Musharraf Declares Emergency in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, suspending the constitution, replacing the chief justice before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president, and cutting communications in the capital. Paramilitary troops and police swarmed the capital.

His leadership threatened by the impending court ruling and an Islamic movement that has spread to the capital, Musharraf's emergency order accused some judges of "working at cross purposes with the executive" and "weakening the government's resolve" to fight terrorism.

Seven of the 17 Supreme Court judges immediately rejected the emergency, which suspended the current constitution. Police blocked entry to the Supreme Court building and later took the deposed chief justice and other judges away in a convoy, witnesses said.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a longtime rival of Musharraf who recently returned from eight years of exile, flew back to Pakistan from Dubai where she was visiting family and left the airport under police escort. Her house was surrounded by paramilitary troops.

The government halted all television transmissions in major cities other than state-controlled Pakistan TV. Telephone service in the capital, Islamabad, was cut.

The order drew swift complaints from the United States and Britain — Musharraf's main Western allies. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged restraint on all sides and a swift return to democracy in Pakistan.

The United States "does not support extraconstitutional measures," Rice said from Turkey, where she was participating in a conference with Iraq's neighbors.

But, in justification, the emergency order said "the constitution provides no solution for this situation, there is no way out except through emergent and extraordinary measures," it said.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, suspending the constitution, replacing the chief justice before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president, and cutting communications in the capital. Paramilitary troops and police swarmed the capital.

The opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was flying from Dubai on Saturday. Her spokesman in London said she was already sitting in a plane at Karachi airport, waiting to see if she would be arrested or deported. Another party official said her flight was due to arrive later Saturday.

Seven of the 17 Supreme Court judges immediately rejected the emergency, which suspended the current constitution. Police blocked entry to the Supreme Court building and later took the deposed chief justice and other judges away in a convoy, witnesses said.

The government halted all television transmissions in major cities other than state-controlled Pakistan TV. Telephone service in the capital, Islamabad, was cut.

A copy of the emergency order obtained by The Associated Press justified the declaration on the grounds that "some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive" and "weakening the government's resolve" to fight terrorism.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged restraint on all sides and a swift return to democracy in Pakistan.

The United States "does not support extraconstitutional measures," Rice said from Turkey, where she was participating in a conference with Iraq's neighbors.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and has been a close ally of the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has struggled to contain spreading Islamic militancy that has centered along the Afghan border and spread to the capital and beyond.

Pakistanis have increasingly turned against the government of Musharraf, who failed earlier this year to oust Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry — the chief justice replaced Saturday.

Rice said that to her knowledge, U.S. officials had yet to hear directly from Musharraf after his declaration.

"Whatever happens we will be urging a quick return to civilian rule" Rice told reporters traveling with her, and a "return to constitutional order and the commitment to free and fair elections."

Crucial parliamentary elections meant to restore civilian rule are due by January. Musharraf himself was overwhelmingly re-elected last month by the current parliament, dominated by his ruling party, but the vote was challenged. The Supreme Court had been expected to rule imminently on whether he could run for president while still serving as army chief.

Bhutto, seen by many supporters as key to a possible return to democracy, went to Dubai after being targetted by assassins in Pakistan last month. Suicide bombers attacked her homecoming parade after eight years in exile, killing more than 140 people.

She was sitting on a plane at Karachi airport Saturday after returning from Dubai, said Wajid Hasan, a spokesman.

"She is waiting to see if she is going to be arrested or deported," Hasan said from London, adding that he had spoken to the former Pakistani prime minister by telephone while her plane was on the tarmac in Karachi.

But Fahmida Mirza, an information secretary for her Pakistan People's Party, said Bhutto had not yet arrived. The discrepancy could not immediately be explained.

Musharraf's order allows courts to function but suspends some fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution, including freedom of speech. It also allows authorities to detain people without informing them of the charges.

Military vehicles patrolled and troops blocked roads in the administrative heart of the capital. Paramilitary troops behind rolled barbed wire blocked access to an official compound housing lawmakers — barring even wives, children and even a ruling party senator from entering. In Karachi, about 100 police and paramilitary troops surrounded Bhutto's house and a bomb disposal squad searched the building, witnesses said.

There were reports of gunfire in several districts of the city, but it appeared to be aerial firing, police said.

The emergency was expected to be followed by arrests of lawyers and other perceived opponents of the government, including civil society activists and possibly even members of the judiciary itself, a ruling party lawmaker said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Private Geo TV reported the arrest of the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan — a lawyer for Chaudhry in the case that led to his reinstatement in July.

With telephone lines cut, it was not possible to contact government spokesmen for confirmation.

Chaudhry and other judges drove out of the court building in a convoy of black cars over two hours after the emergency was declared, under police escort. They were being shifted to their official residences nearby. Officers stopped reporters from approaching.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was deported in September as he tried to return from exile, condemned the emergency and said Musharraf should resign. He also urged the people of Pakistan to rise against Musharraf.

"If you don't do it today, it will too late then," he told Geo TV from Saudi Arabia.

US State Department Calls Pakistan's Emergency Declaration a Setback

The United States says it is "deeply disturbed" by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's emergency declaration, describing it as a setback for Pakistani democracy.

A State Department spokesman in Washington Saturday said the United States expects Mr. Musharraf to uphold his commitments to holding elections and stepping down as army chief before taking the presidential oath of office on January 15. The spokesman said the United States stands with the people of Pakistan in supporting a democratic process and in countering violent extremism.

Britain expressed "grave concern" at General Musharraf's actions, and urged him to act within the constitution. British Foreign Secretary David Milibrand said that although Britain recognizes the threat to peace and security in Pakistan, stability can only be achieved through democracy and the rule of law.

An Indian Foreign ministry spokesman expressed regret for Pakistan's "difficult times," adding that India hopes normal conditions will soon be restored in the country.

Crisis grips Pakistan; Musharraf declares emergency rule

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been waiting for word from the nation’s Supreme Court about his grip on power. Today, he stopped waiting and declared emergency rule.

Musharraf issued a provisional constitutional order proclaiming the emergency and suspending the nation’s constitution, according to a statement read on state television.

The Supreme Court declared the state of emergency illegal, claiming Musharraf had no power to suspend the constitution, Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry told CNN.

Shortly afterward, Chaudhry was expelled as chief justice, his office told CNN. Troops who came to Chaudhry’s office said arrangements were being made for his replacement.

It was the second time Chaudhry was removed from his post. His ousting by Musharraf in May prompted massive protests, and he was later reinstated.

In Islamabad, troops entered the Supreme Court and were surrounding the judges’ homes, according to CNN’s Syed Mohsin Naqvi.

Aitzaz Ahsan, a leading Pakistani attorney and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was arrested at his home. A former interior minister, Ahsan represented Chaudry the first time he was forced to leave his post.

The Constitution has been suspended, and independent media outlets are off the air.

Atrios noted, “No one could have predicted that an unelected dictator who took power in a military coup would behave just like that.”

I was thinking along the same lines. Remember, Musharraf seized power in a military take-over, and later held an election in which his name was the only one on the ballot. President Bush hailed the Musharraf government as a “democracy.”

I’m also reminded of Newsweek’s recent cover story.

Today no other country on earth is arguably more dangerous than Pakistan. It has everything Osama bin Laden could ask for: political instability, a trusted network of radical Islamists, an abundance of angry young anti-Western recruits, secluded training areas, access to state-of-the-art electronic technology, regular air service to the West and security services that don’t always do what they’re supposed to do. (Unlike in Iraq or Afghanistan, there also aren’t thousands of American troops hunting down would-be terrorists.) Then there’s the country’s large and growing nuclear program. “If you were to look around the world for where Al Qaeda is going to find its bomb, it’s right in their backyard,” says Bruce Riedel, the former senior director for South Asia on the National Security Council.

The conventional story about Pakistan has been that it is an unstable nuclear power, with distant tribal areas in terrorist hands. What is new, and more frightening, is the extent to which Taliban and Qaeda elements have now turned much of the country, including some cities, into a base that gives jihadists more room to maneuver, both in Pakistan and beyond.

In recent months, as Musharraf has grown more and more unpopular after eight years of rule, Islamists have been emboldened. The homegrown militants who have hidden Al Qaeda’s leaders since the end of 2001 are no longer restricted to untamed mountain villages along the border. These Islamist fighters now operate relatively freely in cities like Karachi—a process the U.S. and Pakistani governments call “Talibanization.” Hammered by suicide bombers and Iraq-style IEDs and reluctant to make war on its countrymen, Pakistan’s demoralized military seems incapable of stopping the jihadists even in the cities.

And now, there’s martial law. Stay tuned.

U.S. disappointed as Musharraf sets emergency rule

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Saturday said it was disappointed by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule and called on him to stick to a pledge to hold free elections early next year.

"This action is very disappointing," White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

"President Musharraf needs to stand by his pledges to have free and fair elections in January and step down as chief of army staff before retaking the presidential oath of office," Johndroe added.

Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Saturday in a bid to reassert his flagging authority against challenges from Islamist militants, a hostile judiciary and political rivals.

"All parties involved should move along the democratic path peacefully and quickly," Johndroe said.

Earlier, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, while on a visit to Turkey, said she was "deeply disturbed" by Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule, calling it a step backward for democracy.

"The U.S. has made very clear that it does not support extra-constitutional measures as they would take Pakistan away from the path of democracy and civilian rule," Rice told reporters as she was taking off from Turkey.

"We will be urging the commitment to hold free and fair elections be kept and we will be urging calm on all parties," she said.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan's internal security has deteriorated sharply in the past few months with a wave of suicide attacks by al Qaeda-inspired militants, including one last month that killed 139 people.

Musharraf Suspends Constitution, Sacks Chief Justice

Nov. 3 -- Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule because of ``judicial interference'' in his government, snubbing U.S. President George W. Bush's efforts to promote democracy in the world's second-largest Muslim nation.

``Some judges by overstepping the limits of judicial authority have taken over the executive and legislative functions,'' the government's proclamation of emergency today said. Musharraf, 64, sacked Supreme Court Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry, five months after a failed attempt to suspend the top judge. The president will address the nation at 11 p.m.

The suspension of the constitution for the first time since Musharraf seized power in a 1999 coup came as the Supreme Court was nearing a decision on the legality of his re-election as president while also serving as army chief. The main gates of the Supreme Court in Islamabad were sealed by security forces after a seven-judge panel headed by Chaudhry earlier said any declaration of emergency would be illegal.

``This is primarily a pre-emptive move on President Musharraf's part to curb any attempts by the Supreme Court to deny him his presidential victory,'' Farzana Shaikh, an associate fellow at Chatham house in London, said in a telephone interview. ``No-one is in any doubt: This is a panic measure and could signal the beginning of the end for General Musharraf.''

The order may strain a tentative power sharing agreement between Musharraf and opposition leader Benazir Bhutto that spurred the former prime minister to return from eight years in exile last month. Bhutto, who left for Dubai on Nov. 1 after surviving an assassination attempt in Karachi, will return to Pakistan by tomorrow, spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in Islamabad.

Aziz Remains

Musharraf didn't dismiss the government of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the 342-member parliament, which is due to complete its five-year term on Nov. 15, state-run Pakistan Television reported. National parliamentary elections are supposed to be held by Jan. 15.

``Pakistan's chief of army staff has declared a state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order,'' according to a statement read on Pakistan Television.

Musharraf appointed Abdul Hameed Dogar, a Supreme Court judge, as the country's chief justice to replace Chaudhry. Three others judges were also appointed to the Supreme Court.

The president sparked the most serious opposition to his rule in March when he dismissed Chaudhry on charges of misusing authority. Lawyers and opposition parties staged nationwide demonstrations until a 13-member panel of Supreme Court judges reinstated Chaudhry in July.

Court Surrounded

The Pakistan Rangers, the nation's paramilitary force, occupied the buildings of the top court, parliament and PTV. Privately-run television news channels went off air across the country around 5 p.m. today.

``Some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive and legislature in the fight against terrorism and extremism thereby weakening the government and the nation's resolve and diluting the efficacy of its actions to control this menace,'' the government statement said.

Musharraf is risking the billions of dollars of military and economic aid that Bush pumped into Pakistan in return for his support for the U.S. war on terror. Musharraf was on the brink of suspending parliamentary rule in August before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned to urge him against that course, U.S. officials had said.

`Deeply Disturbed'

The U.S., in a statement released by State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, said it was ``deeply disturbed'' by Musharraf's imposition of a state of emergency and called it ``a sharp setback for Pakistani democracy'' that ``takes Pakistan off the path toward civilian rule.''

``The Bush administration will take a dim view of any attempt by President Musharraf to impose emergency rule,'' said Shaikh in London. ``It would certainly mean cutbacks in the type of aid Pakistan has enjoyed since 2001. That would bring very grave consequences.''

Musharraf, who has survived at least four assassination attempts by Islamic extremists since 2001, has faced his greatest challenge since he seized power in a military coup in 1999. Religious parties oppose his support for Bush's campaign against terrorism and the country's opposition parties are demanding his resignation.

The general won the mandate for a second five-year term on Oct. 6.

Stocks Slump

Pakistan's stocks slumped the most in two months on Nov. 1 after a suicide bomb attack, the second this week, killed at least eight people and concern mounted that the Supreme Court will rule Musharraf ineligible for a second term.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle attacked a Pakistan Air Force bus, killing at least eight people and wounding 4 others near the industrial city of Faisalabad.

More than 450 people have been killed in bombings since security forces stormed the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July, ending a challenge to the government by clerics seeking to impose Islamic law in the capital.

``This is akin to another martial law,'' Ahsan Iqbal, spokesman for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, said in a phone interview. ``If the situation was such that emergency was necessary to save the country, then Musharraf is responsible and should have resigned.''

Former Prime Minister Bhutto said on Oct. 31 she had heard ``rumors'' Musharraf planned to impose a state of emergency, GEO television reported. Musharraf must respect the court's decision, she said.

``Pakistan Peoples' Party strongly condemns this decision and we will resist it in every way possible,'' Sherry Rehman, Bhutto's spokeswoman said in a phone interview from Karachi.

Twin Attacks

Bhutto, 54, who leads the second-biggest opposition party in Parliament, was the target of twin suicide bombings on Oct. 19 after she returned to Pakistan, ending eight years of self- imposed exile. At least 136 people were killed and over 500 were injured.

As part of the deal allowing her return, Bhutto did not object to Musharraf being re-elected Oct. 6 by the current Parliament and state legislatures, a vote boycotted by the opposition. Bhutto is hoping that the laws will be changed to allow her to run for a third term as prime minister in parliamentary elections.

Musharraf had agreed to give up control of the army by Nov. 15 as part of the deal.

Islamic parties oppose Musharraf's security operations in the tribal region bordering Afghanistan and his backing for the U.S.-led war on terrorism since 2001, when he ended Pakistan's support for the Taliban regime that sheltered al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The Taliban were ousted from power in Afghanistan in 2001.

Inside Pakistan During State of Emergency

The declaration of emergency came quietly.

We were driving around the streets of Islamabad at dusk, when a small number of police began gathering outside government buildings and at a few key checkpoints.

Within hours those numbers would grow. When the declaration was made official, hundreds of police in riot gear gathered in front of President Pervez Musharraf's palace, the parliament building and the Supreme Court.

Steel and cement barriers were hastily put in place outside the buildings, independent local media outlets and major hotels. Once the police were in place, we watched several hundred paramilitary forces outside the palace disappear into a tree lined area leading up to the palace. Those forces would be called in if police were unable to handle the situation.

But very few civilians gathered outside the buildings: Life in the city seemed quite normal. Shops were open, and traffic was moving. People seemed oblivious to what was happening.

We were in an incredibly unique position watching this unfold. I had long planned to accompany Adm. William Fallon, who is the head of Central Command, on a trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan this week. And he had long planned meetings with President Pervez Musharraf. No one had any idea when the trip was scheduled that this would be the weekend that Musharraf would declare a state of emergency.

On Friday, I had a scheduled interview with Adm. Fallon after his meeting, but when the admiral returned from his meetings, it was clear that the session had gone far longer than planned and that things had not gone well.

Fallon warned Musharraf not to make a declaration of emergency, but Musharraf told the admiral he was going ahead with it anyway.

Fallon, it turned out, was the last U.S. official to meet with Musharraf before the declaration. But other U.S. officials had been trying to talk Musharraf out of it as well.

Fallon continued on with his prepared schedule. On Friday night, he attended a dinner with the newly named Army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Pervez Kiyani, and senior officers at Army headquarters.

I attended the dinner as well. It was very formal, and no one was saying a word about what was about to happen. After the dinner, a Pakistani army band performed, Fallon and the general shook hands, and the admiral headed off.

Just hours after Fallon left Pakistan this morning for Afghanistan, Musharraf made his move. I changed plans and did not go onto Afghanistan with the admiral, having confirmed last night for "World News" that Musharraf was on the verge of declaring an emergency.

Musharraf Declares State of Emergency

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 3 — The Pakistani leader, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, declared a state of emergency on Saturday night, suspending the country’s Constitution, blacking out all independent television news reports and filling the streets of the capital with police officers and soldiers.

Skip to next paragraph

Related

Times Topics: Pervez Musharraf | Pakistan

Enlarge This Image

Wally Santana/Associated Press

The police blocked off the administrative center in the capital city of Islamabad today.

Enlarge This Image

Aamir Qureshi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were deployed in Islamabad after a state of emergency was declared.

Enlarge This Image

Aamir Qureshi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The police blocked off a road leading to Pakistan's Supreme Court today in Islamabad after Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency.

The move appeared to be an effort by General Musharraf to reassert his fading power in the face of growing opposition from the country’s Supreme Court, civilian political parties and hard-line Islamists. Pakistan’s Supreme Court was expected to rule within days on the legality of General Musharraf’s re-election last month as the country’s president, which opposition groups have said was improper.

The emergency declaration was in direct defiance of repeated calls this week from senior American officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, not to do so. A day earlier, the senior American military commander in the Middle East, Admiral William J. Fallon, told General Musharraf and his top generals in a meeting here that declaring emergency rule would jeopardize the extensive American financial support for the Pakistani military.

Ms. Rice personally intervened twice in the past four months to try to keep General Musharraf from imposing emergency rule, telephoning him at 2 a.m. Pakistani time in August. On Saturday, while traveling to Turkey for an Iraq security conference, she reinforced that message, saying, “I think it would be quite obvious that the United States wouldn’t be supportive of extra-constitutional means."

Soon after independent television stations went blank in the capital, just after 5 p.m., dozens of police forces surrounded the Supreme Court building, with justices still inside, as well as the chief justice’s home. The justices were ordered to sign a “provisional constitutional order” enabling the emergency decree, according to Western diplomats, with the government leaving implicit that any justices failing to do so would be dismissed.

At least 6 of the court’s 11 justices gathered in the court and rejected the order, according to an aide to Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Aitzaz Ahsan, a prominent lawyer, who led protests against General Musharraf this spring, was detained by the police after saying that opposition groups would announce a schedule on Monday of nationwide strikes and protests.

Before being detained, he accused General Musharraf of “criminal flouting of the Constitution,” adding that “the people and the lawyers cannot be suspended.”

General Musharraf was expected to speak on national television late on Saturday evening. Pakistani government officials said Friday that emergency rule could be justified because of clashes in the past week between security forces and Islamic militants in the Swat Valley, in the North-West Frontier Province, and because of the increasing number of suicide attacks against military and police installations.

As of 9 p.m., Chief Justice Chaudhry and the other justices had gone to their homes, surrounded by police and with the phone lines cut, witnesses and officials said.

Analysts said the emergency-rule decree in effect was the declaring of martial law, because there were no constitutional provisions allowing for such an order. “This is the imposition of real military rule, because there is no Constitution and Pakistan is being run under provisional constitutional order issued by Musharraf as the army chief, not as the president of Pakistan,” said Hasan Askari Rizvi, an expert on Pakistani military affairs.

General Musharraf resorted to military power to gain the presidency in October 1999 when he staged a bloodless coup, and Mr. Rizvi said this was a return to those measures. “This is the first time Musharraf has brought in military rule to sustain himself in power,” he said. “He felt threatened by the Supreme Court.”

Mr. Chaudhry has been the focal point of the opposition to General Musharraf since the president fired him from the post last Boosted by support from lawyers, judges and a wide public following, Mr. Chaudhry led a street-style political campaign against his summary firing that helped fuel the growing popular sentiment against General Musharraf.

The Supreme Court reinstated Mr. Chaudhry this summer, and in September the Supreme Court ruled in favor of General Musharraf, saying he could run for re-election while still in uniform.

But the focus was again on Mr. Chaudhry this week as the deadline drew closer for a decision on the legality of General Musharraf’s re-election on Oct. 6 by the national Parliament and four provincial assemblies.

Rumors were rife in Islamabad, the capital, all week that the court might decide against the president or give a muddied verdict that would leave his position as president unclear.

This evening, several lawyers and journalists said they believed that the opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, left Pakistan on Thursday for Dubai in the United Arab Emirates after realizing that General Musharraf was planning some form of martial law.

Aides to Ms. Bhutto said she planned to fly back to Pakistan on Wednesday evening, immediately after hearing the emergency declaration was made. Members of her political party condemned the emergency order.

Ms. Bhutto, who returned to Pakistan in mid-October under an arrangement brokered by the United States and Britain, warned the government on Wednesday that she was opposed to emergency rule. “If emergency is imposed, people will come out and resist it," she said.

She returned to Pakistan on Oct. 18 for the first time in eight years on the understanding that she would take part in elections expected early next year. The Bush administration hoped that Ms. Bhutto would bring a democratic face to Pakistan even as it continued under the rule of General Musharraf, who has pledged to give up his military post after being sworn in for another presidential term on Nov. 15.