Dawn
November 4, 2007
Editorial
ANOTHER MOVE TOWARDS ABSOLUTISM
SO we are back to square one. Back to Oct 12,
1999. All the gains over the years have gone down
the drain. All this talk about the forward thrust
towards democracy, about the impending ’third
phase’ of the political process and the lip
service to the sanctity of judiciary turned out
to be one great deception. The people have been
cheated. In a nutshell, one-man rule has been
reinforced, and there is no light at the end of
the tunnel - a tunnel that is dark and winding
with an end that is perhaps blocked. The reports
about emergency rule were denied umpteenth times
by President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister
Shaukat Aziz. The denials were bogus. From now on
it would simply be a waste of newspaper space and
channel time if ever a denial by this government
is printed or aired.
In a sense this is Gen Pervez Musharraf’s second
coup. Just as Ziaul Haq assumed all powers for
himself twice - first in 1977 in what was a
classical coup d’etat and in 1988 by using powers
under article 58-2b of the Constitution
– Musharraf has followed suit with some
difference. In his second coup, Zia sent Junejo
packing; in this second Musharraf coup, the
Constitution has been held in abeyance and Prime
Minister Shaukat Aziz and his ministers will
continue to function. But his rule is now
absolute, and civil society and democracy have
received a blow. The general had not addressed
the nation till the writing of these lines. All
private channels had gone off air, and only the
state-controlled PTV released the proclamation of
emergency order which spoke of the ’visible
ascendancy in the activities of extremists’ as
the reason for imposing the emergency. Frankly,
not even the most naïve amongst us would buy this
line. In what way does the proclamation of
emergency help in prosecuting the war on terror?
Already, the president enjoys all the powers that
a ruler could possibly hope to amass. He is Chief
of the Army Staff, he is president and he is
supreme commander of the armed forces. What more
power does he want? After all, for crushing the
militants he will use those very military and
paramilitary forces which are already doing the
job -the Frontier Constabulary, the Frontier
Corps, the army, the Rangers, and the plethora of
intelligence agencies about whose incompetence
now no one has any doubts. We state emphatically
what has forced Gen Musharraf to declare
emergency are the doubts about the outcome of the
Supreme Court’s judgment on his right to contest
the presidential election. No one is going to
accept what he is going to tell us, neither the
people of Pakistan nor the aid-givers. Despite
public declarations to the contrary, the voices
demanding him ’to do more’ may be the only ones
not unhappy with these developments as they would
expect him to deliver more effectively. But we
ask: can a general who does not enjoy the
people’s mandate really carry the nation along
and fight the terrorists alone?
The News
November 4, 2007
Editorial
BLACK SATURDAY
Sunday, November 04, 2007
November 3 will go down as another dark day in
Pakistan’s political and constitutional history.
It can be safely said that this is one of General
Pervez Musharraf’s gravest errors of judgment,
and a sorry indication that nothing has been
learnt from the mistakes of the past. The
imposition of emergency rule and suspension of
the 1973 Constitution announced on Saturday is
only going to destroy the very institutions that
this country crucially needs for evolving into a
true democracy, particularly the judiciary, media
and parliament. It will further fracture an
already weakened federation, alienate those who
have grievances against the centre, such as the
Tribal Areas and Balochistan, and push whatever
little credibility the government had down a very
deep abyss. Such a draconian step will also have
little effect on our ability to fight terrorism
and extremism. It would be fair to assume that
the emergency has been imposed only to target two
institutions: the judiciary and the media but it
may well have poisonous effects on another: i.e.
parliament. Those in the ruling PML-Q will be
foolish not to realise that the legislative
branch of government has received a death blow as
well since the imposition has come from an army
general.
The fact that the official statement carrying the
emergency announcement used ’army chief’ rather
than president to refer to the authority behind
the promulgation is significant as well
indicating that perhaps what we have on our hands
is a de facto martial law — one in which the
assemblies will function but only to give the
impression that democracy has not been hampered
in any manner. Furthermore, the timing of the
proclamation, a few days before an expected
judgment on a case that could have potentially
declared the president’s re-election null and
void, is such that very few people in this
country, or overseas for that matter, will buy
the argument that it has been imposed to arrest
the deteriorating law and order situation and to
allow the government to focus on fighting
extremism and militancy. It will be difficult to
remove public doubts that it has only been
imposed to target a superior judiciary that has
finally found some spine and is carrying out its
constitutional role of acting as a watchdog on
the executive, which in Pakistan’s case was often
overstepping its constitutionally-defined
authority. As for the media, the fact that
private television channels were blacked out for
the better part of Saturday is a grim indication
of the government’s intentions. However, here
too, such bans are essentially counter-productive
and will be seen by ordinary Pakistanis as a
desperate act of a regime bent on shielding
itself from criticism.
Meanwhile, the Chief Justice of Pakistan has been
informed that his services were no longer
required. In any case, the promulgation of a
provisional constitutional order would mean that
most of the judges of the Supreme Court who had
in recent weeks taken a brave and defiant stand
against the government and the military would be
pushed aside and not be invited to take a fresh
oath; many would in all probability decline such
an offer. As news of the imposition of emergency
spread, eight members of the Supreme Court
defiantly struck down the proclamation, which
could well trigger off a new stand-off. The
future is not looking good — not least because
the president’s move is bound to have massive
repercussions and a severe response from all
segments of civil society. Such acts are
indefensible at any time, more so in this day and
age.
Daily Times
November 04, 2007
NEWS ANALYSIS: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
by Najam Sethi
Several points are interesting and significant
about last night’s political rupture.
1: We have a state of martial law, whatever the
government may say and however long it may last.
The Proclamation of Emergency (PE) and the
Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) have been
signed by the “Chief of Army Staff”, General
Pervez Musharraf, and not by “President”
Musharraf or Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. In
fact, a PCO is an extra constitutional deviation
and only an army chief can order it.
2: The constitution has accordingly been "held in
abeyance". But significantly, the PCO says that
the country will continue to be governed, "as
nearly as possible" by the constitution. But
where there is any other departure from the
constitution apart from what is contained in the
PCO and the PE from now onwards, it will be at
the behest of the “President” and not the COAS.
In other words, General Musharraf’s presidency
has been confirmed and upheld by the PCO.
3: The PCO prohibits the courts from holding or
issuing any decree against the President, the
Prime Minister or anyone exercising powers under
their authority. Specifically, the President
shall now require a fresh oath under the PCO by
those judges who wish to be included in the
Federal Shariat Court, High Courts and Supreme
Court. In this context, four Supreme Court judges
have already taken oath under the PCO from
President Musharraf and a new chief justice of
Pakistan has been nominated, ie, Justice Hameed
Dogar. In other words, Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry
is now to be referred to as a former chief
justice of Pakistan. He will be in the company of
at least seven other fellow judges who have
revolted against the PCO. We should now expect a
host of other judges from the four High Courts
and possibly Federal Shariat Court to be excluded
from the new oath taking ceremonies. If this
manœuvre is accomplished by General Musharraf
relatively quickly and the high courts are
sufficiently revamped, then we shall have a
pro-executive judiciary soon.
4: All ordinances promulgated by the president
prior to this PCO remain valid. In other words,
the National Reconciliation Ordinance is alive
and kicking. Benazir Bhutto will be pleased.
5: The PE lists several reasons for its
necessity. The prime reason is the state of
deteriorating law and order and the vanishing
writ of the state owing to acts of terrorism. But
the judiciary has been held to be a major culprit
in log-jamming the executive and undermining the
war against extremism. Indeed, out of 11
effective clauses in the PE, eight refer to the
negative role played by the judges and the
judiciary in undermining the war against
terrorism, the executive functioning of
government and the economy. As such, the Supreme
Court under Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry is held
critically responsible for harming the national
interest and exacerbating the crisis of the state
and deadlock of the political system.
6: The 2007 PCO does not dissolve the assemblies
or the provincial and federal governments. Nor
does the PE announce any extension of the term of
parliament by up to a year as is possible under a
state of emergency. This means that General
Musharraf intends to allow these parliaments and
governments to finish their terms on November 16
(National Assembly) and November 24 (provincial
assemblies), followed by general elections within
a stipulated time frame.
7: We should expect the lawyers, civil society
groups and most, but not all, the opposition
parties to launch a spirited protest on the
streets and boycott the courts. But with the
electronic media blinded, and the administrations
freed from the oversight of the courts, the
police and paramilitary forces will be used to
arrest opponents and crush the protest movement.
Two factors will play a critical role in what
happens next: one, the extent to which the
lawyers can continue their protest and if
necessary sacrifice some dead bodies for their
cause; two, the role played by the People’s Party
of Ms Bhutto and the JUI of Maulana Fazalur
Rehman. We should also expect a surge in
terrorist activities and bomb blasts by Taliban
and Al Qaeda elements to take advantage of the
situation.
8. Ms Bhutto has returned to the country in the
midst of the crisis. The government will expect
her not to destabilise its modus operandi in
exchange for a power sharing deal. In all
probability, she will oppose the PCO and PE.
Supporting it would incur the wrath of Pakistanis
who generally don’t like what General Musharraf
has done. But she may lend only token PPP support
to the protest movement. Much the same may be
said of Maulana Fazal’s JUI. Instead she will
demand that the road be cleared for free and fair
general elections so that the people may give
their verdict on all parties.
9. Writ petitions will fly against the PCO. The
new SC will agree to hear them. But no judgment
will be forthcoming until such time the elections
have been held and a new parliament is in place
to indemnify the PCO and confirm President
Musharraf as the legitimate president of
Pakistan. In other words, the unconstitutionality
of this act will probably be pronounced by the
new SC after it has got retrospective validity
from a new parliament some months hence. The
question of whether General Musharraf will remain
army chief for another five years or take off his
uniform then will have to be settled by the new
parliament in 2008 as happened in 2003.
10. The US, EU and the international community
will condemn the PCO and demand a restoration of
full fledged democracy via free and fair general
elections. General Musharraf should not have any
problems complying with their demand in due
course.
The Daily Star
November 5, 2007
Editorial
SAD DAY FOR PAKISTAN
MUSHARRAF’S OBSESSION WITH POWER SPELLS DANGER
In a highly complicated politico-military
scenario in Pakistan with judicial activism
playing a conscientious role and Ms Bhutto’s
homecoming briefly bolstering democratic
aspirations, Musharraf has proclaimed emergency
by one fell stroke. In Pakistan’s chequered
history, this is perhaps one of the worst
uncertain phase it has had the misfortune of
dealing with now.
Musharraf’s ’s unquenchable thirst for power
topped off by desperation for self-survival has
had him issue a provisional constitutional order
whereby he has replaced Chief Justice Iftikhar
Chaudhry with Justice Hameed Gogar "who has a
corruption reference against him." The Supreme
Court was to issue a ruling on the validity of
the October 6 presidential election he had
participated in with army uniform and won. It is
thought to be a preemptive strike by Musharraf,
but given his weakening popularity and unabashed
clinging to power his latest action is likely to
recoil on him.
The January general election is clearly thrown in
doubt and any possibility of a power sharing deal
with Ms Bhutto which had the blessings of the US
and UK seems far removed at this point. In any
case imposition of emergency is a major setback
to the democratic aspirations of the people of
Pakistan who have now to actually see them caught
in a vortex of violence, conflict and
confrontation. The reasons being touted by
Musharraf for proclaiming emergency are, in his
own words, "Judges were interfering with the
government and that Islamic militancy posed a
grave threat to the country".
This man who ruled Pakistan for nine years on the
card of fighting extremism has basically failed
to contain it in the ultimate analysis. There is
a growing belief that an elected civilian
government with a free media can be a powerful
bastion against ideological terrorism. Since
democracy is central to the creation of stability
in the country, nuclear Pakistan cannot afford to
be anything but politically stable in the greater
interest of regional peace and stability.
The worldwide condemnation of Musharraf’s
imposition of emergency in Pakistan should be
translated into strong persuasive engagements
with him to lift emergency, step down and go for
general election.
The Hindu
Nov 05, 2007
Editorial
DARKNESS IN PAKISTAN
The imposition of an Emergency and the suspension
of the Constitution by President Pervez
Musharraf, signalling a return to direct military
rule has plunged Pakistan into one of its darkest
phases ever. The mass detentions of activists and
lawyers, the clampdown on the Pakistani media,
forbidden to express any opinion "prejudicial to
the ideology of Pakistan“or its”integrity", and
the summary removal of the feisty Chief Justice
of the Supreme Cour t Iftikar Chaudhary who had
been spiritedly resisting the attempts to curb
the independence of the judiciary, are chilling
signs that the dreaded days of military rule are
back. The general has now been revealed in his
true colours as a ruthless military dictator, in
the mould of Zia-ul-Huq and all his dismal
predecessors who had kept Pakistan in a state of
permanent Army rule. Prominent figures in the
movement for democracy were rounded up, such as
the eminent lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, cricket hero
and politician Imran Khan, human rights activist
Asma Jehangir, and Javed Hashmi the acting head
of Nawaz Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim
League(N). Another dictatorial act swiftly
following the declaration of Emergency on
Saturday night was the cancellation by the new
Chief Justice, Abdul Hameed Dogar, of all the
cases being heard by the Supreme Court including
the legal challenges to General Musharraf’s
re-election in uniform. The new martial law
regime has placed seven of the Supreme Court
judges, including Justice Chaudhary under house
arrest, dealing a deathblow to Pakistan’s fragile
institutional structure.
If there had been an attempt by General Musharraf
to sugar-coat the intention underlying the
October 1999 coup in claims such as that the
overthrow of Nawaz Sharif’s civilian democratic
government was only a precursor to installing
“genuine democracy,” this time, the cold-blooded
calculations are there for all to see.
Pre-empting a possible refusal by the Supreme
Court to validate the results of the evidently
tainted presidential election which had given him
an overwhelming victory and possibly apprehending
the growing credibility of the movement for
civilian democracy, especially since the return
of the Pakistan People’s Party leader, Benazir
Bhutto, General Musharraf decided this was the
time to strike. The general has attempted to
justify his imposition of Emergency by arguing
that judicial intervention had led to a paralysis
in civil administration even as Pakistan was "on
the verge of destabilisation" because of rising
militancy and extremism. Such excuses ring hollow
especially when it is so powerfully evident that
the restoration of democracy and civilian rule in
Pakistan which is an urgent imperative in this
moment of crisis would represent the best
possible insurance against the forces of
extremism and terrorism. Ms Bhutto who has
returned to Karachi now has a historic
responsibility to lead the resistance to this
sordid betrayal of her country by the deeply
discredited general. There are heartening signs
that the people of Pakistan are unwilling to be
silenced by the guns of the martial law regime
and it could well be that this is only a darkness
before the dawn.