Opposition activists detained in Pakistan
Monday, 5 November 2007
ISLAMABAD, Nov 4 (Agencies): Authorities rounded up opposition leaders Sunday after military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution, replaced the chief justice and blacked out independent TV outlets, saying the country must fight rising extremism. Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup but had given a conditional pledge to step down as military chief and become a civilian president this year, declared a state of emergency Saturday night, dashing recent hopes of a smooth transition to democracy for the nuclear-armed nation.
"Gen. Musharraf's second coup," read the headline in the Dawn daily. "It is martial law," said the Daily Times.
Across Pakistan, police arrested political activists and lawyers at the forefront of a campaign against military rule
Among those detained were Javed Hashmi, the acting president of the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Asma Jehangir, chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; and Hamid Gul, former chief of the country's main intelligence agency and a staunch critic of Musharraf's support of the U.S.-led war on terror.
"It's a big blow to the country," said Gul, as a dozen officers took him away in a police van near the parliament in the capital, Islamabad. Hashmi said the army general would not "not survive the people's outrage."
Up to 40 activists were hauled in when police raided the office of the Human Right Commission of Pakistan, including its director, I.A. Rahman, a harsh Musharraf critic, said Mohammed Yousaf, a guard at the office in the eastern city of Lahore.
Musharraf's leadership is threatened by an Islamic militant movement that has spread from border regions to the capital, the reemergence of political rival and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and an increasingly defiant Supreme Court, which was expected to rule soon on the validity of his recent presidential election win. Hearings scheduled for next week were postponed, with no new date set.
Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum denied claims by Bhutto and commentators in the domestic media that Musharraf had imposed martial law - direct rule by the army - under the guise of a state of emergency.
"There is no martial law in the country," Qayyum said, noting that the prime minister and parliament were still in place. "Only a state of emergency has been declared."
In Islamabad, phone service that was cut Saturday evening appeared to have been restored by Sunday morning. But transmissions by TV news networks other than state-controlled Pakistan TV remained off the air in major cities.
Scores of paramilitary troops blocked access to the Supreme Court and parliament. Otherwise the streets of the capital appeared calm, with little sign of demonstrators.
Bhutto, who had traveled abroad again in the wake of an Oct. 18 suicide attack that narrowly missed her but killed 145 others, immediately flew back to the southern city of Karachi, and declared that the emergency was the "blackest day" in Pakistan's history.
In his televised address late Saturday, Musharraf, looking somber and composed, said Pakistan was at a "dangerous" juncture, its government threatened by Islamic extremists who are "taking the writ of the government in their own hands, and even worse they are imposing their obsolete ideas on moderates.
The military ruler, wearing a black button-down tunic rather than his army fatigues, also blamed the Supreme Court for punishing state officials and tying the hands of the government by postponing the validation of his recent election win.
Meanwhiule: World leaders urged a swift return to democracy and the rule of law after President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule in Pakistan, although some allies stopped short of outright condemnation. Musharraf-a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban-declared a state of emergency late Saturday, fired the nation's top judge and suspended the constitution.
In a televised nationwide address, he cited Islamic extremism and judicial interference, saying terrorism in Pakistan was at its peak and the government was in "semi-paralysis" through the behaviour of the Supreme Court.
"This action is very disappointing," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement Another of Pakistan's closest allies, China, expressed concern over Musharraf's move.
The state of emergency throws into doubt parliamentary elections slated for January, as well as a power-sharing deal between Musharraf and former premier Benazir Bhutto, which Washington has been pushing for.
A Pentagon spokesman said Washington had no plans at this point to suspend military aid to Pakistan.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: "Whatever happens, we will be urging for a quick return to a constitutional order, we will be urging that the commitment to hold free and fair elections be kept and we would be urging calm among the parties."
In Britain, Pakistan's ex-colonial ruler, Foreign Secretary David Miliband called on the nation to harness "the power of democracy and the rule of law to achieve the goals of stability, development and countering terrorism."
In Paris, the foreign ministry voiced French "concern" and urged Musharraf to "maintain the rule of law."
France "wants dialogue between all Pakistani political forces to guarantee stability and democracy in this great country, which is a partner and a friend," it said. In Brussels, the European Union's executive arm voiced similar concern.Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said emergency rule "is a step in the wrong direction and a serious setback to democracy."
Pakistan was expelled from the 53-nation club for five years when Musharraf seized power in 1999.
Strong US ally Australia, which has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, urged Pakistan to return to constitutional rule.
Reaction was more muted in India, Pakistan's neighbour and nuclear rival, its foreign ministry merely expressing "regrets" at Musharraf's move.
Bhutto told Britain's Sky News television that the country was regressing towards greater dictatorship, later telling CNN that Musharraf's move would only encourage extremists.
Another ex-premier, Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in the 1999 coup, urged him to step down, telling the private Geo television Pakistan was heading towards chaos.
"Gen. Musharraf's second coup," read the headline in the Dawn daily. "It is martial law," said the Daily Times.
Across Pakistan, police arrested political activists and lawyers at the forefront of a campaign against military rule
Among those detained were Javed Hashmi, the acting president of the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Asma Jehangir, chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; and Hamid Gul, former chief of the country's main intelligence agency and a staunch critic of Musharraf's support of the U.S.-led war on terror.
"It's a big blow to the country," said Gul, as a dozen officers took him away in a police van near the parliament in the capital, Islamabad. Hashmi said the army general would not "not survive the people's outrage."
Up to 40 activists were hauled in when police raided the office of the Human Right Commission of Pakistan, including its director, I.A. Rahman, a harsh Musharraf critic, said Mohammed Yousaf, a guard at the office in the eastern city of Lahore.
Musharraf's leadership is threatened by an Islamic militant movement that has spread from border regions to the capital, the reemergence of political rival and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and an increasingly defiant Supreme Court, which was expected to rule soon on the validity of his recent presidential election win. Hearings scheduled for next week were postponed, with no new date set.
Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum denied claims by Bhutto and commentators in the domestic media that Musharraf had imposed martial law - direct rule by the army - under the guise of a state of emergency.
"There is no martial law in the country," Qayyum said, noting that the prime minister and parliament were still in place. "Only a state of emergency has been declared."
In Islamabad, phone service that was cut Saturday evening appeared to have been restored by Sunday morning. But transmissions by TV news networks other than state-controlled Pakistan TV remained off the air in major cities.
Scores of paramilitary troops blocked access to the Supreme Court and parliament. Otherwise the streets of the capital appeared calm, with little sign of demonstrators.
Bhutto, who had traveled abroad again in the wake of an Oct. 18 suicide attack that narrowly missed her but killed 145 others, immediately flew back to the southern city of Karachi, and declared that the emergency was the "blackest day" in Pakistan's history.
In his televised address late Saturday, Musharraf, looking somber and composed, said Pakistan was at a "dangerous" juncture, its government threatened by Islamic extremists who are "taking the writ of the government in their own hands, and even worse they are imposing their obsolete ideas on moderates.
The military ruler, wearing a black button-down tunic rather than his army fatigues, also blamed the Supreme Court for punishing state officials and tying the hands of the government by postponing the validation of his recent election win.
Meanwhiule: World leaders urged a swift return to democracy and the rule of law after President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule in Pakistan, although some allies stopped short of outright condemnation. Musharraf-a key US ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban-declared a state of emergency late Saturday, fired the nation's top judge and suspended the constitution.
In a televised nationwide address, he cited Islamic extremism and judicial interference, saying terrorism in Pakistan was at its peak and the government was in "semi-paralysis" through the behaviour of the Supreme Court.
"This action is very disappointing," White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in a statement Another of Pakistan's closest allies, China, expressed concern over Musharraf's move.
The state of emergency throws into doubt parliamentary elections slated for January, as well as a power-sharing deal between Musharraf and former premier Benazir Bhutto, which Washington has been pushing for.
A Pentagon spokesman said Washington had no plans at this point to suspend military aid to Pakistan.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: "Whatever happens, we will be urging for a quick return to a constitutional order, we will be urging that the commitment to hold free and fair elections be kept and we would be urging calm among the parties."
In Britain, Pakistan's ex-colonial ruler, Foreign Secretary David Miliband called on the nation to harness "the power of democracy and the rule of law to achieve the goals of stability, development and countering terrorism."
In Paris, the foreign ministry voiced French "concern" and urged Musharraf to "maintain the rule of law."
France "wants dialogue between all Pakistani political forces to guarantee stability and democracy in this great country, which is a partner and a friend," it said. In Brussels, the European Union's executive arm voiced similar concern.Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon said emergency rule "is a step in the wrong direction and a serious setback to democracy."
Pakistan was expelled from the 53-nation club for five years when Musharraf seized power in 1999.
Strong US ally Australia, which has troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, urged Pakistan to return to constitutional rule.
Reaction was more muted in India, Pakistan's neighbour and nuclear rival, its foreign ministry merely expressing "regrets" at Musharraf's move.
Bhutto told Britain's Sky News television that the country was regressing towards greater dictatorship, later telling CNN that Musharraf's move would only encourage extremists.
Another ex-premier, Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted by Musharraf in the 1999 coup, urged him to step down, telling the private Geo television Pakistan was heading towards chaos.