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| Thousands face down Pakistani police | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Nov 5 2007, 12:26 PM (158 Views) | |
| greatwhiteelkhunter | Nov 5 2007, 12:26 PM Post #1 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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HOLY CRAP!!!!! I mean HOLY CRAP!!!!! this has HUGE possible effects on us and in Afghanistan. WHAT IN THE HE&& IS GOING ON ?????????? Anyone who finds more info on this please post links and stories on here to keep us in the loop. This story is every bit as big if not bigger then the idiot in Iran making threats and our reaction... By MUNIR AHMAD, Associated Press Writer 24 minutes ago Police fired tear gas and clubbed thousands of lawyers protesting President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's decision to impose emergency rule, as Western allies threatened to review aid to the troubled Muslim nation. Opposition groups put the number of arrests at 3,500, although the government reported half that. Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup and is also head of Pakistan's army, suspended the constitution on Saturday ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on whether his recent re-election as president was legal. He ousted independent-minded judges, put a stranglehold on independent media and granted sweeping powers to authorities to crush dissent. Though public anger was mounting in the nation of 160 million people, which has been under military rule for much of its 60-year history, demonstrations so far have been limited largely to activists, rights workers and lawyers. All have been quickly and sometimes brutally stamped out. A spokesman for former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party said Monday that authorities had rounded up around 2,300 of its supporters. Other opposition parties, human rights groups, and lawyers said another 1,200 had been arrested. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Police fired tear gas and clubbed thousands of lawyers protesting President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's decision to impose emergency rule, as Western allies threatened to review aid to the troubled Muslim nation. More than 1,500 people have been arrested in 48 hours, and authorities put a stranglehold on independent media. Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup and is also head of Pakistan's army, suspended the constitution on Saturday ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on whether his recent re-election as president was legal. He ousted independent-minded judges and granted sweeping powers to authorities to crush dissent. Though public anger was mounting in the nation of 160 million people, which has been under military rule for much of its 60-year history, demonstrations so far have been limited largely to activists, rights workers and lawyers. All have been quickly and sometimes brutally stamped out. President Bush's top national security aides said U.S. financial backing for Pakistan's counterterrorism efforts likely will go uninterrupted despite the administration's unhappiness with Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency. Pakistan has received billions of dollars in aid since Musharraf threw his support behind the U.S.-led war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested that military aid may not be affected because the administration does not want to disrupt its partnership with Pakistan in fighting al-Qaida and other militants. But Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Musharraf to follow through on past promises to "take off his uniform." "We believe that the best path for Pakistan is to quickly return to a constitutional path and then to hold elections," said Rice, who earlier indicated that some of the non-military aid to Pakistan would be reviewed. A team of U.S. defense officials postponed plans to travel to Islamabad for talks Tuesday because of the crisis. Britain said it was reviewing its aid package to Pakistan, and the Dutch government suspended its aid on Monday, becoming the first country to do so. Musharraf reiterated to foreign ambassadors Monday that he was committed to complete the transition to democracy, though, under a state of emergency, parliamentary elections scheduled for January could be pushed back by up to a year, according to the government. The attorney-general called Monday for polls to be held on time, and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government hoped that would happen but made no commitment on a date. "It is our wish that the elections should be held according to the program," he said. Critics say Musharraf imposed emergency rule in a last-ditch attempt to cling to power. His leadership is threatened by the Islamic militant movement that has spread from border regions to the capital, the reemergence of political rival and former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, and an increasingly defiant Supreme Court, which has been virtually decimated in the last two days. Since late Saturday, between 1,500 and 1,800 people have been detained nationwide, an Interior Ministry official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. They include opposition leaders, lawyers and human rights activists who might mobilize protests. At least 173 workers and supporters of Bhutto — who has held talks in recent months with Musharraf over an alliance to fight extremism — were arrested, said Pakistan People's Party spokesman Farhatullah Babar. Lawyers, who were the driving force behind protests earlier this year when Musharraf tried unsuccessfully to fire independent-minded chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, attempted to stage rallies in major cities on Monday, but were beaten and arrested. Chaudhry was removed from his post on Saturday, just as the Supreme Court was preparing to rule on the validity of Musharraf's Oct. 6 re-election. Opponents say he should be disqualified because he contested the vote as army chief. In the biggest gathering Monday, about 2,000 lawyers congregated at the High Court in the eastern city of Lahore. As lawyers tried to exit onto a main road, hundreds of police stormed inside, swinging batons and firing tear gas. Lawyers, shouting "Go Musharraf Go!" responded by throwing stones and beating police with tree branches. Police bundled about 250 lawyers into waiting vans, an Associated Press reporter saw. At least two were bleeding from the head. Even lawyers who were not involved in protests appeared to be targeted. One, Imran Qadi Khan, said police pulled him off a bus near Musharraf's army office in Rawalpindi, just south of the capital, as he was heading to work, "We have been sitting here since morning," he said from prison. "The police are not telling us anything about what they plan to do with us." Another, Mohammad Khan Zaman, evaded capture by running to his nearby office. "The police arrested anyone wearing the lawyer's uniform," he said, referring to the profession's trademark black suits. In the capital, Islamabad, hundreds of police and paramilitary troops lined roads and rolled out barbed-wire barricades on Monday to seal off the Supreme Court. Only government employees heading for nearby ministries were allowed through. Two black-suited lawyers whose car was stopped by police argued in vain that they should be granted entry. They were eventually escorted away by two police cars. A few dozen activists from hard-line Islamic parties gathered nearby, chanting slogans including "Hang, Musharraf, hang!" As well as calling for protests, lawyers' groups have vowed to boycott all court proceedings held in front of new judges sworn by Musharraf. Rana Bhagwandas, a Supreme Court judge who refused to take oath under Musharraf's proclamation of emergency orders, said he has been locked inside in his official residence in Islamabad and that other judges were being pressured to support the government. "They are still working on some judges, they are under pressure," Bhagwandas told Geo TV in a phone interview. Authorities have imprisoned or put under house arrest key Musharraf critics, among them Javed Hashmi, the acting president of the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; cricket star-turned politician, Imran Khan; Asma Jehangir, chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan; and Hamid Gul, former chief of the main intelligence agency. Pakistan's largest religious party Jamaat-e-Islami reported that more than 500 of its workers and supporters had been detained since Sunday, including its leader, according to senior members of the party and police. |
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| legitlinda | Nov 5 2007, 01:35 PM Post #2 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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I agree with you Gary. I started hearing about a couple of days ago on the radio. This is a very dangerous situation. I know he's been an ally to us but I never understood if he was such a good ally why he wouldn't let us go in an get Bin Laden or have his own people do it. I really don't know the history over there and if Benzir Butto coming back has anything to do with this. Here's a link |
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| nuzzlebunny | Nov 5 2007, 01:52 PM Post #3 |
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Pakistan was supposedly transitioning from a military dictatorship to democracy under Musharraf, but apparently he has decided he likes absolute power.... http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39917 |
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| greatwhiteelkhunter | Nov 5 2007, 03:03 PM Post #4 |
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Ruler of the Mountain
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (CNN) -- Gen. Pervez Musharraf's declaration of martial law was a wake-up call for Washington, leaving the future alliance with the Pakistani president in question. Even before Saturday's crackdown, U.S. State Department officials said they had struggled with what to do if Musharraf went through with his threat. They didn't know then, and they don't know now. "Frankly, it ain't easy," one official said. "We are looking at our options, and none of them are good." The United States has pushed for Musharraf to shed his army uniform and hold elections by January. And it repeatedly has told him that his cooperation in the war on terror is not a replacement for democratic reforms. But officials acknowledge any U.S. response will boil down to one thing: al Qaeda. The United States knows it needs Musharraf to combat al Qaeda in Pakistan. Musharraf knows Washington knows this. It gives him enormous leverage against the United States and a pretty well-calculated gamble that the United States can't respond too harshly. Washington relies on Musharraf to fight al Qaeda in the northwest province of Waziristan. The United States has been pushing him to clamp down on the movement of weapons and extremists across the border with Afghanistan. But those areas have been returning to Taliban control. The United States said it will review aid to Pakistan in response to Musharraf's heavy-handed measures over the weekend. But that could hurt the United States more than it would Pakistan. The majority of U.S. aid is in the form of military assistance to fight terrorism, so cutting that assistance would reduce the capacity of the military, rendering it less capable of fighting al Qaeda. What little funding remains is mostly economic and educational support to moderate Pakistanis with whom the United States is trying to form long-term relationships. It is a part of the U.S. campaign to "win hearts and minds" of average Pakistanis who haven't fallen prey to extremism. This is why the Bush administration is unlikely to impose sanctions against Pakistan, which would require the United States to suspend its entire aid relationship with the country. Neither side could afford that. The biggest question for Washington is: How long does the Pakistani leader plan to keep this up, and where do things go from here? The United States needs these answers before making any decisions about next steps. Knowing its national security interests are tied to Musharraf, the Bush administration doesn't want him taking any more moves that could strengthen the hands of extremists or spark a revolution that would leave him out of a job -- and the United States out of a key ally in the war on terror. Until now, U.S. officials have not wanted to think about a post-Musharraf Pakistan. Even the U.S. desire to see Musharraf join forces with the popular former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was seen as a way to keep him in office with more legitimacy and a more moderate face as the country moved toward elections. But officials are starting to wonder privately if Musharraf can weather the storm. The United States is worried about his long-term viability and the possibility that people will take to the streets to demonstrate -- like they did when he let Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry go in March. The more people who take to the streets, officials said, the stronger the indication Musharraf's days are numbered. But officials are cognizant that there aren't many alternatives. Musharraf's departure would only create more uncertainty. Even if someone such as Bhutto emerges as a new leader, officials wonder if she could represent a more credible force against al Qaeda when she doesn't have the military links that Musharraf has. And officials recognize that anyone who would take over after Musharraf -- even if he or she is more liberally minded -- would feel a certain amount of resentment toward the United States for supporting Musharraf for so long. Even with all his faults, Washington seems to conclude, for now, that they are better with Musharraf than without him. |
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