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Where the Jihad Lives Now: Pakistan

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Text of ‘Proclamation of emergency’

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3 (APP): Following is the text of the Proclamation of Emergency declared by Chief of the Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf on Saturday:

Pak CJ, 7 other judges arrested

This is an interesting link given to me by a Pakistani friend, on the links of the army to the Pakistani economy and government:

http://www.hayatabad.com/pak.html

A really interesting and scary read

Posted November 3rd, 2007 by Sahil Nagpal

By Mr. Syed Saleem Shahzad, Pakistan Bureau Chief, The Asia Times.

Islamabad: Extraordinary measures in support of the U.S.-led War on Terror requires extraordinary powers for ' was the pretext on which Washington gave the green light to Musharraf to impose an emergency across Pakistan through a Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO).

It was only after this green signal was given that Pakistan's Constitution, which was declared in 1973, was held in abeyance,clearing the way for President and Chief of Army Staff Pervez Musaharraf to be practically above the law.

"Emergency rule", indeed. Sounds like a rational reaction to a weather event or a cloud of ravenous locusts, or something. Why doesn't Musharraf call it "martial law" like any other self respecting military dictator would? Then the army can get on with murder, mayhem and general destruction, those general sorts of things at which soldiers excel.

Thank goodness this latest far off, huge tribal free-for-all, though troublesome, won't affect the west too seriously. It's not as if they have the bomb or anything.

Oh wait....

Hey,

My article/analysis on the subject is up at Guardian. Update?

Guardian

CNN

Pakistan police detaining 1,500

Story Highlights
NEW AP: Minister hints that January elections may be delayed

Witnesses, police: 1,500 lawyers, judges, activists arrested

President's spokesman blames emergency rule on judicial activism

Oct 28

By Paul Wiseman, USA TODAY
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The United States pressured Pakistan to allow former prime minister Benazir Bhutto to return from exile, promoting her as a moderate influence in a country facing a growing threat from Islamic extremists, a Pakistani government spokesman said.

more

Bruce Loudon, South Asia correspondent | November 05, 2007

RUMBLINGS of discontent in the Pakistan army were reported last night after President Pervez Musharraf adopted emergency powers to forestall a Supreme Court judgment that would have declared his rule unlawful.

MORE

a lot on military morale

Barnett R. Rubin

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s decision to suspend the constitution, seize emergency power, and round up leading opposition figures is bringing quiet joy to the State Department. “Thank heavens for small favors,” an aide to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, referring to Musharraf’s actions. Compared to Pakistan, “Iraq looks pretty good.”

Think Progress w/links

One newspaper calls the emergency crackdown, which includes the detention of political foes, 'Gen. Musharraf's second coup.'

By Laura King
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

November 5, 2007

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Hundreds of opponents of President Pervez Musharraf, including venerable judges, human rights activists and rival politicians, were rounded up Sunday by police, signaling the start of what could be a long and concerted crackdown against those who have challenged his authority in past months.

Hamid Gul arrested

Monday November 05, 2007 (0925 PST)

Pakistan News Service

ISLAMABAD: Former chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Pakistan Lt General (retd) Hamid Gul has been arrested along with his son when he was trying to present bouquets to those judges who refused to take oath under Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) .

Lt General (retd) Hamid Gul with his son Abdullah Gul were on their way to Judges Colony but the Islamabad police stopped them near D Chowk and after arrested them transferred to Kohsar Police Station.

When ?Online? contacted Hamid Gul, he confirmed his detention in Kohsar Police Station.

Citing terrorism and an 'activist' judiciary, the president says martial law will prevent the country from committing 'suicide.'

The Christian Science Monitor, By Shahan Mufti & Mark Sappenfield, November 5

Islamabad and New Delhi - In a dramatic move that made explicit his desperation to preserve near-absolute power, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency Saturday, effectively eliminating the opposition that has built against him in recent months.

In doing so, Mr. Musharraf introduced a new "provisional constitutional order" – a move many say looks more like martial law. Despite his assertions to the contrary, his decision has little to do with terrorism, analysts say, adding that his was a political calculation. With the Supreme Court threatening to declare his presidency illegal in a ruling this week, Musharraf struck preemptively against his foes.

Under the emergency order, he has sacked more than half of the Supreme Court, jailed up to 500 opposition party leaders, and shut down the independent media – assuming that the US has invested too much in him and the war on terror to withdraw its patronage. The order may also delay parliamentary elections, which had been scheduled to take place before Jan. 15.

It marks an important moment for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. As one of the last opposition figures who is not under arrest, she is uniquely situated to rally the masses against the president, says Hassan Askari Rizvi, an independent political scientist. Whether she does could determine how long Musharraf survives politically.

"Much depends on Bhutto," says Professor Rizvi. "If she decides to go to the streets, it can make an impact."

Musharraf Can No Longer Be a Partner'

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf says he declared a state of emergency in the country as part of his struggle against terrorism. The problem is, no one believes him. Commentators say that it's time for the West to finally support the Pakistani opposition.

much more at Spiegel Online

Reuters, By Augustine Anthony, November 5

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan police used teargas and batons against lawyers protesting against President Pervez Musharraf's emergency rule on Monday and detentions mounted, prompting Washington to postpone defence co-operation talks.

Gen. Musharraf cited spiralling militancy and hostile judges to justify his action on Saturday, and imposed reporting curbs on the media in a bid to stop outrage spilling onto the streets amid Pakistan's biggest crisis since he took power in a 1999 coup.

The move heightened a sense of uncertainty in nuclear-armed Pakistan and Gen. Musharraf had to shoot down rumours sweeping the country on Monday that he had been put under house arrest.

"It is a joke of the highest order," Gen. Musharraf told Reuters from the Presidency building in Islamabad where he had just met more than 80 foreign diplomats to explain his decision. He said he was due to play tennis later in the day.

http://www.juancole.com/2007/11/newsday-says-that-pakistani-dictator.html

also here:

http://www.juancole.com/2007/11/urdu-press-blames-us-for-crisis.html

Fear and brutality inside the fiefdom of Islamist shock jock

Gen Musharraf used the violent turmoil in the Swat valley as a reason for a state of emergency. Declan Walsh reports from Iman Dheri, on the frontline in Pakistan's war on Islamist extremism

Monday November 5, 2007
The Guardian

more

From the Los Angeles Times

The Frontier Corps battling the militants is outgunned and poorly trained, officials say. Funding instead goes to equipment more suited for conventional warfare with India.

By Greg Miller
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

November 5, 2007

WASHINGTON — Despite billions of dollars in U.S. military payments to Pakistan over the last six years, the paramilitary force leading the pursuit of Al Qaeda militants remains underfunded, poorly trained and overwhelmingly outgunned, U.S. military and intelligence officials said.

...

"There is a push-back among some that the Frontier Corps is not a reliable ally of the United States," said Seth Jones, a military expert at Rand Corp. "The concern is that you give them additional training and equipment, and they could end up helping militants rather than taking action against them."

Perhaps as a hedge against those concerns, the U.S. Special Operations Command has recently begun exploring efforts to pay off tribal militias in the region that are not affiliated with the Pakistani government, and arm them to root out Al Qaeda and Taliban militants, a source familiar with the discussions said.

"You can't buy them, but you can rent them," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussions. "There is a very serious effort to look at this."

The CIA also operates in the area, and has doubled the number of case officers based in Pakistan in recent years, former agency officials say.

Democracy and autocracy, subcontinent-ishtyle

November 05, 2007

The chatterati in India are in a tizzy, accompanied by much wailing and beating of breasts, because General Musharraf declared an emergency in Pakistan. But this long-expected event is as meaningless as the recent landslide 'victory' of General Musharraf in the presidential polls because the status quo ante will continue without interruption: rule by the ISI.

more

What’s in a word? How does a seemingly benign phrase (but one with deep implications) enter the lexicon? Over this past weekend, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice termed the declaration of martial law in Pakistan as an “extraconstitutional measure”. It’s hard to believe that she pulled this phrasing out of thin air.
Commentary By: Richard Blair at All Spin Zone

White House Tells Musharraf: Never ‘Restrict Constitutional Freedoms’ To Fight Terror

During today’s White House press briefing, spokeswoman Dana Perino condemned Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s declaration of “emergency rule” in Pakistan. She said that the administration is “deeply disappointed” by the measure, which suspends the country’s constitution, and believes it is never “reasonable” to “restrict constitutional freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism”:

Q: Is it ever reasonable to restrict constitutional freedoms in the name of fighting terrorism?

MS. PERINO: In our opinion, no.

Watch it:

MORE at:
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/11/05/musharraf-freedom/

(SLAMABAD, 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. Opposition groups put the number of arrests at 3,500, although the government reported half that.)

Also from AP (Additional Link below)

US Tied to Pakistan With Billions in Aid

By PAULINE JELINEK – 3 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States and Pakistan are bound together in a multibillion-dollar relationship aimed at buying Washington an ally against terrorism and providing the Asian nation with benefits ranging from military equipment to child health programs.

U.S. assistance and other payments to Pakistan have totaled $9.6 billion in the six budget years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, according to the State Department.

The largest payout each year is for what the Bush administration calls "reimbursements" for Pakistan's help in the global war on terrorism. Under that program, Pakistan submits claims — such as its costs for providing observations posts along the Afghan border or its costs for taking part in joint operations with the U.S. against al-Qaida.

The reimbursements amount to some $80 million a month, said Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman — or nearly $1 billion a year.

On top of those payments, the U.S. also gives Pakistan direct aid for humanitarian programs, economic development, military needs and so on — well over $700 million in each of the last two years.

Pakistan receives military equipment under the assistance programs, as well as by buying some, such as the 36 F-16 aircraft it is purchasing for up to $3 billion.

"This request will maintain Pakistan's support in the global war on terrorism and efforts to build peaceful and positive relations with its neighbors, India and Afghanistan," the administration said in documents justifying the budget requests.

(The Associated Press" has a sampling of how the State Department proposes to spend $785 million on Pakistan in fiscal year 2008)

By NAJAM SETHI
November 6, 2007; Page A19

WSJ

Lahore, Pakistan

If Gen. Pervez Musharraf is trying to ensure the stability of Pakistan, he certainly has an odd way of going about it. His promulgation of a Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) and a State of Emergency over the weekend have upset the delicate political transition needed by the country amid the return of Benazir Bhutto, and the planning for elections three months hence. To make matters worse, the subsequent arrests of largely peaceful moderate politicians, a purge of the judiciary and gagging of the press have alienated the very forces of moderation and democracy Pakistan needs most.

As a result, Pakistanis now find themselves living in the sort of repressive state they have not experienced since the 1980s, during the rule of the last full-fledged military dictator, Gen. Zia ul Haq. All private news channels were taken off the air on Saturday and new laws were unfurled to restrict fundamental rights, silence the media and impose punishments of up to three years for criticizing the military. In the last 72 hours, the regime has used its new powers under the provisional emergency to flush the Supreme Court and the high courts of all "hostile judges" and rope in pliant replacements.

The PCO lies at the crux of this weekend's political turbulence. It is unconstitutional because it suspends part of the constitution without parliamentary approval. It lays the political system at Mr. Musharraf's mercy and whim. The contents of the emergency which follows on the basis of the PCO shed a great deal of light on why he has taken this drastic step.

In Mr. Musharraf's telling, his prime motivation is deteriorating law and order amid acts of terrorism. He has accused the judiciary of being a major culprit in log-jamming the executive and undermining the war against extremism. Out of 11 effective clauses in the proclamation of emergency, eight refer to the negative role played by the judges and the judiciary in challenging the military's use of force in the war against terrorism, the executive functioning of government and the economy. The most significant clauses in the PCO prohibit the courts from challenging the president, prime minister or anyone exercising authority on their behalf.

But the reality may be somewhat different from the law-and-order rhetoric. Mr. Musharraf was faced with a challenge to his recent re-election as president before the Supreme Court, turning on whether he could hold the post of president while still in uniform at the head of the army. Such a challenge is now disallowed under the PCO. And because Mr. Musharraf is also purging the judiciary of judges who will not swear to uphold the new constitutional order, he can be sure the courts won't complain about the new restrictions on their powers. In the last 48 hours, he has sworn in a new chief justice and a few dozen other judges, and has detained the judges who have been removed.

It is also noteworthy that under the new legal regime, Mr. Musharraf can extend the term of the various parliaments for up to a year. Their terms had been scheduled to end later this month, and general elections should have followed within three months. But thanks to the declaration of emergency, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz now says that elections can be postponed. This makes perfect political sense for Mr. Musharraf. Given widespread public resentment against him, his ruling Pakistan Muslim League had been fearful of its chances at the polls and was pressing the president to postpone them.

Ms. Bhutto has described the emergency declaration as a "mini martial law" or "second coup" by Mr. Musharraf, who first acceded to power in a coup in 1999. His presidency, which was likely to be struck down by the old Supreme Court, has been confirmed and upheld by the new PCO.

Two factors will play a critical role in determining what happens next. The first is the extent to which rights activists -- particularly lawyers -- can continue their vocal protests despite the repression. The second will be the role played by Ms. Bhutto's People's Party (PPP), which lays claim to the largest vote bank in the country.

Lawyers, civil society groups and opposition parties are gearing up to launch protests across Pakistan and to boycott the courts. These groups comprise powerful anti-American religious elements, weak moderates and liberal nongovernmental organizations. The balance of power is held by the liberal People's Party and the conservative ruling Muslim League, which consider the religious parties their natural ally. So it is profoundly troubling that with the electronic media blinded and the administration freed from accountability, Mr. Musharraf is using the police and paramilitary forces to arrest opponents, instead of clinching a power-sharing deal with Ms. Bhutto to enlarge the moderate mainstream and push back the tide of radical political Islam -- which benefits from the repression of the state.

As for Ms. Bhutto and her party, the original U.S.-brokered "deal" that enabled Ms. Bhutto's return to Pakistan from self-imposed exile last October envisaged a relatively free and early election. She was supposed to share power after the elections with Mr. Musharraf, on the assumption that a liberal civil-military coalition government would be able to better tackle the war against religious extremism and terrorism in Pakistan. That is in danger of shipwreck, now that Mr. Musharraf is inclined to postpone the elections, sideline the PPP and crush all resistance against his authoritarianism.

And because it is so unpopular, Mr. Musharraf's latest move puts Ms. Bhutto in a particularly tough spot. She can't afford to appear soft on Mr. Musharraf, even though the two have been preparing a power-sharing agreement. So she's put in the position, whether she wants to or not, of mustering her own newfound popularity to put him on the mat.

A day after her arrival and the suicide bomb attack on her, she accused the government of harboring people who wanted her eliminated, and pointed the finger at a retired Interservices Intelligence (ISI) brigadier who is a close friend of Mr. Musharraf and heads the Intelligence Bureau. Now, she has rejected the PCO and emergency declaration, and demanded a national consensus government to oversee the country until the general elections can go ahead in January, as originally pledged by Mr. Musharraf.

Mr. Musharraf wants Ms. Bhutto to desist from joining hands with the opposition parties and fueling the protest movement. She wants him to hold quick elections and give her a level playing field. In a sign of how much damage the weekend's events have done to the reconciliation process, the two reportedly have reverted to talking only via secret intermediaries, because she doesn't want to be seen negotiating with an unpopular military dictator, while he doesn't want his Muslim League to get nervous at further overtures to "the enemy."

The U.S., European Union and the rest of the international community have condemned the provisional constitutional order and have demanded a restoration of full-fledged democracy via free and fair general elections. But the U.S. still sees the military under Mr. Musharraf as the best bet in the war against terror.

That may turn out to be a mistake if Mr. Musharraf insists on going it alone. His appeal is fast fading. If he doesn't hold free elections quickly and agree to share power, Ms. Bhutto may be constrained to pull out of their earlier deal under public pressure. If that were to happen, the Musharraf regime would become more isolated and straitjacketed than ever. With an upsurge in anti-Americanism, religious radicalism and civil strife on the cards, the prospects of Pakistan solely under Mr. Musharraf would then become questionable.

Mr. Sethi is editor of the Friday Times and Daily Times in Lahore, Pakistan.

the puzzlement of the Pakistani populace as to why the Pakistani military is leaving alone, even encouraging radical Muslims striving for a caliphate in the tribal north, while rounding up lawyers, judges and other secular people in the urban areas.

The muslims in the tribal north don't pose a threat to Musharraf's supreme dictatorship whereas the lawyers, judges and activists do.

Nov 7, 2007

Besieged Musharraf plays for time
By Syed Saleem Shahzad

KARACHI - President General Pervez Musharraf put on a confident face on Monday during a televised briefing for foreign diplomats on his declaration of emergency rule on Saturday, saying that elections will be held "as close as possible to the schedule" of January 15, and that "there will be harmony. Confidence will come back into government."

Under the surface, though, the president, who had suspended the constitution for the second time (the first was in 1999 when he
took power in a bloodless coup), barred the Supreme Court from making any ruling against his administration, and curbed the media, is a very worried man.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IK07Df03.html

New York Times, By David Rohde & Jane Perlez, November 6

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — In a telephone address to lawyers in Pakistan’s capital, the ousted chief justice of the Supreme Court urged the lawyers today to continue to defy the state of emergency imposed by the president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. In the second day of protests, clashes broke out between hundreds of lawyers and Pakistani police in the eastern city of Multan.

“The constitution has been ripped to shreds,” the chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, told dozens of lawyers before his cellular phone line was cut. “I am under arrest now, but soon I will also join you in your struggle.”

It was unclear how Chief Justice Chaudhry, who is under house arrest, was able to gain access to a telephone. He and other lawyers said they hoped to recreate the protest campaign they carried out this spring when the lawyers mounted big rallies in major cities after General Musharraf removed Chief Justice Chaudhry from the Supreme Court bench. He was reinstated after four months.

But government officials showed no signs of yielding to the protesters today. The government ignored the request by President Bush on Monday that General Musharraf immediately end the country’s state of emergency that was imposed on Saturday and prepare for elections as planned in January.

History repeat's itself, again.
What happened in Iran as the shah fell, is replaying itself again in Pakistan.
And no one can stop it; for now Musharaf seem's to be in control, it will last a few days, then all hell will break lose.
Let's hope that the higher echelons of the Pakistani army have a contingency plan regarding their nukes, it's going to be really, really uggly.
And I would bet my shirt that Bushco will still be talking about Iranian nukes when the real McCoy is going to blast his face off.

Tuesday November 6, 2007 1:16 PM

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - Hundreds of Islamic militants seized a town in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday after outnumbered security forces laid down their arms, militants and police said.

About two dozen police officers and several troops offered no resistance to militants who seized three police stations and a military post in and around Matta, a town in the Swat valley.

more

Margolis

"Emergency Proclaimed in Pakistan". Guaranteed to fill in blanks in comprehension about issues in that country.

CNN

Reconstituted Pakistan high court strikes down anti-emergency order
Bernard Hibbitts at 12:34 PM ET

[JURIST] The newly-reconstituted Supreme Court of Pakistan [official website] officially ruled Tuesday that the order [text] against President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule issued Saturday by a seven-person Supreme Court bench led by now-dismissed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry was "void, quroum non judice and passed without lawful authority,” saying it “shall be deemed never to have been passed as Proclamation of Emergency and the Provisional Constitution Order were already issued by the President.” Newly-installed Chief Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar said Sunday that the order had never been given by the court [JURIST report], as its power had ended with the declaration of emergency which effectively dismissed the country's judges pending new oaths of office. APP has more.

more with links

Bhutto urges supporters to back anti-Musharraf protests

Matthew Weaver and agencies
Tuesday November 6, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

Benazir Bhutto flew to the Pakistani capital Islamabad today and vowed to keep pressure on General Pervez Musharraf after another day of protests by lawyers over the imposition of emergency rule.

At the same time Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricket captain and leader of an opposition party, was reported to have fled house arrest and gone into hiding.

His ex-wife Jemima Khan released a statement in which he said police ransacked his house and roughed up his family. He escaped before they returned to take him to jail, the statement said.

Until now, activists from Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's party have been noticeably absent from the demonstrations. It was widely thought that Ms Bhutto was anxious not to jeopardise a suspected future power sharing agreement with Gen Musharraf.

However, today she called on her supporters to back the anti-Musharraf rallies.

Speaking to Sky News after arriving in Islamabad she said: "Members of my party, and parliamentarians are going to protest outside of Parliament House, we are hoping to build pressure to get President Musharraf to retire and hold the election as scheduled."

"We would also like to see the release of political prisoners."

Ms Bhutto traveled to Islamabad to attend a meeting of the opposition Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy. She also insisted that she would not negotiate with Gen Musharraf.

Gen Musharraf held a meeting of his cabinet today. An unnamed minister told Associated Press that delaying the elections was discussed at the meeting.

more

Pakistan's lobbyists target Congress

By: Patrick O'Connor and Samuel Loewenberg
Nov 6, 2007 06:03 AM EST
Politico

The Pakistani government deployed a team of lobbyists to Capitol Hill on Monday to contain the fallout from the destabilizing actions by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, as congressional Democrats and the Bush administration sought a review of the country’s foreign aid.

“The focus is on the Hill right now,” said Mark Tavlarides, a former national security aide in the Clinton administration whose firm, Van Scoyoc Associates, is paid $55,000 a month from the Musharraf government — a significant boost from the $40,000 the firm earned before July.

more

By Emily Wax, Washington Post, November 7

LAHORE, Pakistan, Nov. 6 -- Three days after President Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule, a deep sense of anxiety prevails among Pakistan's students, rights activists and intellectuals, who say the mass arrests being carried out by the government mark an unprecedented assault on civil society.

When Musharraf suspended the constitution Saturday, he said he had been forced to act by rising extremism and judicial interference in his efforts to protect the country. But in Lahore, an ancient city that has long served as the cultural and intellectual heart of Pakistan, many government critics see a smoke screen being used to quash opposition.

Over the weekend, they note, an estimated 70 community leaders were arrested here during a cookies-and-tea meeting of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. Those detained included a college dean, a well-known poet, an economics professor and a board member of the International Crisis Group.

"It's like the government is declaring war on civil society and they just wish we would all zone out and watch South Asian film stars dancing around, instead of the news. We aren't some huge danger to the state. Why don't they go target the suicide bombers?" said Romessa Khan, 20, a major in painting at the National College of Arts Lahore, where students gathered in a courtyard Tuesday, worried about family members and neighbors who had been carted off to jail.
More

Musharraf's crackdown on news and dissent has managed to miss a vibrant Internet community.

The Christian Science Monitor, By Shahan Mufti, November 7

Islamabad, Pakistan - When Hamzah Tariq, the owner of a small software-development firm, returned home on Saturday night after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf had declared a "state of emergency," he discovered that all of the news channels were missing from his cable signal. The only option: PTV, Pakistan's state-run news channel.

"There was a ridiculous show about bridal makeup and then I read the ticker at the bottom: 'Chief of the Army Staff declares emergency. Suspends 1973 constitution,' " says Mr. Tariq. After half an hour of meticulously applied mascara, there was a news bulletin. "The newscaster came on and read out those same lines, nothing more, and said "and now, some sports."

So Tariq and millions of other Pakistanis, faced with a ban on about a dozen domestic and international TV news stations and curbs on newspapers, are finding breaking news in live video feeds and special blogs set up online – the only forum of public discourse that the media ban has missed.

Indeed, Pakistan today is a very different country from the one Musharraf took over eight years ago. In his 1999 coup, the military had only to target the offices of PTV, the only TV news source in the country at the time, and cut off all phone lines provided by the state-owned company to complete an information blackout.

Responding, Deputy Secretary Negroponte said it is not up to the United States to "drop" General Musharraf or any other political figure. He said U.S. support has been for the government and people of Pakistan, and that Pakistanis alone will determine that country's political future.

http://voanews.com/english/2007-11-08-voa4.cfm

U.S. Aid to Musharraf is Largely Untraceable Cash Transfers
By Spencer Ackerman - November 7, 2007, 5:05PM
TPM

After Pervez Musharraf declared martial law this weekend, Condoleezza Rice vowed to review U.S. assistance to Pakistan, one of the largest foreign recipients of American aid. Musharraf, of course, has been a crucial American ally since the start of the Afghanistan war in 2001, and the U.S. has rewarded him ever since with over $10 billion in civilian and (mostly) military largesse. But, perhaps unsure whether Musharraf's days might in fact be numbered, Rice contended that the explosion of money to Islamabad over the past seven years was "not to Musharraf, but to a Pakistan you could argue was making significant strides on a number of fronts."

In fact, however, a considerable amount of the money the U.S. gives to Pakistan is administered not through U.S. agencies or joint U.S.-Pakistani programs. Instead, the U.S. gives Musharraf's government about $200 million annually and his military $100 million monthly in the form of direct cash transfers. Once that money leaves the U.S. Treasury, Musharraf can do with it whatever he wants. He needs only promise in a secret annual meeting that he'll use it to invest in the Pakistani people. And whatever happens as the result of Rice's review, few Pakistan watchers expect the cash transfers to end.

About $10.58 billion has gone to Pakistan since 9/11. That puts Pakistan in an elite category of U.S. foreign-aid recipients: only Israel, Egypt and Jordan get more or comparable U.S. funding. (That's only in the unclassified budget: the covert-operations budget surely includes millions more, according to knowledgeable observers.) While Israel and Egypt get more money, Pakistan and Jordan are the only countries that get U.S. cash from four major funding streams: development assistance, security assistance, "budget support" and Coalition Support Funds. Pakistan, however, gets most of its U.S. assistance from Coalition Support Funds and from budget support. And it's those two funding streams that have minimal accountability at best.

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The party of Pakistan's former PM Benazir Bhutto has said more than 700 members were arrested overnight ahead of a planned mass rally on Friday.

Activists were taken from their homes in the latest crackdown under emergency rule measures brought in on Saturday by President Pervez Musharraf.

The raids came hours after US President George W Bush told Gen Musharraf in a "frank" phone call to hold polls soon.

Mr Bush told Gen Musharraf he could not be both army head and president.

Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) is planning a huge public rally in Rawalpindi, close to the capital, Islamabad, on Friday.

Party spokeswoman Farzana Raja told Reuters news agency there had been mass detentions overnight in central Punjab province. The government has denied mass arrests.

Meanwhile, four people in Karachi have been charged with treason for alleged comments against emergency rule.
More

By HUSAIN HAQQANI
November 8, 2007; Page A23

WSJ

When Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended Pakistan's Constitution, declared a state of emergency and put the nation once again under martial law, he expected limited civilian resistance and only ritual international condemnation, in view of his role in the war against terrorism. On both counts, Mr. Musharraf appears to have badly miscalculated.

Pakistan's burgeoning civil society, led by lawyers and encouraged by judges ousted from the Supreme Court, is refusing to be cowed. Protests are spreading despite thousands of arrests and the use of tear gas and batons against peaceful demonstrators. More than 1,700 attorneys have been jailed but still more are taking to the streets. University students have joined the lawyers, and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has vowed to violate a ban on public meetings by leading a rally on Friday.

There are a number of important reasons why Pakistan's attorneys are leading the protests against Mr. Musharraf. They have a long tradition of activism for rule of law and human-rights issues. In 1968-69, the lawyers started the campaign that resulted in the ouster of Pakistan's first military ruler, Field Marshal Ayub Khan. They also were at the forefront of the campaign against Mr. Zia-ul-Haq, whose 11-year military rule ended when he died in a 1988 plane crash.

The legal fraternity has another advantage, in that they can afford to confront the government without fearing starvation for their families. Some 65 million of Pakistan's 160 million people subsist on less than $1 a day, while another 65 million survive just above the poverty line. The poor are willing to participate in organized rallies, such as the one that welcomed Ms. Bhutto back to Pakistan on Oct. 18 (and was targeted by a suicide terrorist), but they generally avoid protest demonstrations where getting arrested and missing work is almost inevitable.

That could change in the days and weeks to come. Although Mr. Musharraf has taken all private and international television channels off the air, images of the protests are being seen all over Pakistan through the Internet and with satellite dishes. Middle-class Pakistanis, and increasingly the poor, are making it clear that they want political freedom, along with an improvement in their economic prospects, and do not consider prosperity and democracy to be mutually exclusive.

The international community has also responded more strongly than Mr. Musharraf expected. The Netherlands has suspended aid, and several donors are reviewing their policy on military and economic assistance. The Bush administration is hoping to defuse the situation through assertive diplomacy. But withdrawal of aid, supported by several congressional leaders, remains a possibility.

Since 9/11, Mr. Musharraf has positioned himself as the key Western ally in the global war against terrorism. But in recent months, he has been too distracted with domestic politics to play an effective role. The U.S., in particular, does not want anti-Musharraf sentiment to result in a fresh wave of anti-Americanism in Pakistan that further fuels terrorism. While some in the U.S. argue about America's limited options in dealing with the crisis in Pakistan, one could argue that Mr. Musharraf's options are even more limited.

The more he has to repress critics and political opponents, the less Pakistan will be able to fight terrorism. After all, when troops have to be deployed to detain Supreme Court judges, journalists, lawyers and politicians, there are fewer troops available to fight terrorists. Pakistan's intelligence services can either spy on dissenting Pakistani civilians or focus their energies on finding Osama bin Laden and his ever increasing number of deputies and operatives around Pakistan. But Pakistan needs to fight terrorism for Pakistan's sake. Mr. Musharraf cannot endlessly blackmail Washington by hinting that he would withdraw antiterror cooperation if the U.S. pressures him on other issues, including democracy and human-rights violations.

One thing is clear: Mr. Musharraf's authoritarianism is being challenged by diverse elements in Pakistani society. His self-cultivated image as a benign dictator is a thing of the past, and his recent harsh measures have failed to frighten Pakistan's civil society and political opposition into submission.

The defiance of the judiciary and the media might not immediately topple Mr. Musharraf, but it could render him ineffective to a point where the military rethinks its options. The army will soon recognize that the only thing keeping the general and his civilian cronies in power is the army's support. It risks further alienating the Pakistani people and losing their respect as long as it continues to act solely in the interests of Mr. Musharraf and his small band of political allies. At some point, the professional soldiers will wonder whether they should risk their institution's position to keep him in power.

The army is Mr. Musharraf's support base. It is a major beneficiary of U.S. security assistance, having received $17 billion since 1954 with equipment worth several hundred million dollars currently in the pipeline. Since 2002, the U.S. has subsidized the Pakistani army to the tune of $150 million per month. The army is also a stakeholder in Pakistan's growing economy, which benefits from international aid and investment. If Mr. Musharraf's autocratic policies threaten Pakistan's prosperity, the army is likely to be less unanimous in its support of its commander.

Already, there are signs of economic fallout from the political turmoil. Rumors of an anti-Musharraf military coup on Monday caused the biggest one-day decline in 16 months on the Karachi Stock Exchange, resulting in losses of an estimated $1.3 billion. Pakistan's credit rating has been revised downward in anticipation of further civic unrest and international sanctions.

Pakistanis are used to coups d'état where the army takes the helm of government. Things are different this time. In the past, generals have suspended the constitution to remove from power unpopular rulers, usually weakened civilians rightly or wrongly accused of corruption (as was the case when Mr. Musharraf ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in October 1999). This is the first time an unpopular military ruler has suspended the constitution to preserve his own rule. In doing so, Mr. Musharraf has clearly overplayed his hand.

Mr. Musharraf cannot blame a civilian predecessor for bringing the country to the brink. If there is internal chaos in Pakistan today, it is of the general's making. After all, it was his arbitrary decision to remove Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry in March that initiated the political crisis which has led to the current "state of emergency."

Justice Chaudhry, on the other hand, has become a symbol of resistance to arbitrary rule -- the man who refused to roll over and disappear, unlike earlier judges who cooperated with military rulers or simply went home when their conscience dictated otherwise. Justice Chaudhry's call upon the legal fraternity to "Go to every corner of Pakistan and give the message that this is the time to sacrifice" for the supremacy of Pakistan's Constitution has drawn elements disillusioned with existing political leaders to anti-Musharraf protests.

Among Pakistani political leaders, Ms. Bhutto has emerged as the viable civilian alternative to Mr. Musharraf, with public support at home and acceptance abroad. As the only politician in Pakistan to publicly describe Islamist extremism and terrorism as the principal threat to the nation, Ms. Bhutto was initially measured in her response to Mr. Musharraf's reckless actions. She demanded that he restore the constitution and call elections as scheduled. She hoped to change his attitude with the threat of putting hundreds of thousands of supporters in the streets, without actually doing so. But Mr. Musharraf's stubbornness is changing that position.

Like many in the U.S., Ms. Bhutto appears worried about directing attention away from fighting terrorism and destabilizing Pakistan further. But leaving the anti-Musharraf campaign leaderless is not an option. She has positioned herself as an opposition leader who represents the sentiment of the people, but is also willing to accept a negotiated settlement that restores the constitution, ends persecution, and results in free and fair elections leading to full civilian rule.

So far Mr. Musharraf has shown no inclination to negotiate in good faith with Ms. Bhutto or the international community. With each passing day, the Bush administration's hopes -- that with its help there could be a transition to democracy in Pakistan with a continuing role for Mr. Musharraf -- are diminishing. Unless Mr. Musharraf changes course quickly, the U.S. will be compelled to start looking beyond him to a more legitimate leader.

Mr. Musharraf seems determined to put his own political survival before the rule of law -- actions that warrant the label dictator. Pakistan's attorneys, and increasingly the rest of its citizenry, seem equally determined to prevent this from happening.

Mr. Haqqani is director of Boston University's Center for International Relations and the author of "Pakistan: Between Mosque and Military" (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2005). He also has served as adviser to several Pakistani prime ministers, including Ms. Bhutto.

http://www.newstatesman.com/200711080016

Ziauddin Sardar

Published 08 November 2007

Never before has a military-backed government found it necessary to initiate its own military coup

My friend Asma Jahangir, chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, was among the first to bear the brunt of General Musharraf's crackdown. Within minutes after the "emergency" was declared on 3 November, she was put under house arrest for 90 days. Later, she was transferred to Court Lakpath jail. Arrests of thousands of lawyers, judges and human rights activists followed - many were dragged from their homes and brutally beaten before being thrown into prison.

Pakistan is used to military coups. But never before has a military-backed government found it necessary to initiate its own military coup. The official reason for Musharraf's dastardly actions is the exponential rise of extremism and terrorism. But it is clear that the martial law has nothing to do with terrorism.

It is an act of terror against civic society and its institutions. The constitution has been suspended, human rights have been declared irrelevant, free speech forbidden, private television stations closed, offices of major newspapers raided, free assembly outlawed and the entire country has been shrouded in darkness.

While the Pakistani army is being thrashed by militant insurgents sympathetic to the Taliban, the military is pouncing on unarmed journalists, members of the judiciary, leaders and workers of opposition parties, and anyone who dares to criticise the General.

Among those arrested is the brilliant and courageous lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, the newly elected president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, who has played a key role in lawyers' agitation. He was sent to the Adiala jail, where he may be tortured. Imran Khan, the former cricketer and the leader of the Justice Party, was put under house arrest but escaped and is now on the run. The Pakistan Muslim League, the party of the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, claims that 1,200 of its national and district leaders have been arrested. Most of the leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami, the right-wing religious party, are under house arrests or in prison, too.

The tipping point for Musharraf came when it became evident that the Supreme Court was likely to rule against the notion that a man in military uniform can be elected as president of Pakistan. In his address to the nation, in which he compared himself to Abraham Lincoln, Musharraf clearly stated that he wants a compliant judiciary. The executive, legislature and the judiciary must be "in harmony", he said. Since he controls both the executive and the legislature, this amounts to a declaration that the General must have absolute power.

The most disturbing element of the crackdown is the role played by the former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto. She sees her route back to power via accommodation with Musharraf, which has not endeared her to those now leading the resistance against him.

Bhutto was informed that the emergency was on its way and left the country - only to return. She is the only politician to move freely around Pakistan; and her party has largely been spared the military's wrath. While she has criticised martial law, her protests against the General have been muted.

Supreme Court judges, such as Wajihuddin Ahmed, have claimed she is colluding with Musharraf, who issued a special ordinance to get her off corruption charges. Musharraf now wants Bhutto to lead a caretaker government. But she is holding out for a minimum two-year period as prime minister. The more desperate she seems for power the less likely she is to be a viable fig leaf for an interim administration.

It seems probable that popular unrest will swell into open revolt, generating new alignments. Grand coalitions of liberal secular and religious parties might materialise much as they did in Iran prior to the overthrow of the Shah. Pakistan's religious parties have never been significant electoral players. But they can become a potent force in a broad coalition against Musharraf and the army.

There is unrest in the army, too. Gorged on foreign financing, it is riven by factions. The disintegration of the army is even more likely if its power and privileges appear to be threatened by the increasing strength of civil society. Musharraf has already had to deny reports that elements within the army have moved against him, holding him temporarily under house arrest. But today's rumours can become tomorrow's reality. The General would not be the first Pakistani military leader to be eliminated by elements within the army who have concluded that he has outlived his usefulness.

Having invested so much in Musharraf, more than $10bn at the rate of some $130m a month since 9/11, the US is now caught in the worst of all possible conundrums. Far from being "strong for freedom", as President Bush described him during their joint press conference at the White House last year, Musharraf is the great impediment in the way of the real forces of democracy that have languished within Pakistani society for decades. Bush's ambiguous response to the emergency seems to imply that Musharraf can remain in power if he restores the constitution and takes off his uniform. But this is likely to further polarise popular opinion in Pakistan against both Musharraf and America.

The General has unleashed an avalanche. Avalanches, once the ground begins to move, are impossible to control and highly destructive. It is not easy to predict where and how the dust will settle. But we can be sure that the increasingly demented Musharraf will not give up power easily - he will have to be dragged screaming and fighting from the throne.

LOL!

Bush phones Mush, but General has US number
8 Nov 2007, 1914 hrs IST,Chidanand Rajghatta,TNN

WASHINGTON: President Bush phoned Pakistan's military ruler on Wednesday to urge him to call elections and step down as army chief, but judging by the immediate outcome, it is general who has the US number.

Bush's long-awaited phone call, the first direct contact at the highest level after Musharraf's latest coup last weekend, came after widespread criticism in the US that Washington was giving the military strongman a free pass for a crackdown. An earlier 20-minute phone call to rampaging general by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reportedly had no effect and was in fact dismissed by a Pakistani minister as being "of no consequence."

That led the US President, who has shied away from his famed personal diplomacy with a man he calls his "tight" friend, to pick up the phone. By Bush's own account, related to the media during a public engagement with the visiting French President Nicholas Sarkozy, he told Musharraf to return Pakistan to civilian rule, hold elections and step down as chief of the military, as he had promised.

"My message was that we believe strongly in elections, and that you ought to have elections soon, and you need to take off your uniform. You can't be the president and the head of the military at the same time," Bush said of his phone call, which also lasted 20 minutes, according to aides.

But the US President's message to Musharraf carried little conviction because his administration has let it be known publicly that Musharraf is "indispensable," and threats of an aid review notwithstanding, Washington will not go down that route if it means diluting the war on terror.

Following the phone call though, Musharraf announced in Islamabad that elections would be held before February 15, but the statement was dismissed as a "vague promise" by Washington's candidate Benazir Bhutto. The Bush administration, looking for some kind of climbdown by the general to save its (Washington's) face, did not immediately comment.

Earlier, a defiant Musharraf was reported telling Pakistani lawmakers supporting him that he would not take any dictation from the US on the matter of elections and it would depend on how the Supreme Court, which he has now rigged with handpicked favourites, ruled on the matter.

Not even Bush's implicit concession - that he can remain president sans army uniform despite the dubious nature of his election, which the ousted Supreme Court was to rule on - appears to have persuaded Musharraf to relent on his crackdown.

Part of the reason why Musharraf remains emboldened and believes he has the US number was clear on the Hill, where a senior administration official told lawmakers, some of whom are the military dictator's cheerleaders, that the general was indispensable, and suggested that the aid review was more symbolic than purposeful.

Characterising the review as an "agonising" reappraisal, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte argued that most of it was going towards anti-terror operations and there were no cuts that were automatically triggered by the current situation, although Section 508 of the Foreign Operations Appropriation Act explicitly enjoins US to impose sanctions in the event of a military coup.

Such contradictions were aplenty at the hearing of the House International Relations Committee as Negroponte vigorously batted for Pakistan's military ruler, leading one lawmaker to ask whether the administration had a Musharraf policy instead of a Pakistan policy.

Despite daily reports of ideological and territorial advances being made by the Taliban against retreating Pakistani forces, Negroponte told the Committee that Pakistan has become more moderate and "no country has done more in inflicting damage on the Taliban."

Showing little concern over Musharraf's crackdown on Pakistani civil society, some lawmakers also encouraged the administration to keep Musharraf in power by invoking the situation in Iran in 1979 when US let go of the oppressive Shah of Iran, only to see the country taken over by the radical clerics.

All in all, the hearing on the Hill and various endorsements by the Bush administration appeared to suggest Musharraf has retained much of his support in Washington - even if he has lost it in Pakistan.

Posted: Thursday, November 08, 2007 4:00 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under: 2008, Biden, Richardson

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/08/456068.aspx

From NBC/NJ’s Mike Memoli [in Manchester, N.H.] and NBC’s Lauren Appelbaum [in Washington, D.C.]

Biden and Richardson leaned on their experience during separate foreign policy speeches this morning, with each calling for a new approach to Pakistan. Biden later accused Richardson of changing positions on international issues in order to curry favor with the Democratic electorate.

Speaking at the Impact ’08 summit at St. Anselm’s College this morning, Biden in particular sought to highlight what he said were his prescient comments on Pakistan before the current crisis developed. "People don't get it. All these dots are connected folks," Biden said in what was billed as a major speech. "There is no way to discretely deal with any nation in that region without understanding the repercussions, good and bad, for every other nation in the region. Neither the Democratic nor Republican candidates seem to understand that."

Biden accused Pervez Musharraf of imposing a coup against his own government, and warned that without swift resolution, the world may see a repeat of the 1979 Iranian Revolution. "That moderate majority must have a voice in the system and an outlet with elections,” Biden said. “If not, moderates may find that they have no choice but to take common cause with extremists, just as the Shah's opponents did in Iran three decades ago."

Biden also criticized the Bush administration for waiting days to contact the principals in the region. By comparison, he noted that he spoke with Benazir Bhutto the day the state of the emergency was declared, and was in contact with Musharraf days later. "President Bush's first reaction was to call on President Musharraf to reverse course. Given the stakes, I thought it might be more important to actually call him -- than rather call on him."

Biden called for dealing “proactively” with the current situation, but also for a long-term plan to strengthen Pakistan’s moderate majority, and to create conditions in the region that ensure a real democracy thrives in the region.

Richardson, who spoke first this morning, also drew comparisons between Pakistan today and Iran in 1979, saying that the United States cannot support what is essentially a military dictatorship. "We made the mistake years ago of backing a dictatorship in Iran and we are paying for it today," Richardson said. "At this very juncture, unless we shift our policy in Pakistan, in two of the more crucial parts of the world, unless we advocate democracy and human rights and a dramatic change in Pakistan, we are in danger of making the same mistake."

The convergence of Biden and Richardson today brought together decades of foreign policy experience -- Biden as chair of the foreign relations committee, and Richardson as a former U.N. Ambassador and negotiator. Talking to reporters after his speech, Biden said he was confident that if foreign policy remains a top concern, he would do well. Asked if he and Richardson might split up those votes, he acknowledged it was possible, but took aim at the New Mexico governor’s campaign positions.

“Bill has been sort of all over the board on his foreign policy,” he said. “First he endorsed the Biden plan for getting out of Iraq, then he said he’d get them all out in three months. Then he said it will take six months. Then no, it’ll take a year. And now it’s back to whatever it is.”

“I think Bill is banking on that portion of the Democratic Party that just wants to hear, ‘I’ll get out tomorrow,’” he continued. “I just think he has decided on a different tactic, and I’m not so sure that tactic is working.”

He also noted that despite Richardson spending millions on advertising, he has started to pull ahead of him in the early states. “I think people are going to start making discriminating judgments about whether we know what we’re talking about,” he said. "I'm operating on the premise that the American people are looking for someone tell the truth ... just lay out the facts, state what the facts are. Not attempt to sugarcoat where we are. ... You're not going to get the troops out in three weeks or three months or six months."

Richardson spoke about environmental issues in Portsmouth this afternoon, and was not available after for a response. A campaign spokesperson also declined to comment.

November 09, 2007 edition - http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1109/p01s01-wosc.html

Pakistan's final arbiter: the Army

The military is Musharraf's chief remaining constituency.

By Shahan Mufti | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

Islamabad, Pakistan

The last time President Pervez Musharraf suspended the Constitution, sacked Supreme Court judges, and cracked down on political parties – in 1999 – he found support in all the right quarters: his Army's top brass, key Western capitals, the business elite, and the educated middle classes.

Much of that domestic support has eroded as the war on terror pushed him closer to Washington. But General Musharraf continued to dominate the country's political scene with the backing of Pakistan's Army – what some see as his only real constituency.

As Pakistan's strongest and most stable institution, the Army has always played an important, often stabilizing, political role behind the scenes or in full view. But growing street unrest in Pakistan and dismay in Washington may spur a nervous military top brass to again step up as the ultimate arbiter of Pakistani political power. While analysts say the Army remains entirely behind Musharraf, one thing is certain: Pakistan's military establishment will not allow its prestige and position to be compromised.

"The Army is always reluctant to move against their chief," says Ikram Sehgal, the editor of Defence Journal and a retired major in Pakistan's Army. But pushing Musharraf to become a civilian leader, he says, "might be the only way for the Army to redeem its image."

In the lead up to this week's political crisis, President Musharraf has acted with the confidence of a military man who commands absolute loyalty. While that is unlikely to change, Pakistan's military is an institution that has historically shown a strong sense of identity and mission that may owe more to the nation of Pakistan than to the office of the president.

"The Army would have to be part of any political change," says Hassan Askari Rizvi, former Professor of Pakistan Studies at Columbia University and author of Military, State and Society in Pakistan. "It could be a mediator between parties as it has been in the past," he says. "Directly or indirectly, the Army will have to help work out a solution."

Army's history of political savvy

President Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency this week bore a strong resemblance to the coup he launched against former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1999. Once again, Musharraf suspended the constitution and ordered a crackdown on the judiciary and political opposition.

But this time, the reception was nothing like the general might have expected. Not only have his most important supporters in the White House pulled back, but a growing street movement threatens to spiral out of control, which, analysts say, is making everyone in the country, especially the Pakistani Army, very nervous.

more at link

Bhutto says 'still trying' to lead protest

6 hours ago

ISLAMABAD (AFP) — Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto told AFP by telephone Friday she was "still trying" to lead a rally against a state of emergency despite police efforts to block her inside her home.

"I am still trying to leave the place to lead the rally. I am in a car, my women workers have removed the barbed wire with their bare hands," Bhutto said as she tried to get through a police cordon around her Islamabad home.

"I am not afraid of these tactics. My struggle is for the people of Pakistan, for their rights and for an end dictatorship," she said.

Bhutto had planned a mass protest in the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi to press Musharraf to lift emergency rule, hold elections in January and quit as army chief.

"I have crossed the first barricade and I have appealed to the police to let me go. Now they have put up concrete blocks," Bhutto told AFP.

"It is a fight for democracy," she said.

Bhutto denied official statements that she had been served with a house arrest order but said police "have blocked all sides around my home. There is a heavy police presence."

The 54-year-old also hit out at Musharraf for suspending the constitution.

"There is no political process, this is a farce," she said.

"We have called for a revival of the constitution. Once the constitution is revived judges (sacked by Musharraf) will be revived. We want a definite date for elections, not vague commitmnents," she said.

Musharraf said on Thursday that elections would be held by February 15. They were originally scheduled for January.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hJ3G3H1_A6Ebk3m-SthyyqOjtSlg

New York Times, By Jane Perlez & David Rohde, November 9

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — In a massive show of force, the Pakistani government stopped a protest rally by the opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, before it started today, blanketing the rally site with police, blocking roads and barricading Ms. Bhutto inside her residence in Islamabad.

In Rawalpindi, the garrison town adjacent to Islamabad, the capital, where the rally was due to take place, double lines of police and police vans prevented most of the thousands of demonstrators from entering the city to protest against the emergency rule declared by the president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, six days ago.

Dump trucks blocked roads, preventing access to Liaquat Park, where the rally was due to be held, and shutting down the center of the city.

By late afternoon, tensions between police and the small groups of protesters who had managed to enter Rawalpindi started to mount, but later began to dissipate. Any groups of people that formed on the street were immediately moved on by police. The authorities said there were 8,500 police on the streets of Rawalpindi, and there were many more plane clothes officers and intelligence officials. Some demonstrators threw stones at the police and were hauled off in vans.

But the detention by police of Ms. Bhutto at her home appeared to prevent her party activists from organizing any major demonstration in Rawalpindi, and many said they were still waiting for orders to stage a major demonstration.

Violence Erupts After Bhutto's Arrest

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 9, 2007 (CBS/AP) Pakistani police backed by armored vehicles placed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto under house arrest in Islamabad Friday and reportedly rounded up 5,000 of her supporters to block a mass protest against emergency rule.

Bhutto tried twice to leave by car but was blocked by police amid scuffles with her supporters who tried to remove barricades. The former prime minister had planned to address a rally in nearby Rawalpindi, defying a ban on public gatherings.

Police parked an armored personnel carrier in the street to block Bhutto's white Landcruiser. Bhutto got out of the vehicle and stood alongside dozens of supporters who shouted "Go Musharraf Go!" in reference to Pakistani President, Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

Meanwhile, a bomb explosion at the home of a government minister in the northwestern city of Peshawar killed at least four people, police said.

The attack happened at the residence of the minister for political affairs, Amir Muqam, and also wounded three people, said Aslam Khan, a local police official.

Muqam said he saw two or three dead in the blast - members of his security staff. Police said the bombing was a suicide attack.

Kamal Shah, a top Interior Ministry official, said a district magistrate had served a "detention order" on Bhutto so she could not leave her home. Rehman, however, said no arrest papers had been served on Bhutto.

The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that officials did try to serve arrest papers to Bhutto, but she refused to take them and went back inside. According to the BBC report, the detention order is valid for 30 days.

Speaking by phone from the scene, Bhutto said that no arrest papers had been served on her.

"If I'm arrested the People's Party of Pakistan workers will continue to fight for democracy and the rule of law," she told reporters who heard the call via speakerphone.

CBS News correspondent Sheila MacVicar reports Bhutto's home was surrounded by armed security forces, armored vehicles and barbed wire in the early morning hours.

Authorities were adamant the rally Bhutto planned in nearby Rawalpindi would not go ahead - under the government's emergency powers declared a week ago, mass gatherings are banned. Mayor Javed Akhlas also said there was a "credible report" of six or seven suicide bombers in the city.

News video showed police clashing with Bhutto supporters in Rawalpindi and in Peshawar, and there were reportedly dozens of new arrests made.

Bhutto supporters pulled at a barbed wire barricade on the street to make way for her vehicle, but were blocked by police, the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. Bhutto's vehicle only managed to travel about 40 yards before it was stopped.

"We are trying to pass through because we want to reach Rawalpindi. There was a baton charge. There was a barbed wire. People in Kashmir were also stopped from reaching here. Those who can reach Rawalpindi, they should try to reach there," Bhutto later told private Geo TV.

"The government says that some suicide bombers have entered Islamabad. If they have any such information, then why can't they arrest them?" she said.

MacVicar says Bhutto's house was surrounded not just by security forces, but by media and curious members of the public as well. Friday is a national holiday in Pakistan, so the streets in general were quieter than normal, MacVicar adds.

Rawalpindi, hit by a series of suicide attacks targeting the military, had hundreds of riot police on the streets Friday, moving through the city while other security personnel patrolled on motorcycles, horseback and in armored vehicles.

"Since the government has not given permission for it due to security reasons, we will not allow any one to gather here for the rally," the city's police chief, Saud Aziz, told The Associated Press.

Aziz also said police were on the lookout to deter against the "serious" threat of potential suicide bombers.

(AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
Streets normally jammed with people stood empty, shops were closed and the road leading from Islamabad to Rawalpindi had been blocked by two tractor trailers and a metal gate.

Pakistan's military leader showed no signs of letting up on his political foes despite his announcement Thursday - following pressure from the U.S. and other Western allies - that elections would go ahead by mid-February, just a month later than originally planned.

Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, or PPP, claimed Friday that authorities had arrested 5,000 of its supporters in the last three days across the eastern province of Punjab, where Rawalpindi is located.

"It is a massive crackdown on our party," said Raja Javed Ashraf, a PPP lawmaker.

The government offered no immediate public comment. But the security official said only 1,000 Bhutto supporters had been detained.

more

Bhutto to be freed tomorrow, Pakistan says

Declan Walsh in Islamabad, Mark Tran and agencies
Friday November 9, 2007
Guardian Unlimited

Pakistani policemen seal off the street where Benazir Bhutto is being held under effective house arrest
Pakistani policemen seal off the street where Benazir Bhutto is being held under effective house arrest. Photograph: Olivier Matthys/EPA

Benazir Bhutto will be freed from effective house arrest tomorrow, the Pakistani government said today.

Earlier, police blocked the opposition leader as she tried to leave her home in Islamabad in a dramatic escalation of the country's political crisis.

The government's announcement came as the Bush administration urged Pakistan to end Ms Bhutto's detention.

The Pakistan People's party leader was stopped from leaving her home as security forces sealed off Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi to stop a rally against the president, General Pervez Musharraf.

She twice tried to breach a cordon and appealed to police to let her through. Addressing the security forces in front of her house, she said through a megaphone: "I'm your sister, I'm the daughter of Bhutto. I'm unarmed - let me go." However, police insisted she go back inside her home.

Her bullet-proof car, surrounded by supporters, failed to break through the police ring in front of her home, where she is effectively under house arrest.

Outside the building, the handful of supporters who arrived were taken away by plainclothes officers and bundled into waiting police vans.

"Please tell me why I am being arrested. I have done nothing wrong," Naheed Hayat, a British-Pakistani who said she hoped to stand for the PPP in forthcoming elections, told officers.

Several hundred riot police wielding batons manned barricades at both ends of the street where Ms Bhutto has her home in a leafy Islamabad suburb.

In Rawalpindi, where Ms Bhutto planned to lead a rally against the imposition of emergency rule that has sparked fears about the stability of a key western ally armed with nuclear weapons, police fired tear gas to disperse protesters.

As Ms Bhutto sought to leave her house, a suspected suicide blast at the home of the minister of political affairs, Amir Muqam, in the north-western city of Peshawar killed two people, state-run Pakistan Television reported. The minister was unhurt.

Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, the railways minister and a close ally of Gen Musharraf, told Reuters Ms Bhutto's detention was temporary and was meant to protect her from suicide bomb attacks, as well as stopping her from going to Rawalpindi.

Ms Bhutto had planned a procession from Lahore on November 13 in addition to today's rally in Rawalpindi.

An interior ministry spokesman said 2,500 people had been detained since the emergency was declared at the weekend, although Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's party said 5,000 of their activists had been picked up in the past couple of days.

In a separate development, lawyer Athar Minallah told the Guardian he had spoken to the country's chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who has also been under effective house arrest since the imposition of emergency rule.

"I spoke to the chief justice and they have come and informed him they are going to take him to Quetta [in western Pakistan]," Mr Minallah said.

"[The chief justice] said his seven-year-old child is not well, and he does not want to leave Islamabad, but they told him they will take him forcefully ... he said he will not give in to tyranny and undemocratic forces."

more

An interesting read by Mohammed Hanif, head of the BBC's Urdu Section

Bhutto released from house arrest in Pakistan: official
By :
Date : 10 November 2007 0134 hrs (SST)
URL : AFP

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan freed former premier Benazir Bhutto from house arrest late Friday, a senior interior ministry official said, after she was earlier blocked from leading a rally against emergency rule.

"It has been withdrawn," interior secretary Kamal Shah told AFP, referring to the house arrest order.

Speaking via a megaphone from behind coils of barbed wire earlier, Bhutto called in vain on officers stationed outside her Islamabad compound to let her lead the planned protest against President Pervez Musharraf's state of emergency.

"I am your sister fighting for democracy," she told them as police blocked her route with armoured personnel carriers.

Speaking with AFP by telephone from inside her bullet-proof car, she said: "I am not afraid of these tactics. My struggle is for the people of Pakistan, for their rights and for an end to dictatorship."

Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem said the house arrest order was a temporary measure because of a fear of suicide bombers attacking the planned rally in nearby Rawalpindi, and would be lifted by Saturday.

"It was a temporary detention order to keep her from getting exposed to a very serious threat of suicide bombing," he told AFP before the order was withdrawn.

Heightening tensions further, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the house of a minister in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing four people.

It was the first attack on a civilian target since military ruler Musharraf declared the state of emergency Saturday citing growing Islamic militancy and an unruly judiciary.

"The bomber wanted to kill me, he came into my residence and clearly I was the target," said Amir Muqam, federal minister for political affairs and local head of Musharraf's ruling party.

The state of emergency -- Musharraf suspended the constitution, sacked the chief justice and imposed media curbs -- has left him facing the most serious challenge to his rule since he seized power in a coup eight years ago.

Amid intense international criticism, he has pledged legislative elections -- originally slated for January -- by February 15 and to resign as army chief as soon as the Supreme Court validates his October 6 presidential victory.

Bhutto has dismissed those pledges as too vague, saying he must announce a firm date for polls and hang up his uniform by November 15.

Her Pakistan People's Party said 5,000 of its activists had been arrested since the weekend, and police Friday arrested around 100 outside her home.

Police warned that up to eight suicide bombers had infiltrated Rawalpindi, raising the spectre of a repeat of the double suicide bombing that killed 139 people at her homecoming parade in Karachi on October 18.

But Bhutto said known suicide bombers should be arrested instead.

"I don't want Pakistan to become Iraq. I have to save you, I am not afraid of death because it is in the hands of God," she told supporters and police.

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By Afsin Yurdakul

‘’I can’t speak for too long on the phone,’’ Asma Jahangir said in a calm, determined tone, ‘‘the military might cut it off.’’ Nonetheless, Pakistan’s leading human rights lawyer and activist accepted my offer of a phone interview this morning. She spoke from her home, where she was being held under house arrest, via the one phone line that the Pakistani police had somehow forgotten to cut off.

She spoke quickly, not because she was nervous, but because she wanted to tell the world as much as she could about what is really going on behind the scenes of Pakistan’s current political turmoil. She said the electronic media is completely shut down, and satellite dishes have been removed from the supermarket shelves, ostensibly by the military, to prevent people from getting or spreading any information about the state of emergency.

Jahangir urged the world not to turn a blind eye to violations of democracy and free speech in Pakistan, and called for maximum international pressure on General Pervez Musharraf.

However, as she was telling me that these are defining moments for her country’s future, the police interjected, and we lost the connection. I called back immediately. A male voice answered (she had been home alone only moments before) and told me that ‘she was not allowed to talk anymore,’ because ‘she was with the police.’ At the moment I have no information regarding her status.

I originally conducted this interview for Turkey’s NTV-MSNBC news portal, where it was published this morning in Turkish. I worry that the interview itself, intended as a chance for her to speak freely, is in fact a chilling example of the ban on free speech in Pakistan today.
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Lack of Knowledge About Arsenal May Limit U.S. Options

By Joby Warrick, Washington Post, November 11

When the United States learned in 2001 that Pakistani scientists had shared nuclear secrets with members of al-Qaeda, an alarmed Bush administration responded with tens of millions of dollars worth of equipment such as intrusion detectors and ID systems to safeguard Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

But Pakistan remained suspicious of U.S. aims and declined to give U.S. experts direct access to the half-dozen or so bunkers where the components of its arsenal of about 50 nuclear weapons are stored. For the officials in Washington now monitoring Pakistan's deepening political crisis, the experience offered both reassurance and grounds for concern.

Protection for Pakistan's nuclear weapons is considered equal to that of most Western nuclear powers. But U.S. officials worry that their limited knowledge about the locations and conditions in which the weapons are stored gives them few good options for a direct intervention to prevent the weapons from falling into unauthorized hands.

"We can't say with absolute certainty that we know where they all are," said a former U.S. official who closely tracked the security upgrades. If an attempt were made by the United States to seize the weapons to prevent their loss, "it could be very messy," the official said.
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While Musharraf is fighting democracy does anyone know what the Islamist/Taliban in the mountains bordering Afghanistan are up to?

Sunday, November 11, 2007

18 out of 450 protesters charged with treason so far

KARACHI: Since the imposition of the State of Emergency at least 450 people, including lawyers and activists of different opposition parties, have been put in prison and the police have lodged FIRs on charges of treason and provocation against 18 of them. They include Hasil Bizenjo, Yousuf Masti Khan and three union members Liaquat Shahi, Farid Awan, Ayub Qureshi. It is expected that many of them will be released on Monday. From November 3, around 100 lawyers and more than 350 activists were arrested. Except for 18, all have been charged by the MPO (maintenance of public order). Police Chief Azhar Ali Farooqui confirmed that around two dozen people have been released. But he said they could be arrested again if there are more disturbances. Meanwhile, the City Court police registered FIR No. 114/07, under Sections 124-A, 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) against Karachi Bar Association (KBA) members and lawyers for treason and provocation. The following lawyers were nominated in the FIR: Javaid Tanoli, Sabir Tanoli, Masoodur Rehman, Maqboolur Rehman, Jamila A. Farooq, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Aslam Bhutta, Khurram Nisar, KBA president Javaid Iftikhar Qazi, KBA General Secretary Naeem Qureshi, KBA Joint Secretary Hafiz Baloch, KBA Treasurer Naseer Abbasi and KBA member Javaid K. K. The police are still raiding houses for them but none of them have been arrested yet except for Qazi, who is in jail custody. Section 124-A pertains to treason and provocation and, accordingly, its punishment can be death or life imprisonment. FIR No. 265/07 (Under Sections 147, 148, 149, 124-A) was lodged by the Frere Police against Hasil Bizenjo, Yousuf Masti Khan and the union members. They are in jail till November 19. Sarfaraz Ahmed of the Jamaat-e-Islami said that none of the 350 arrested activists have reached home so far and the police were still raiding houses. They even raided the Old Clifton residence of Tipu Rizwan, who is a driver in Karachi of the MMA's Qazi Hussain Ahmed. staff report

Another Bamiyan-style vandalism in Pakistan

11 Nov 2007, 0012 hrs IST,

ISLAMABAD/NEW DELHI: In a re-run of the horrible vandalism that destroyed the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afghanistan, Pakistani Taliban rebels have carried out a second attack on a historic 40-metre tall Buddha statue in the Swat valley, destroying the head, shoulders and feet. The rebels have threatened a third and final attack on the statue to reduce it to rubble.

The world had shuddered with horror at the blasting of the Bamiyan statues. Yet another such act is happening in Pakistan and the Musharraf regime seems helpless to prevent it. Said president of Asia Society Vishakha N Desai: "Political and cultural leaders from around the world had condemned the destruction of the Bamiyan statues in 2001, yet in Pakistan the same disaster is being repeated."

The problem is that the writ of Pervez Musharraf no longer runs in Swat, a picturesque tourist centre 200 km northwest of Islamabad, that has now been overrun by Islamic fundamentalists led by Mullah Fazlullah, known as ‘Mullah Radio’ because of the FM propaganda radio station that he runs.

The radio station, apart from giving orders to people, justifies acts that fly against civilised norms as understood in the 21st century, like the destruction of the statues, closure of girls schools, destruction of Indian music shops and beating up of barbers who shave beards.

Swat, falling in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, has a priceless Buddhist heritage. The Harmarajika stupa in Taxila and Butkarha stupa in Swat were among the earliest stupas of Gandhara — an ancient kingdom consisting of modern-day Peshawar, Taxila, Swat and, according to some historians, parts of Kashmir.

These stupas had been erected on the orders of Emperor Ashoka and contained real relics of the Buddha. The Gandhara school is credited with the first representation of the Buddha in human form.

Adriana Propser of Asia Society in New York, said: "The art of the Gandhara area shows the impact of Hellenistic and Roman influence through the conquests of Alexander. Any destruction of archeological and artistic sites here are an enormous loss for mankind, especially for those who treasure historical records and rare works of art."

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, under intense international pressure to end his emergency rule, says elections will be held before Jan. 9.

GEO TV reported the announcement was made at a Sunday news conference, the first Musharraf has conducted since his emergency declaration on Nov. 3.

He asked the country's chief election commissioner to choose any date for the parliamentary elections before Jan. 9.

Parliament's term will end next Friday. A federal caretaker government will be in place until the elections. The provincial assemblies will end their terms Nov. 20.

It is these assemblies that re-elected Musharraf to a second term in October. The decision was challenged in the Supreme Court by Musharraf's opponents who claimed he could not seek re-election while also keeping his military chief title. Before the Supreme Court could rule on the petitions, Musharraf put the country under military rule.

Musharraf has defended his decision, saying he took the step in the national interest of the country.

Xinhua news agency reported Musharraf said he is intent on keeping Pakistan on a path to democracy.
Source

US has plans to safeguard Pakistan's nukes: report

5 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The United States has developed contingency plans to safeguard Pakistani nuclear weapons if they risk falling into the wrong hands, but US officials worry that their limited knowledge about the location of the arsenal could pose a problem, The Washington Post reported Sunday.

"We can't say with absolute certainty that we know where they all are," the newspaper quotes an unnamed former US official as saying.

If an attempt were made by the United States to seize the weapons to prevent their loss, "it could be very messy," the official said.

Of the world's nine declared and undeclared nuclear arsenals, none provokes as much worry in Washington as Pakistan's, the report said.

The government in Islamabad is arguably the least stable. Some Pakistani territory is partly controlled by insurgents bent on committing hostile acts of terrorism in the West. And officials close to the seat of power -- such as nuclear engineer A.Q. Khan -- have a worrisome track record of transferring sensitive nuclear technology.

Because the risks are so grave, US intelligence officials have long had contingency plans for intervening to obstruct such a theft in Pakistan, the paper said, citing "two knowledgeable officials."

The officials would not discuss details of the plans, but several former officials said the plans envision efforts to remove a nuclear weapon at imminent risk of falling into terrorists' hands, The Post said.

The plans imagine, in the best case, that Pakistani military officials will help the Americans eliminate that threat, according to the report.

But in other scenarios there may be no such help, said Matt Bunn, a nuclear weapons expert and former White House science official in the Clinton administration.

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Musharraf Sets No End to Emergency Rule

Sunday November 11, 2007 1:46 PM
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON
Associated Press Writer

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan's military ruler said Sunday elections would be held by January but set no time limit on emergency rule that has suspended citizens' rights, claiming it was essential for fighting terrorism and ensuring a free and fair vote.

In his first major news conference since suspending the constitution a week ago, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf bristled at criticism of his commitment to democracy and was unapologetic about his decision to purge the top ranks of the judiciary, which had challenged his dominance.

He said he expected to face no foreign sanctions for resorting to authoritarian measures and declared the current parliament would be dissolved in the coming week, paving the way for elections to be held on schedule - despite earlier concerns they could be delayed by up to a year.

``We should have elections before the 9th of January,'' Musharraf told reporters at his presidential residence in Islamabad.

The army chief imposed the state of emergency on Nov. 3, citing the growing threat posed by Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants. But the main targets of his crackdown have been his most outspoken critics, who claim the move was an attempt to maintain his grip on power.

Thousands of people have been arrested, independent-minded judges have been removed, and almost all but state-run TV news have been taken off the air.

Sounding indignant and sometimes angry, Musharraf said the declaration of the emergency was in the interests of Pakistan, not to keep power.

``It was the most difficult decision I have ever taken in my life,'' said Musharraf, wearing a dark blue suit rather than his army fatigues.

``I could have preserved myself, but then it would have damaged the nation. I found myself between a rock and a hard surface. I have no personal ego and ambitions to guard. I have the national interest foremost,'' he said. ``Whatever the cost, I bear responsibility, and I stand by it.''

Musharraf will please his Western allies with his announcement of early elections, but could worry them with his refusal to commit to a date for lifting the emergency, which many observers and critics here say is tantamount in martial law.

He declared it was necessary to address the ``turmoil, shock and confusion'' in Pakistan.

``The emergency contributes toward better law and order and a better fight against terrorism,'' the military ruler said, adding that it would ``reinforce our hand'' to use the regular army to fight Islamic militants in the interior of the troubled northwest, beyond lawless tribal regions of Afghanistan.

He also claimed the emergency would ``ensure absolute, fair and transparent elections,'' and said that Pakistan would invite international observers to scrutinize the vote.

Critics scoffed at his claims, noting that under the present suspension of the constitution, public gatherings are illegal. Others asked how campaigning could take place, citing concern about intimidation or threats of arrest.

``How can the elections be held in a free and fair manner when the emergency is in place?'' asked Zafar Ali Shah, a senior leader of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-N party.

Musharraf said opposition supporters who had been arrested since the emergency would be released to take part in the polls, but warned they could be detained again.

Anyone who ``disturbs law and order and wants to create anarchy in the name of elections and democracy, we will not allow that,'' he said.

His comments followed a decision to amend a law to give army courts sweeping powers to try civilians on charges ranging from treason to inciting public unrest - which in theory could include opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, who has vowed to lead a 185-mile protest march Tuesday in defiance of a ban.

Musharraf - seen by the U.S. as a close ally in the so-called war on terror - promised that military operations against Islamic militants in the volatile northwest would continue until they are defeated.

``There's no time limit for that,'' he said.

He also declared he would give up his army uniform, but only once his controversial Oct. 6 presidential election victory had been endorsed - regarded by many observers as a formality now that he has remade the Supreme Court and ousted popular judges.

His opponents argue he should have been disqualified because he contested the vote as army chief.

``The moment they give a decision ... I should take an oath of office as civilian president of Pakistan. I hope that happens as soon as possible.''

He dismissed speculation that he could struggle to maintain the loyalty of the powerful army once he ruled as a civilian.

``Even if I'm not in uniform, this army will be with me,'' Musharraf said.

President Bush earlier described promises to restore civilian rule as ``positive,'' throwing Washington's support firmly behind the embattled Pakistani leader.

Musharraf said foreign leaders who had telephoned him were understanding of the situation in Pakistan and that he did not expect international aid to be cut.

``They do understand our ground realities, mainly the issue of terrorism and how we have to combat it,'' he said. ``If we are on the path to democracy I'm sure they will understand and no such problem will occur.''

Musharraf launched a tirade against the recently deposed chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, who this year had become a thorn in the president's dominance of Pakistan. He defended the decision to oust him, alleging that Chaudhry had engaged in corruption.

Musharraf said there was no chance that any of the Supreme Court judges who were removed or refused to take the oath of office under his ``provisional'' constitution would be reinstated.

``Absolutely, absolutely. There's no question,'' he said. ``Those who have not taken oath are gone.''

Three reporters from Britain's Daily Telegraph, meanwhile, left Pakistan on Sunday after being expelled in protest of a commentary in their newspaper that used an expletive in reference to Musharraf - who was unapologetic.

The editorial had infringed ``norms of behavior,'' he said. ``I expect an apology.''

Musharraf ridicules Bhutto
Posted : Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:41:04 GMT
Author : IANS

Islamabad, Nov 11 - Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf Sunday ridiculed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto when a foreign journalist said that her popularity was on the rise.

'This is a country of 160 million. Seventy percent of them live in rural areas... Go into the Punjab and see whether she has gained popularity because of some actions,' Musharraf told a press conference here.

'Who gave you the impression that she is going to be the prime minister? We are going to have a fair and transparent election and it is the political parties who will decide who will be the prime minister.'

It was Musharraf's harshest criticism of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader since she returned to Pakistan Oct 18 ending eight years of exile.

Bhutto was in power sharing talks with Musharraf before she flew in from Dubai but called off the discussions after the president declared emergency Nov 3. She then said that she did not trust the military strongman anymore.

'There has to be political reconciliation. Let's face the menace of terrorism with a political stand,' Musharraf said. 'Let the political parties decide the course of action after the (January) elections.'

The Pakistani leader has always thrived on chaos, and he is employing the tactics that have kept him in power for years.

Los Angeles Times, By Laura King, November 11

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — For President Pervez Musharraf, it has been a week of living dangerously.

But even as activists across Pakistan vow to step up their defiance of de facto martial law, many of those arrayed against Musharraf are beginning to believe he may just survive this crisis, at least in the short term.

"We hope to prevail -- we are struggling against military dictatorship, after all," said Amina Paracha, a prominent attorney and pro-democracy activist. "But make no mistake, it is a struggle, and we don't know yet if we can succeed."

At 64, Musharraf is a leader who has always thrived on chaos, calculatedly making use of disarray to advance his goals. Though events of the last week often appeared to be spinning out of control, analysts said many of the army general's signature tactics came into play after he imposed emergency rule, including some that have served him well in the past.

He skillfully exploited rifts within Pakistan's political opposition, playing foes against one another. He alternated pleas for understanding with blunt displays of massive force. If his political allies entertained doubts, he forced them to maintain a united public front.

Bhutto 'ends power-sharing talks'

Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto says she has ended negotiations with President Pervez Musharraf on a power-sharing agreement.

"We are saying no," to more talks, she told journalists in Lahore. "It is a change from my party's past policy."

The United States has been pushing for a power-sharing agreement to provide more support for Gen Musharraf in his fight against Islamist extremism.

But Ms Bhutto said the state of emergency made talks impossible.

Ms Bhutto also said she would go ahead with a rally on Tuesday from Lahore to the capital, Islamabad.

Extraordinary session

Her comments come as Commonwealth foreign ministers are due to meet in London to debate a possible suspension of Pakistan's membership of the organisation.

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One leader threatens boycott of elections

AP, November 12

Pakistan's opposition has called on President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to lift a state of emergency, saying upcoming parliamentary elections will be a sham unless citizens' rights are fully restored.

On Sunday, Musharraf said he would stick to a January schedule for the polls but set no time limit on emergency rule, which has resulted in the arrests of thousands of his critics, a ban on rallies and the blacking out of independent TV networks.

The measures, he argued, were necessary to ensure "absolutely fair and transparent elections" and to step up the fight against Islamic militants threatening Pakistan.

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto welcomed his Jan. 9 cut-off date for the vote but said campaigning would be "difficult." Other opposition parties were more strident.

Pakistan warns against nuclear weapons grab
11.12.07, 7:02 AM ET

ISLAMABAD Thomson Financial) - Pakistan warned Monday it had sufficient 'retaliatory capacity' to defend its nuclear weapons, after a report the United States had made contingency plans to stop them falling into the wrong hands.

Denouncing 'irresponsible conjecture,' the foreign ministry said Pakistan was ready and able to defend its nuclear arsenal and there was no risk of the arms being taken.

Its reaction followed a Washington Post (nyse: WPO - news - people ) report that with Pakistan in the throes of a political crisis, the US has drawn up contingency plans in case the Pakistani military risked losing control of the weapons.

'If there is any threat to our nuclear assets and sovereignty, we have the capacity to defend ourselves,' foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told Agence France-Presse.

A ministry statement went further, saying in response to the daily's report that 'suffice it to say that Pakistan possesses adequate retaliatory capacity to defend its strategic assets and sovereignty.'

The ministry strongly denied its weapons were at any risk. 'Our strategic assets are as safe as that of any other nuclear weapons state,' it said.

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