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Musharraf declares state of emergency
Troops surround Bhutto’s home; U.S. calls developments ‘regrettable’
BREAKING NEWS
MSNBC News Services
updated 12:45 p.m. ET Nov. 3, 2007
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, ahead of a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president, thrusting the country deeper into political turmoil as it struggles to contain spreading Islamic militancy.
Seven Supreme Court judges immediately rejected the emergency, which suspended the current constitution. The government blocked all television transmissions in major cities other than state-run Pakistan TV, and telephone services in the capital, Islamabad, were cut.
Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto flew from Dubai on Saturday and was sitting on a plane at Karachi airport, waiting to see if she would be arrested or deported, her spokesman Wajid Hasan said after speaking to the former prime minister by telephone from London.
Witnesses said 100 police and paramilitary troops were deployed at her home in Karachi, though it was not immediately clear if they were there as a protective cordon or to apprehend the opposition leader. A bomb disposal squad was also at the scene.
“The chief of army staff has proclaimed a state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order,” a newscaster on PTV said, adding that Musharraf would address the nation at 11 p.m. (7 p.m. ET).
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.
PTV reported that a new chief justice had been appointed to replace Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, whom Musharraf tried and failed to oust this spring, sparking a popular movement against military rule. Judge Abdul Hameed Dogar was sworn in by Musharraf in his place.
The state of emergency follows weeks of speculation that the military leader, who took power in a 1999 coup and later made Pakistan a U.S. ally in its war on terror, could take the step. Military vehicles patrolled and troops blocked roads in the administrative heart of the capital.
‘Highly regrettable’
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has urged a swift return to democracy in Pakistan and says it is “highly regrettable” the president has declared a state of emergency.
The U.S. and other Western allies urged Musharraf this week not to declare martial law or an emergency that would jeopardize the country’s transition to democracy. Crucial parliamentary elections are due by January, which are meant to restore civilian rule.
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 that the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan, had been arrested. He was a lawyer for Chaudhry in the case that led to his reinstatement in July.
As telephone lines were cut, it was not possible to contact government spokesmen for confirmation.
‘The whole nation will resist’
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. A police officer at the scene said they were being shifted to their official residences nearby.
During previous emergencies in Pakistan, a provisional constitutional order has led to the suspension of some basic rights of citizens and for judges to take a fresh oath of office.
“This is the most condemnable act,” Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for the opposition PML-N party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, said of the emergency. Musharraf barred Sharif from returning to Pakistan from exile in September to mount a campaign against military rule.
“The whole nation will resist this extraconstitutional measure,” he said.