President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday. It has now been announced at PTV. The emergency decision comes ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election win.
The news caster at PTV didn’t give any reasons for emergency but read the following text:
The chief of army staff has proclaimed a state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order.
Earlier, Pakistan’s private TV channels had suddenly gone off-air amid speculations that emergency was going to be imposed.
An earlier Reuters report which was among the first to break the news read:
Private television channels Geo News and Dawn News both ran reports quoting unnamed sources as saying the government had made its decision. Speculation has been rife that Musharraf, who is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether he was eligible to run for re-election last month while still army chief, might impose emergency rule or martial law
This has not been the first time that government thought about imposing emergency. The idea has been flirted with from time to time. Rumors kept appearing from time to time from as early as August 8, 2007. We also had a post on this topic then.
According to CNN:
The Supreme Court has declared the state of emergency illegal, claiming Musharraf had no power to suspend the constitution, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry told CNN.
People were already sensing something was about to happen when Benazir suddenly left the country two days ago without even going to other provinces of the country except Sindh. It may be true that she indeed left Pakistan to be with her ailing mother but it never stops people from speculating. Also the earlier news where Government circles were advising Benazir not to come to Pakistan before Supreme Court decision now seem to put missing links to a continuum.
According to Washington Post news:
The United States had tried to pressure Musharraf on Friday to avoid declaring emergency rule or martial law. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday sent a warning to Musharraf not to take authoritarian measures to hold on to power. “I think it would be quite obvious that the United States would not be supportive of extra-constitutional means,” Rice said. “Pakistan needs to prepare for and hold free and fair elections.” That message was followed by a previously scheduled meeting between Musharraf and Adm. William J. Fallon, chief of the U.S. Central Command.
Complete text of emergency declaration can be read here
@ Faraz
Is Lachay dar paratha the real paratha or is it the plain one? :-)
This is democracy at its best my friend. Embrace the differences because every nation is polarized on critical issues.
@Ajmal,
What was his “personal benefit” in opening the media rather than keeping it state controlled as by the democratic leaders?
@ Ajmal,
Seems like I know a lot more facts than you. Just try to think rationally and don’t get emotional just because others are getting emotional on the subject. And no, I don’t have anyone in the government.
The undeniable facts are that
1-Iftikhar is no saint as he is portrayed.
2-The law and order situation demands strong government without SC creating hurdles
CJ tried to have a gunfight duel with Mushy but came to the fight without a gun. Were you really expecting a different ending?
Are Lahore, Islamabad, Karachi Metroblogs accessible to others? I can’t seem to access them from UK as of now.
http://lahore.metblogs.com/
@Mahmood
Well if you are so ignorant then let me brief you.Musharraf allowed freedom of media for his own benefit but when the same media start criticizing him, he don’t have the guts to listen to that and issue pemra ordinance.