall the events after the 23rd November afternoon. I can recall that an SSP came and called Islamabad saying that my health was bad and I should be transferred. I recall being in an ambulance. I don't think I would have survived Saturday. Once I recovered partially with the help of PIMS doctors in Islamabad, I was moved to SIUT in Karachi where I recovered pretty fast and now I am off dialysis.
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Targeting of lawyers and cover up
The government was aware of the lawyers’ weekly rally and on this occasion a heavy contingent of police officers, including female officers was deployed with all the necessary riot gear and other equipment necessary to disperse the lawyers rally. Even ambulances and fire engines were deployed in the operation. The government is claiming that it was a suicide bombing. However, the lawyers claim that the bomb was planted earlier with the intention of causing death and injury to the participants of the rally.
When the bomb exploded a rally of lawyers from the District courts was about to reach the Lahore High Court building to join the lawyers from the High Court who were at that time holding their protest meeting inside the court building. The bomb blast occurred just 30 yards away from the main gate where a heavy contingent of police was deployed. The office bearers of the different bar associations said that it was the timing which had saved so many lawyers from death and injury as the participants from the District courts were more than 500 yards from the High Court building. They claim that the bomb was aimed at killing and maiming the lawyers to put a stop to their continuous protests after the sacking of the judges on November 3, through the state of emergency and against the continuous arrests of their leadership and the judges. They also claim that the government is putting the blame on a suicide attack as usual to divert attention from its crimes.
The Asian Human Rights Commission condemns the bomb attack on the Lahore High Court building and sympathises with the grieving families of the police officers who suffered the brunt of the bomb blast. One injured police head constable stated that the bomb was planted inside a white Suzuki car which had been parked near the area where the police were deployed. When they tried to push the car out of the way the bomb exploded causing heavy casualties. However the police higher ranking officers are claiming that the bomb was carried by a suicide bomber who arrived on a motorcycle.
The AHRC supports the struggle of the protesting lawyers for the rule of law, supremacy of the judiciary against the rule of emergency, and against the arbitrary actions of President Musharraf to undermine the constitutional rule. As the government appears seems to be clearly engaged in a cover up, the AHRC calls for a transparent inquiry into this case with the involvement of international experts.
As it is yet another effort by the government to scare the legal fraternity and civil society to make them desist from assembling and conducting protests against the government the international community owes an obligation to support the lawyers vigorously at this time. Lawyers throughout the world should demonstrate their solidarity with the lawyers in Pakistan by strong actions in their own countries and by communicating their anger to the Pakistan government through the local embassies and consulates of the country.
This is an incident in which many lawyers could have died. Already there are lawyers who have been seriously tortured and held under house arrest and thousands were also detained. The global legal community owes an obligation to the lawyers of Pakistan to institute an inquiry of their own into this matter. The global lawyer’s organisations and national organisations should come forward to offer protection for the lawyers of Pakistan now. We particularly call upon the International Bar Association and Law Asia to act in a demonstrative manner, letting the world know how they will fight to protect their colleagues in Pakistan. We also call upon the UN Rapporteur for the independence of judge and lawyers to exercise his mandate and to do his utmost to investigate this matter and prevent any further recurrence. It should be remembered that those who made this failed attempt are very likely to try again and next time they will also try to make sure that they will carry out their evil task more efficiently this is one of those times when the international solidarity within the legal fraternity and the human rights community will be tested.
# # #
About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
Lawyers condemn blast, term it state conspiracy
By Inam Ullah
LAHORE, Pakistan, 10 January 2008 (The Post) - The legal fraternity termed the [bomb] attack here on Thursday a conspiracy against the lawyers' movement and a complete failure of the [Musharraf] government in controlling the law and order situation in the provincial metropolis [Lahore].
Member, Punjab Bar Council (PBC), Advocate Navid Anayat Malik alleged that the [Musharraf] government "wants to scare lawyers through such coercive tactics to cut short our anti-government movement, started for the restoration of all deposed judges and the Constitution."
"After repeated failure of the [Musharraf] government to stop lawyers from their movement through brutal torture and illegal detention, the government has now designed a 'suicide' attack on us, as used before to remove PPP ex-Chairperson Benazir Bhutto," he added.
"We now want to tell the [Musharraf] government we are not afraid," he said and vowed to continue "our struggle for rights." He urged the lawyers to intensify their campaigns for early success of "our"movement.
Later, he condoled the death of cops who lost their lives in the [bomb] attack and condemned the attack in question.
Another member of PBC, Manzoor Qadir, also a candidate for the LahoreBar Association [LBA] President Office, said the [Musharraf] government has tried its best to suppress the lawyers, "but come what may, we are not afraid. Our movement will only stop after we achieve our agenda," he added.
Former President LBA and member PBC, Advocate Chaudhry Imran Masood, termed the blast in the provincial metropolis a complete failure ofthe [Musharraf] government to tackle lawlessness. "The [ruling tyrant Pervez Musharraf] is playing with the solidarity of our country for his own sake," he said, adding that the only solution to the current crisis would be free and transparent general elections under the supervision of a neutral caretaker government.
Advocate Shahid Bilal Hassan, member PBC, condemning the [bomb] attack on police accused [Dictator] Musharraf of putting the whole nation at stake. "Nobody is safe in this country from terrorism," he added.
Former President, Lahore Tax Bar [LTB], Shafqat Chohan said the masses at large had pinned their hopes on "us" [the Pakistani lawyers]. "We became their voice," he said, adding that the [Musharraf] government"fears the lawyers' movement, hence the blast."
Former Secretary LHCBA, Mian Irfan Akram, expressing his grief over the number of casualties, said the legal fraternity has understood the"hidden message" of the [Musharrraf] government, but "will not retreat a single step. The government must accept defeat," he added.
Former Secretary, LBA, G.A. Khan, and Sajid Bashir said the movement would continue at any cost.
"Lawyers Rally was Real Target"
By Jamaluddin Jamali
LAHORE, Pakistan, 10 January 2008 (The Post) - The legal fraternity on Thursday blamed government agencies [Pakistan Army's Special ServiceGroup (SSG) Commandos, MI, ISI, IB, FIA, Rangers, or InteriorMinistry, etc.] for the deadly [bomb] blast outside the Lahore High Court and said that the real target of the bomber was the lawyers rally.
Hundreds of lawyers were inside the High Court at the time of the blast while others led by the Lahore Bar Association [LBA] were marching towards The Mall.
Lawyers claimed that real target of the blast was their rally, which was heading towards the GPO Chowk, but later the plan was changed and the police contingent was attacked.
The Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) and the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) condemned the [bomb] attack which killed almost 26 people, most of them policemen [and injured over 80 Pakistanis].
SCBA Vice President Ghulam Nabi Bhatti told The Post that the blast was the handiwork of [Pervez Musharraf's] government agencies which wanted to browbeat the protesting lawyers.
He alleged that [the Musharraf] government agencies conducted the blast to weaken the lawyers' protest movement. It was a "divine delay"in the protest march that saved the lives of hundreds of lawyers and members of civil society groups," Ghulam Nabi said.
Former LHCBA President Ahmed Javaid Jilani told The Post that the [Musharraf] government wanted to defer the general elections by creating a law and order situation in Lahore which was relatively safer than rest of the country.
Visiting victims of the blast..
We visited the Mayo Hospital today evening to ask after the blast victims. All along the way, I was thinking what to expect and how to express my feelings; condemnation for the blast and empathy for the victims. My thoughts dispersed and the words failed me when I met the victims and their families. Stricken by poverty and pain, they sat by the bed sides of their near and dear ones whose limbs were broken and bodies burnt. We sat with them, held hands and comforted them. They thanked us for being there to share their grief. It was a humbling experience and the one I will remember for a long time.We stayed for one hour, met about 26 victims and their families, passed on small gifts to them and left the hospital with eyes gleaming with tears but a heart full of promise to visit again. I would request all of you to go and see the victims. In these testing times they need all the support and comfort that your visit can give them.
Friday, January 11, 2008
US delegation to issue preliminary report on Rule of Law issue
PRESS CONFERENCE: Friday, 11/1/08, 3PM, Holiday Inn, across from the Islamabad Press Club.
Islamabad -- A delegation from the United States National Lawyers Guild will release its preliminary findings regarding the impacts of then Proclamation of Emergency at a press conference in Islamabad at 3pm on Friday. The delegation has prepared a preliminary report concluding that anything short of restoration of the judges deposed on November 3rd will have long-lasting negative impacts on the judiciary and the rule of law in Pakistan. The report is critical of U.S. foreign policy, concluding that the United States’ failure to demand the reinstatement of the deposed judges will negatively impact both the development of democracy in Pakistan and the U.S.’s long-term interests in safety and security. The delegation also noted severe structural and procedural problems in the pre-election climate, including the lack of an independent election commission and an independent judiciary, that are likely to make the holding of free and fair elections impossible.
The delegation's findings are based on over 50 interviews with political party leaders, lawyers, members of civil society, government officials, judges, students and journalists in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Islamabad. The report reflects the delegation's findings about the Pakistani judiciary, the freedom and fairness of upcoming elections, and the impact of U.S. foreign policy on security and democracy in Pakistan. David Gespass, the Vice President of the National Lawyers Guild and the leader of the delegation, noted that “As lawyers and law students, we have an ethical and professional obligation to support the struggle for a just and democratic society based on the rule of law wherever that struggle occurs.”
One respondent, Justice Azmat Saeed of the Lahore High Court, who refused to take the PCO oath, stated that “Musharraf said to the U.S.A., ‘I can't fight the war on terrorism with a free press and an independent judiciary.’ But you cannot fight terrorism with state terrorism.”
“Pakistan has become a state where there are suicide bombings going on, where no one is safe. We have now lost more Pakistani soldiers than Americans have lost in Iraq,” noted Imran Khan, leader of the Tehreek-e-Insaaf party. “If you assess the policy now, it has been a disaster for the U.S., and it’s now become an even bigger disaster for Pakistan. And there’s no end in sight. Radicalism and extremism are growing by the day. This is now a monster that could actually destroy our country,” concluded Khan.
Syed Mudasser Ameer, a barrister and a member of the executive committee of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association Action Committee, expressed a common view that “When we used to talk about America, it was just another word for freedom.” But the United States’ continued support for Musharraf has changed his views. “Now, we say it would be better if we were still ruled by Britain, because there would still be rule of law,” stated Ameer.
Justice (ret'd) Jawaad Khawaja of the Lahore University of Management Sciences invited the delegation to visit Pakistan to assess the status of the rule of law and the prospect for fair elections in light of recent attacks on judicial independence. The Law and Policy Department of LUMS founded a new initiative called the Rule of Law Project to serve as an academic clearinghouse for documentation and research regarding constitutionalism and the rule of law in Pakistan. The preliminary report is authored jointly by the delegation and the LUMS Rule of Law Project.
The delegation will return to the United States on Saturday where it will complete its final report for presentation to the United States ongress and the general public.
CONTACTS:
David Gespass, National Lawyers Guild, (0331) 412-5276, +1 (205)566-2530, thepass@aol.com
Devin Theriot-Orr, Rule of Law Project, LUMS, (0334) 428-9694,rlp@riseup.net
A page from the diary of a student..
Earlier today, as we sat down in our Contracts law class, a terrified girl rushed into the class, quite late and looking baffled. The next moment we realized that she wasn't just appearing baffled to get her late entry excused. "Please call up your dad to check if he's fine. There's been an explosion outside the Lahore High Court. Many deaths and injuries"
There was a moment of silence. Then, the instructor spoke: "No, my dad's else where. Actually... em.." Our lawyer-teacher then instructed his teaching assistant to call up the teacher's father so as to enquire his well being, while the class returned to the labyrinthine world of Contracts Act 1872. I have never had a wonderful time with the intricacies of contract law, but this session became particularly distasteful so I began to think about rivers of blood, and black coats and other evocative images and many other things and very soon the class was over. The instructor's dad was reported to be safe and sound, and he looked quite relieved.
Back at LUMS, things looked just fine. It was a cloudy winter afternoon and the breeze was blowing beautifully. I thought about how the same wind blows all around the country, all around the globe, and brings on its wings, news from distant places. What it does not bring is the smell of blood, even when blood has been spilled just a few miles away.
Later, at around 7:30, a few dozen students gathered in front of the dining hall, in response to the Student Council's call. Many times in the afternoon, recently viewed pictures from the TV screen kept popping up in my mind. Bodies of humans, piled up outside the picturesque High Court building, dressed up in khaki trousers and dark grey shirts, unmistakable members of the dreaded Punjab police. Memories retured from another day, more than two months ago, when tall and strong men, dressed up in similar attire were chasing us like rats in that very premises. They beat up our friends, humiliated us and made us walk with our hands held high, just like prisoners of war in our own country.
But that moment in the cold evening, sitting on the ground, amongst a sober gathering of students, as I raised my hands for fatiha, this is not what I was thinking about. I thought about the families of the deceased and what they must be going through. Nothing should waver us in our resolve to battle every oppressive move made by the state, but that resolve must also not blind us to the plight of human beings on both sides. Our battle is not against innocent human beings; it is against a system that pits some of us against the others, exploiting everyone in the process. It is a battle of ideas of justice against ideas of injustice. More than anything else, those who were killed today were fellow human beings, brothers in Islam, killed unjustly. They deserve all our prayers, all our regards, and the maximum of our support.
The students dispersed after enlisting their names for blood donation and making contributions to the fund that the Student Action Committee promply set up to support the families of the deceased.
Thoughts in the aftermath..
Misha Rehman
In the aftermath of the bomb blast in Lahore, where do we stand in our own country?
For some like Marx, history is a linear progression-from feudalism to capitalism and so on. For the colonizers and now imperialists, man evolved from savages to barbarians to the civilized. Darwin spoke of mankind as ‘survival of the fittest’. Man, the superior of all beings in the universe, adapted and transformed the climate to suit his needs. With the advent of industrialization and the likes, we had technology to mold and change the world. From belief in a supreme being and divine law, the world moved to secularism and modern values. Thus, man has always progressed, to grow to something better, to something bigger than before-so history demonstrates, and so great thinkers tell us.
Have we really progressed, or with the passing of each day are we truly digressing to a world where law of the jungle prevails? Using new tactics and new technologies, which apparently seem to be the constructs of a modern world, our men are destroying our own social fabric, and crippling our own polity. This is the state of Pakistan. This is the day of morbidity where evil has risen. The men are standing translucent; we can see the ironies of life, of politics and statehood in a third world country, which is being dragged by the whims and fancies of everyone in the national and/or international arena, everyone but the people of Pakistan. These evil mongers rise to fill their pockets and cling on to their power. They rise to commit atrocities. They rise to curtail freedom. They rise to end Pakistan.
Let us trace back Pakistan’s steps to August 2006, just a year and five months ago. From the hue and cry regarding cases of the missing people, to the American imposed Islamic fundamentalism and Musharaf’s inception of enlightened moderation; from the killing of the prominent Balochi leader Bugti by the security forces, to the unaccounted raid that killed up to 80 people in Bajaur; from the radical Lal Masjid breathing right under the nose of the government, to the numerous bombings in cities like Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Rawalpindi; from Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudry’s unconstitutional suspension by the Dictator-President, to the killings of many Pakistani’s by foreign militants in Waziristan; from the treacherous killings in Karachi during rival protests against CJP’s dismissal, to the shameful deportation of Nawaz Sharif under the orders of the President against the decision of the Supreme Court; from the audacity of the President in wanting to stand in elections as an army chief after eight years of military rule, to the curtailment of media amid growing challenge to this very rule; from the belligerent breach of constitutional provisions by the imposition of a state of emergency, to the unlawful arrests and FIR reports against prominent lawyers, judges, civil servants, and politicians; from the assassination of PPP Chairperson and ex-Prime Minister Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, to the very obvious and shameful cover-up by the army, time and again we have been targeted as a nation. On the 10 of January 2008, we are once again left bruised and battered: "Twenty people have been killed and 60 wounded. Most of the victims are policemen. It was a suicide attack,'' said senior city government official Mian Ejaz after a bomb blast outside the Lahore High Court.
We can not let this go unnoticed, like the parrot that shuts its eyes when he sees a cat, hoping that the cat won’t see him. For if now we can not decide what has to be done, then only darkness prevails. We can not sit idle and wait for the monster to grow. We can not wait for it to engulf us all, for the cat to gulp the parrot down, for the powder keg to explode, for the citizens of a nation to forfeit it all. Not money, not land, no, that’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about fundamental human rights, I’m talking about freedom, I’m talking about existence in its very basic sense, and I’m talking about life…
“Pakistan”, a term coined by Chawdhry Rehmat Ali, “the land of the pure”.
HRCP calls for reports on Mass Arrests in Sindh
HRCP to collect the particulars of the workers of political parties arrested or wanted, in the current wave of arrests, harassment and intimidation by the local administration
January 10, 2008 Karachi:
In a joint statement issued to the press Mr. Iqbal Haider, Secretary General, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Ms. Zohra Yusuf, Vice Chairperson, HRCP expressed grave concern at reports that the government was using the current disturbances after the tragic assassination of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto, as an excuse to enter people's homes, arrest hundreds of thousands of political workers and create an environment of fear.
They said that HRCP has decided to collect - to the extent possible - the available data and particulars of the hundreds of thousands of workers of political parties and other citizens arrested or wanted by the local administration in the Province of Sindh on the allegations of arson, loot, dacoities and burning of the private and public properties following the assassination of the PPP Chairperson. HRCP appeals to all political parties, welfare organizations, NGOs and concerned citizens to immediately give maximum possible particulars of the citizens arrested / wanted by the local authorities in the current wave of arrests, harassment and intimidation.
Information should be sent to:
The HRCP Karachi Chapter – Unit # 8, Ilaco House,
Abdullah Haroon Road, Saddar, Karachi,
Phone: (021) 5637131-32, Fax: (021) 5637133,
Email: hrcp@cyber.net.pk
After receipt of all these details of arrested / wanted / victimized citizens, HRCP would compile the same and release a detailed report.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
LUMS community condemns LHC blast
Lahore 10.1.2008 - The LUMS community strongly condemns the bomb blast that took place outside the Lahore High Court earlier today(Thursday). The students, faculty and staff expressed their grief at the loss of innocent lives and of those doing their duty. Fateha was recited for the victims at a sit in in the evening. The students launched a blood donation drive and a fund raising campaign, urging Pakistanis to unite in their efforts to help the injured and the families of the deceased.
