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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.