[GOTFIVEONIT]

Originally Posted by shsh

thats odd...i was talking to my cousin online just yesterday...and this morning my aunt called from pakistan.....weird...

maybe because you were talking on a landline and she was trying to call a cell phone in pak

[shsh]

Originally Posted by GOTFIVEONIT

maybe because you were talking on a landline and she was trying to call a cell phone in pak

no...i talked to my dad too. hes using my uncle's cell.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

the paki cable news channels are back up, but al jazeera is saying thats only for people outside of pakistan, and that all the cable operators are still being blacked out in pak so people wont question the recent emergency measures. gen. mushy doesnt want to give up power, and the supreme court was going to rule that he cannot run again. so he removed the chief justice, once again, suspended the constitution and imposed martial law (even if he says its not martial law) and over 100 opposition activitists, laywers and politicians have been rounded up and arrested. I find it interesting that a neighborhood in karachi, dominated by benazi'rs ppp heard sounds of gun shots being fired by benazir's supporters.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

YouTube - General Pervez Musharraf declares State of Emergency 1

YouTube - General Pervez Musharraf declares State of Emergency 2

YouTube - General Pervez Musharraf declares State of Emergency 3

YouTube - General Pervez Musharraf declares State of Emergency 4

Here is the full text of the proclamation of the emergency obtained by AFP:

PROCLAMATION OF EMERGENCY

"Bismallah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem (in the name of god the most gracious most merciful),

My dear Pakistani brothers and sisters,

Assalam Alai'kum (Peace Be Upon You).

Today I am speak to you of utmost important time for Pakistan. This time is extremely important.

The first utmost importance for me is Pakistan. And this is my guiding principle.above all everything else first in this world comes Pakistan. Above everything else first comes Pakistan. Any considerations that I make, Pakistan first. And anything I think about for the Country.

This time of difficulty have appeared all over Pakistan. in Karchi, In Rawalpindi, In Gorwa, All over Pakistan, these extremists have gripped the nation. They are not even afraid of the law enforcement agencies. They are that confident. In the Frontier Province, they have appeared in the settled areas and the southern districts. Even here in Islamabad, the heart of Pakistan, the capital of Pakistan.

Whereas there is visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks, including suicide bombings, IED 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 and 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 function, including but not limited to the control of terrorist activity, economic policy, price controls, downsizing of Corps and urban planning, has weakened the writ of the government; the police force has been completely demoralized 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 administrations;

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, make themselves immune from inquiry into their conduct and put themselves beyond accountability.

Whereas the humiliating treatment meted 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 it 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 Provinces, and with 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 the 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." – AFP

[GOTFIVEONIT]

November 04, 2007 Sunday Shawwal 22, 1428

Crackdown on lawyers

Dawn Report

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: In a countrywide crackdown, the government detained several political leaders, lawyers and civil rights activists in their houses on Saturday to stop them from taking any action against the imposition of emergency.

In Islamabad, leading lawyers Aitazaz Ahsan, Ali Ahmed Kurd and Munir Malik were detained under the 3 MPO for 30 days each, and police were looking for other leaders, particularly Hamid Ali Khan, to pre-empt the legal fraternity’s reaction to the government move.

The crackdown forced many lawyers and political workers in the capital to go underground to avoid arrest.

PUNJAB: In Lahore, police raided the house of human rights activist and lawyer Asma Jehangir and put her under house arrest in Gulberg.

Another police team raided the residence of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf chairman Imran Khan’s in Zaman Park, but he was not present there, police sources told Dawn. A police team was deployed outside his residence.

(However, Mr Khan told AFP by telephone he had been placed under house.

“Police entered my house in Lahore and told me that I have been placed under house arrest. They did not show me any detention order at all,” the AFP quoted Mr Khan as saying.)

A senior police officer of Lahore city police told Dawn on condition of anonymity that an operation had been launched to detain active members of the lawyers’ community and leaders of opposition political parties.

“We have updated lists of ‘trouble-makers’ and will act against them with the passage of time,” he said.

SINDH: Police arrested Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party (STPP) chairman Dr Qadir Magsi after a raid on his residence amid reports of similar raids on homes of senior politician Rasool Bux Palijo and other political leaders and activists in the district.

Confirming the arrest, an STPP spokesman said that Dr Magsi asked for arrest warrants but the DPO said he had ‘orders from above’ to arrest him.

A source in police said they had received directives to arrest political leaders. DPO Shaukat, however, denied reports of arrests.

“We are awaiting directives for arrests of some lawyers and nationalist leaders, but so far no directive has been received,” he told Dawn late Saturday night.But another police source said they had received directives to arrest all those leaders who had been in the forefront of the struggle for restoration of Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

BALOCHISTAN: Several political leaders and lawyers were arrested in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan on Saturday night.

Police sources told Dawn that Pashtoonkhwa Mili Awami Party Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai, BNP Secretary General Habib Jalib, Kachjol Ali advocate and Mir Akhtar Hussain Lango had been arrested.

The sources said police also arrested former MNA of BNP Rauf Mengal former MPA Mir Akbar Mewngal, Balochistan High Court Bar Association President Manzoor Lango, Hadi Shakeel Ahmed, Andul Qahir advocate and Khalid Khan advocate.

The sources said that police also raided houses of several lawyers and political leaders but they were not present at their homes.

Meanwhile, the personnel of the Frontier Corps were deployed at all important places in the provincial capital late Saturday night while contingents of FC patrolled the city.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

November 04, 2007 Sunday Shawwal 22, 1428

Curbs imposed on media

By Our Staff Reporter

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: President General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday promulgated two separate ordinances to impose curbs on print and electronic media.

Under the ordinances which amend the Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration Ordinance, 2002, and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, 2002, the print and electronic media have been barred from printing and broadcasting “anything which defames or brings into ridicule the head of state, or members of the armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organ of the state”.

Non-compliance of the new curbs is subject to discontinuation of newspaper publication for up to 30 days, and in case of television channels up to three years of jail and Rs10 million fine or both will be imposed on the broadcast media licensee or its representative and their equipment and premises will be forfeited.

The restrictions were announced hours after several leading national and foreign news channels had been taken off air by cable operators.

A new section 5A has been inserted in the Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration Ordinance to restrict publication of certain material. “No printer, publisher or editor shall print or publish” any material that consist of photographs of suicide bombers, terrorists (except required by the law-enforcement agencies for the purpose of investigation), bodies of victims of terrorist activities, statements and pronouncements of militants and extremist elements and any other thing, which may, in any way, promote aid or abet terrorist activities or terrorism, or their graphic and printed representation based on sectarianism and ethnicity or racialism.

The print media has also been restrained from publishing any material that is likely to jeopardise or be prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or any material that is likely to incite violence or hatred or create inter-faith disorder or be prejudicial to maintenance of law and order.

Similarly, section 20 of the Pemra Ordinance, 2002, has been amended to put a bar on TV channels to “broadcast video footage of suicide bombers, terrorists, bodies of victims of terrorism, statements and pronouncement of militants and extremist elements and any other act which may, in any way, promote, aid or abet terrorist activities or terrorism”.The anchors and moderators of the electronic media have been barred from hosting or propagating any opinion in any manner prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan or sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan that incites violence or hatred or any action prejudicial to maintenance of law and order.

TV discussions on sub judice matters or anything which is known to be false or baseless or is mala fide or for which there exist sufficient reasons to believe that the same may be false, baseless or mala fide have also been banned.

TV CHANNEL: Officials of the Pakistan Media Regulatory Authority raided the Islamabad office of Aaj TV channel and seized live broadcast equipment without showing the required orders. Aaj TV’s Director of Current Affairs, Syed Talat Hussain, said his television channel was being singled out by the government.

[Bruinrab]

Originally Posted by GOTFIVEONIT

SINDH: Police arrested Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party (STPP) chairman Dr Qadir Magsi after a raid on his residence amid reports of similar raids on homes of senior politician Rasool Bux Palijo and other political leaders and activists in the district.

Geeze, I know the Palijo family. I hope they're ok.

[SoSoHalalish]

I read in an article on the bbc, that the human rights commission of pakistan was raided, and the directors under house arrest.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

November 05, 2007 Monday Shawwal 23, 1428

Countrywide crackdown : Hundreds of lawyers, rights activists and politicians detained

Dawn Report

LAHORE, Nov 4: Police and other law-enforcement personnel launched a crackdown across the country on Sunday, apparently fearing a large-scale protest campaign against imposition of emergency.

Opposition politicians, prominent lawyers and rights activists were detained in large numbers in several cities and towns of the country.

Prominent among those detained included PML-N acting president Javed Hashmi, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, former ISI director-general Gen (retd) Hameed Gul and rights activists I.A. Rehman and Iqbal Haider and hundreds of other people on the second day.

Police detained over 600 people in Lahore. Javed Hashmi was arrested from Multan. I.A. Rehman and Iqbal Haider were lodged at Asma Jehangir’s house. Ms Jehangir has been under house-arrest since Saturday evening.

Around 70 civil society activists were arrested when they gathered at a Joint Action Committee meeting of the HRCP in Garden Town to discuss the situation after the imposition of emergency.

Lahore District Bar president Mohammad Shah, Lahore High Court Bar Association president Ahsan Bhoon, advocates Ashtar Ausaaf, Khalid Hussain and Iftikhar Bhatti were also arrested.

The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Isnaaf claimed that over 1,200 and 50 activists, respectively, had been detained in two days of crackdown.

In Rawalpindi, police rounded up nearly 60 people, including a retired judge, the former ISI director-general, lawyers and human rights activists.

Officials said that around 400 ‘preventive arrests’ had been made across the country.

Shortly after the imposition of emergency, police and paramilitary personnel started patrolling the federal capital territory and Rawalpindi and erected barricades and barbed wires on roads leading to the Supreme Court building and set up sand bunkers at exit and entry points.

A red-alert was declared in all prisons in Punjab and jail staff were called on duty on Sunday night.

Aitzaz Ahsan, the newly-elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), who was arrested from Islamabad on Saturday night, was sent to the Adiala jail. Former SCBA Munir A. Malik was shifted to the jail on Sunday morning.

Gen (retd) Hameed Gul, his son Abdullah Gul, Justice (retd) Tariq Mehmood, colonel (retd) Iftikhar Baig and advocates Mian Sanaullah and Afzal Ahmed were arrested on Sunday and taken to the Adiala jail.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam leaders Abdul Hameed, Hafiz Mohammad Shaukat, Hafiz Nazeer and Omer Farooq and PML (N) leader Mansab Khan were arrested in Rawalpindi. Police also picked up several other people and are conducting raids on homes of lawyers and political activists.

A senior police official said: “There is no specific target for arrests, but our main concern is to foil Monday’s protest announced by opposition parties and lawyers.”

Shops were open, but traffic was thin on roads and markets were deserted.

In Attock, police detained PML-N city president and UC naib nazim Dr Sheikh Waseem and city vice-president Dr Sheikh Waseem Saddique.

PML-N’s UC councilor Abid Hanif, PML-N Attock secretary information Mubaris Khan and Haji Iqbal of Jamaat-i-Islami were also arrested.

Many lawyers and political workers went underground to avoid arrest.

Awami National Party president Asfandyar Wali Khan was placed under house-arrest in Charssada. He told reporters that through one order, the NWFP home secretary had issued his detention for one month while through another order his residence had been declared a sub-jail by the government.

Mr Khan said that in fact Gen Musharraf had imposed martial law against the judiciary. “Under the Constitution, only the president could impose emergency on the advice of the prime minister, but in the present case the army chief issued the proclamation of emergency which was unconstitutional,” he added.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the ANP peace committee, presided over by senior vice-president Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, was held on Sunday. It vowed to resist the imposition of emergency.

In Nwabshah, police picked up PPP leader and Nawabshah District Bar Association general-secretary Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar from his office.

In Sukkur, police arrested Imdad Awan, acting chief of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and Shahryar, son of Shabbir Shar, general-secretary of the Sindh High Court Association (Sukkur chapter).

In Hyderabad, three activists of the Sindh Taraqqi Pasand Party were held on charges of forcibly closing shops.

In Quetta, police sources confirmed that two lawyers were arrested and they were conducting raids in different areas to arrest lawyers and political activists.

[Zeinab]

Originally Posted by Dubai3000

^ there are indeed innocent people killed fighting these terrorists no doubt, but what other option is there? These terrorists are trying to take over the country and impose thier rules on the people just like they did in afghanistan. If you have a better idea of fighting them, why dont you share with us?

This isn't an 'either or' situation; not supporting Musharraf's self-imposed government isn't the same as supporting the 'terrorists' as you so eloquently put it.

Do you have any idea what this state of emergency means for the Pakistani people?
The fact that Musharraf had to do such a thing just shows how unhappy the Pakistani people are with the current goverment - the terrorists excuse is just that: an excuse, when actually there are more pressing matters at hand, like the freedom of a whole nation, who at the moment are literally forced into their homes out of fear of being arrested/ beaten/ killed for speaking out against anything the government is carrying out. So please, don't humiliate yourself by telling us or the Pakistani people how Musharraf is better for us/them than the terrorists, or that it's for their own good, when you fall for the rhetoric coming from Musharraf and his cronies.

At the moment, people just want the martial law lifted and progress towards fair and free elections; if that results in a Shariah law, then I don't see how that's any of your business.

[Dubai3000]

^^^ if you read my earlier post i clearly said that you dont have to support Mushraff, the only thing i said was i and many other pakistanis dont want talibans running our country. Mushraff is bad yes, but do you really want pakistan to become like taliban afghanistan?
Most pakistanis i know would never want that. What is happening here is there are two evils fighting each other. The army run by Musharraf and the Talibans. Unfortunatly innocent people are caught in the middle.

[m_ali_qazi]

Originally Posted by Dubai3000

^^^ if you read my earlier post i clearly said that you dont have to support Mushraff, the only thing i said was i and many other pakistanis dont want talibans running our country. Mushraff is bad yes, but do you really want pakistan to become like taliban afghanistan?
Most pakistanis i know would never want that. What is happening here is there are two evils fighting each other. The army run by Musharraf and the Talibans. Unfortunatly innocent people are caught in the middle.

if a person refuses to believe that radical islam is that big of a threat, doesnt mean that they support taliban or al qaeda

[Dubai3000]

^ i am not saying you support them, but you are clearly being ignorant of the problem and that is clearly bad for the future.

[Zeinab]

Originally Posted by Dubai3000

^ i am not saying you support them, but you are clearly being ignorant of the problem and that is clearly bad for the future.

What problem? The fact that people are resorting to violence [whether it be in God's name or not] just shows how much they want the current government to go - they are the problem. But in no way am I justifying the violence: it's just a reflection on the 'government'; you could even say that it helps to perputate the government's agenda (hmm - I question who actually is behind the 'extremist' violence.) All the people carrying out the attacking today have been the police (on behalf of the government) on other politicians or members of the judiciary services who don't agree with the state of emergency or the Provisional Constitution Order. Just switch to any news channel to see.

Also, your previous comment of the Pakistani people needing to be 'policed' was just uncalled for.