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Dr. Jai Maharaj
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Musharraf considers state of emergency in Pakistan
By Declan Walsh in Islamabad
The Guardian, UK
Thursday August 9, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
[Caption] A soldier in Pakistan.
Photograph: Massoud Hossaini/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistan's embattled president, Pervez Musharraf, met with
senior advisers this morning to consider imposing a state
of emergency, a government spokesman said.
The stock market tumbled and ordinary Pakistanis read the
morning headlines with apprehension as speculation mounted
that Gen Musharraf would take what was widely viewed as a
gambit to extend his rule.
The minister of state for information, Tariq Azim, said a
range of "internal and external threats" had triggered the
debate on imposing a state of emergency. "We hope it
doesn't come to that but we are going through difficult
circumstances. No option can be ruled out," he said.
Mr Azim blamed a rash of suicide bombings and attacks on
government forces by Islamist militants in the tribal
areas. But he also mentioned threatening statements by a
number of White House officials and the Democratic hopeful
Barack Obama in recent weeks. Talk of unilateral American
attacks on al-Qaida targets inside Pakistan had "started
alarm bells ringing and upset the Pakistani public," he
said.
But critics said the security concerns were secondary to
Gen Musharraf's principal concern: maintaining his grip on
power against an independent-minded and newly emboldened
supreme court.
Last month the supreme court damaged Gen Musharraf's
authority with a momentous verdict in favour of the
suspended chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Now
the court could scupper Gen Musharraf's controversial plans
for re-election later this year through a number of legal
challenges due to come before the court.
By declaring emergency rule Gen Musharraf could sweep away
many of his problems - hobbling the courts, muzzling the
press and postponing elections for another year.
But opposition leaders warned the move would only deepen
the country's political crisis. Benazir Bhutto, the exiled
opposition leader with whom he recently held power-sharing
talks, issued a muted denunciation.
"Imposition of an emergency would not lead to stability
and, therefore, I hope that such a big step would not be
taken," she told Geo News.
Gen Musharraf's threats could also be linked to a court
petition by his arch-rival, Nawaz Sharif.
This morning the supreme court is due to start hearing a
petition from the former prime minister to allow him return
home after seven years in exile.
There is much bad blood between Gen Musharraf and Mr
Sharif, whose botched attempt to fire Gen Musharraf in 1999
triggered the bloodless coup that returned the military to
power. A court ruling in favour of Mr Sharif today would
pave the way for an immediate return.
One western diplomat said Musharraf may try to have
emergency rule mandated by a vote of parliament, which was
elected in a rigged vote in 2002 and is dominated by his
supporters.
There was also speculation that the Sharif court case would
be postponed until next week.
The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, called Gen
Musharraf at 2am Pakistani time for a long conversation.
The diplomat called it a "pretty important call".
Speculation about a state of emergency first surfaced
yesterday after Gen Musharraf pulled out of a long-planned
peace conference in Afghanistan at the last minute, and
spent the day in a series of meetings with political
leaders, army generals and his legal counsel.
In Kabul more than 600 elders from both sides of the border
attended the jirga, or tribal council, which was opened by
the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, and the Pakistani prime
minister, Shaukat Aziz. They are discussing ways to end the
bloody Taliban insurgency.
But without Gen Musharraf's participation hopes for the
jirga are low. Diplomats and analysts describe it as a
"first step" towards peace in the region.
More at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2144844,00.html
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/24fq83
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
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FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
By Declan Walsh in Islamabad
The Guardian, UK
Thursday August 9, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
[Caption] A soldier in Pakistan.
Photograph: Massoud Hossaini/AFP/Getty Images
Pakistan's embattled president, Pervez Musharraf, met with
senior advisers this morning to consider imposing a state
of emergency, a government spokesman said.
The stock market tumbled and ordinary Pakistanis read the
morning headlines with apprehension as speculation mounted
that Gen Musharraf would take what was widely viewed as a
gambit to extend his rule.
The minister of state for information, Tariq Azim, said a
range of "internal and external threats" had triggered the
debate on imposing a state of emergency. "We hope it
doesn't come to that but we are going through difficult
circumstances. No option can be ruled out," he said.
Mr Azim blamed a rash of suicide bombings and attacks on
government forces by Islamist militants in the tribal
areas. But he also mentioned threatening statements by a
number of White House officials and the Democratic hopeful
Barack Obama in recent weeks. Talk of unilateral American
attacks on al-Qaida targets inside Pakistan had "started
alarm bells ringing and upset the Pakistani public," he
said.
But critics said the security concerns were secondary to
Gen Musharraf's principal concern: maintaining his grip on
power against an independent-minded and newly emboldened
supreme court.
Last month the supreme court damaged Gen Musharraf's
authority with a momentous verdict in favour of the
suspended chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Now
the court could scupper Gen Musharraf's controversial plans
for re-election later this year through a number of legal
challenges due to come before the court.
By declaring emergency rule Gen Musharraf could sweep away
many of his problems - hobbling the courts, muzzling the
press and postponing elections for another year.
But opposition leaders warned the move would only deepen
the country's political crisis. Benazir Bhutto, the exiled
opposition leader with whom he recently held power-sharing
talks, issued a muted denunciation.
"Imposition of an emergency would not lead to stability
and, therefore, I hope that such a big step would not be
taken," she told Geo News.
Gen Musharraf's threats could also be linked to a court
petition by his arch-rival, Nawaz Sharif.
This morning the supreme court is due to start hearing a
petition from the former prime minister to allow him return
home after seven years in exile.
There is much bad blood between Gen Musharraf and Mr
Sharif, whose botched attempt to fire Gen Musharraf in 1999
triggered the bloodless coup that returned the military to
power. A court ruling in favour of Mr Sharif today would
pave the way for an immediate return.
One western diplomat said Musharraf may try to have
emergency rule mandated by a vote of parliament, which was
elected in a rigged vote in 2002 and is dominated by his
supporters.
There was also speculation that the Sharif court case would
be postponed until next week.
The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, called Gen
Musharraf at 2am Pakistani time for a long conversation.
The diplomat called it a "pretty important call".
Speculation about a state of emergency first surfaced
yesterday after Gen Musharraf pulled out of a long-planned
peace conference in Afghanistan at the last minute, and
spent the day in a series of meetings with political
leaders, army generals and his legal counsel.
In Kabul more than 600 elders from both sides of the border
attended the jirga, or tribal council, which was opened by
the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, and the Pakistani prime
minister, Shaukat Aziz. They are discussing ways to end the
bloody Taliban insurgency.
But without Gen Musharraf's participation hopes for the
jirga are low. Diplomats and analysts describe it as a
"first step" towards peace in the region.
More at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2144844,00.html
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/24fq83
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
