2007 Pakistani state of emergency

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The 2007 Pakistani state of emergency — effectively martial law^[1] — was declared by President and Chief of Army Staff Pervez Musharraf on 3 November 2007.^[2][3] In the early hours of the state of emergency the army raided the Supreme Court building in Islamabad while the Justices were inside.^[3] Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan said on television media that elections scheduled for January will be delayed indefinitely.^[4]

Contents 1 Background 2 Declaration of a state of emergency 2.1 Actions taken by the Government during the state of Emergency 3 Text of the state of emergency declaration 4 Speech to the nation 5 Reaction 5.1 Reactions by major political figures in Pakistan 5.2 Reactions by judges in Pakistan 5.3 Reactions by other major figures in Pakistan 5.4 Pakistan lawyer community strike 5.5 International reaction 6 See also 7 References 8 External Links

Background

Template:Politics of Pakistan After incumbent General Pervez Musharraf won the 2007 presidential election, the Supreme Court stated that it would deliberate as to whether he was eligible to run in the first place. The court then announced that it would delay its decision on the case.^[5] Parliamentary elections are due to be held in January 2008.

On November 2 the Supreme Court reversed the earlier decision to take a break on the case until November 12, stating that it would now reconvene on November 5 to attempt to finish it quickly. This reversal was in part due to criticism that the court's continuing delay was adding to Pakistan's general instability.^[6] Convening on November 12 would have left just three days before the end of Musharraf's presidential term.

Earlier Attorney General Malik Qayyum told the court that there was no move by the government to impose martial law.^[7]

Declaration of a state of emergency

Before the court could reach a decision, Musharraf declared a state of emergency in the country on the evening of November 3, 2007, and issued a Provisional Constitutional Order. The state-run Pakistan Television Corporation issued a brief announcement saying that "The Chief of the Army Staff (General Musharraf) has proclaimed state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order," at 6:10 am local time without giving any details. Under the order, the Constitution remains suspended, the federal cabinet ceases to exist, and the judges will have to take their oath of office again.^[8][9]

Actions taken by the Government during the state of Emergency

• Islamabad:

Dawn News reported that the Army entered the Supreme Court in Islamabad and detained Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry; it was later reported that Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar had been sworn in his stead after Chaudhry and most of the other judges had refused to accept the Provisional Constitutional Order.^[10]

Private television in Islamabad have been taken off the air as police stormed their offices with orders to remove all equipment. ^[11] There are also reports that police confiscated broadcasting equipment.^[12] International broadcasts and local phones have also been blocked in some locations. ^[13] Additionally, barriers and barbed wires have been erected at important points in the capital.^[14] Aitzaz Ahsan, a leading Pakistani attorney and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was arrested at his home. Key opposition figures and senior lawyers have also been placed under house arrest. These include former cricketer and head of the Movement for Justice Party, Imran Khan and Khawaja Asif.^[15]

• Peshawar:

Army pickets have also sprung up in Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province that borders Afghanistan.

• Lahore:

Former cricketer and leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Imran Khan managed to escape from his house after he was put under house arrest. ^[16]

• Karachi:

Reports from inside Karachi state that things seem peaceful and not entirely different than any other weekend.^[17]

• Southern Pakistan:

Nationalist opposition leaders Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Qadir Magsi have been detained in their home towns in southern Pakistan.^[18]

• Quetta:

The police have also picked up five lawyers from southwestern Quetta, who were known as staunch supporters of Chaudhry. ^[19]

• Indo-Pakistan Border:

An alert was sounded along the Indo-Pakistan border. India began a constant monitoring of the swiftly changing situation. ^[20]

Text of the state of emergency declaration

Whereas there is visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, IED [improvised explosive device] explosions, rocket firing and bomb explosions and the banding together of some militant groups have taken such activities to an unprecedented level of violent intensity posing a grave threat to the life and property of the citizens of Pakistan.

Whereas there has also been a spate of attacks on state infrastructure and on law enforcement agencies;

Whereas some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive and legislature in the fight against terrorism and extremism thereby weakening the government and the nation's resolve diluting the efficacy of its actions to control this menace;

Whereas there has been increasing interference by some members of the judiciary in government policy, adversely affecting economic growth, in particular;

Whereas constant interference in executive functions, including but not limited to the control of terrorist activity, economic policy, price controls, downsizing of corporations and urban planning, has weakened the writ of the government; the police force has been completely demoralised and is fast losing its efficacy to fight terrorism and intelligence agencies have been thwarted in their activities and prevented from pursuing terrorists;

Whereas some hard core militants, extremists, terrorists and suicide bombers, who were arrested and being investigated were ordered to be released. The persons so released have subsequently been involved in heinous terrorist activities, resulting in loss of human life and property. Militants across the country have, thus, been encouraged while law enforcement agencies subdued;

Whereas some judges by overstepping the limits of judicial authority have taken over the executive and legislative functions;

Whereas the government is committed to the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law and holds the superior judiciary in high esteem, it is nonetheless of paramount importance that the honourable judges confine the scope of their activity to the judicial function and not assume charge of administration;

Whereas an important constitutional institution, the Supreme Judicial Council, has been made entirely irrelevant and non est by a recent order and judges have, thus, made themselves immune from inquiry into their conduct and put themselves beyond accountability;

Whereas the humiliating treatment meted out to government officials by some members of the judiciary on a routine basis during court proceedings has demoralised the civil bureaucracy and senior government functionaries, to avoid being harassed, prefer inaction;

Whereas the law and order situation in the country as well as the economy have been adversely affected and trichotomy of powers eroded;

Whereas a situation has thus arisen where the government of the country cannot be carried on in accordance with the constitution and as the constitution provides no solution for this situation, there is no way out except through emergent and extraordinary measures;

And whereas the situation has been reviewed in meetings with the prime minister, governors of all four provinces and with the chairman joint chiefs of staff committee, chiefs of the armed forces, vice chief of army staff and corps commanders of the Pakistan army;

Now, therefore, in pursuance of the deliberations and decisions of the said meetings, I General Pervez Musharraf, Chief of Army Staff, proclaim emergency throughout Pakistan.

I hereby order and proclaim that the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan shall remain in abeyance.

This proclamation shall come into force at once.^[8]

Speech to the nation

Early Sunday morning Pervez Musharraf addressed Pakistan for the first time since declaring a state of emergency^[21] in a speech broadcast on state-run PTV. The following is a translation of Musharaf's speech from the original Urdu: ^[22]

“

Today I'm making this address because our country is on a dangerous juncture, trapped by internal crisis and internal divisions. In the history of nations, time of difficult decisions come. Pakistan also has to make important and painful decisions. If hard decisions are not made then Pakistan's integrity is under threat. Before saying anything I promise the decision made is on the basis of first of all for the sake of Pakistan. Above all personal interests is Pakistan. The Nation would agree on this. In the last months the situation has changed very quickly.

”

Musharraf also alluded to US President Abraham Lincoln, saying that Lincoln's suspension of certain rights during the American Civil War in order to save the nation is analogous to his declaration of a state of emergency for Pakistan.^[23]

Reaction

Reactions by major political figures in Pakistan

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto returned to Karachi cutting short her Dubai visit in the wake of the imposition of martial law in the country.^[24] The AP reports that she was greeted by supporters chanting slogans at the airport.^[25] After staying in her plane for several hours she was driven to her home in Karachi, accompanied by hundreds of supporters.^[26]

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that "Imposing emergency is another form of terrorism."^[27] The acting head of the former Prime Minister's political party, Javed Hashmi, who was arrested, stated, "People will win. Generals will lose. They have to surrender."^[28]

The Minister of the State for Information Tariq Azim Kha said on television media that the elections in Pakistan scheduled for January would be delayed indefinitely.^[28][4]

Reactions by judges in Pakistan

The new Provisional Constitutional Order required judges to retake an oath of allegiance to Musharraf. Many refused to do so, including 15 Supreme Court judges. Additionally, only a fraction of the judges in Pakistan's provinces took the new oath: in Punjab 12 out of 31, in Sindh 4 out of 27, in the North-West Frontier Province 7 out of 15, and in Balochistan 5 out of 11 retook their oaths.^[29]

Reactions by other major figures in Pakistan

An Islamic leader of a religious alliance opposing Musharraf, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, called for protests in order to overthrow the ""the military dictator," during a speech near the outside of Lahore to 20,000 of his followers.^[28]

Pakistan lawyer community strike

The President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and other legal leaders were taken into custody immediately after the imposition of emergency rule. As a result, the Pakistan lawyer community called for a nationwide strike on November 5, 2007 against Musharraf's decision to impose emergency rule.^[30]

International reaction

Main article: International reaction to the 2007 Pakistani state of emergency

The immediate response from most countries has been critical, with the measures viewed as running counter to liberal-democratic reforms.

See also

Template:Wikinewspar2

• 1999 Pakistani coup d'état
• Coup d'etat

References

External Links

• English Summary of the Speech

Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "2007 Pakistani state of emergency" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Pakistani_state_of_emergency, used under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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, updated from Wikipedia November 4, 2007