"Things had gone totally haywire," Now my surroundings are complete by adding Pakistan mayhem. To the West Mesopotamia. To the North PKK imbroglio.
To the northweast Afghanistan, now to the south east: Pakistan....
It remains in peace only to the South: Persian Gulf and the Straight of Hormuz
Pakistan police detaining 1,500
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Pakistan police on Sunday began a roundup of 1,500 lawyers, judges and political activists on a list of people to be arrested one day after Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency, police sources and witnesses said.
1 of 3 Musharraf on Saturday suspended the country's constitution and dismissed the chief justice. The government also issued new rules forbidding newspapers and broadcasters from expressing "any opinion that is prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan or integrity of Pakistan."
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who on Saturday called the emergency declaration "highly regrettable," on Sunday called for "all parties to act with restraint in what is obviously a very difficult situation."
Meanwhile, Musharraf's chief spokesman defended the emergency declaration on judicial activism by Pakistan's Supreme Court, including the setting of airport parking fees and releasing of terror suspects.
"Things had gone totally haywire," Pakistan Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan told CNN Sunday.
President Musharraf ordered troops to confiscate a television station's equipment and put a popular opposition leader under house arrest, measures which Khan said would be "very temporary."
As Pakistani police patrolled the streets of the capital, Islamabad, Musharraf told the public he was imposing martial law "for the good of Pakistan," stressing in a televised address that the nation was threatened by "terrorism and extremism."
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said Musharraf's move was likely out of fear that Pakistan's Supreme Court might not certify the October presidential results in which he garnered a vast majority of the votes. The court was considering legal challenges filed by the opposition questioning Musharraf's eligibility to hold office.
"Now, I can understand that he might have had difficulty in accepting the verdict of the Supreme Court, but one has to accept the ruling of a court," she said.
Seven of the Supreme Court's judges were placed under house arrest, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, sources said. The court declared the state of emergency illegal, claiming Musharraf had no power to suspend the constitution, Chaudhry said. See timeline of the upheaval in Pakistan »
Shortly afterward, troops came to Chaudhry's office to inform him he was fired, the judge's office told CNN. Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar was quickly appointed to replace him, according to state television.
"It was anticipated, the way things were going, when the Supreme Court and the chief justice, the highest judicial body in the land, try and fix, for example, parking fees at the airport, when people are let off once they've been arrested in serious matters like extremism and terrorism and they were all over the country causing mayhem," presidential spokesman Khan said.
Chaudhry's ousting by Musharraf in May prompted massive protests, and he was later reinstated after Pakistan's Supreme Court in late July ruled his suspension was illegal.
Roundups begin in Punjab province
Police sources told CNN they have a list of 1,500 people -- mostly political activists and lawyers -- to be arrested. Their roundup began in the Punjab province with 85 people arrested in the city of Lahore Saturday night.
The head of Pakistan's human rights commission, Asma Jagangir, sent a letter Sunday morning saying he has been placed under house arrest and that the detention order is for 90 days.
"Ironically the President, who has lost his marbles, said that he had to clamp down on the press and the judiciary to curb terrorism," Jagangir wrote. "Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people while the terrorists are offered negotiations and cease-fires."
Musharraf's spokesman would not confirm who has been arrested, but he did say "some people who have been causing law and order situations have been placed under house arrest."
"It's going to be a very temporary measure," Khan said. Watch Pakistani Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani defend Musharraf's actions »
A senior Pakistani official told CNN the emergency declaration will be "short-lived," and will be followed by an interim government. Martial law is only a way to restore law and order, he said.
Mahmud Ali Durrani, Pakistan ambassador to the United States, agreed.
"I can assure you, he will move on the part of democracy that is promised ... and you will see that happen shortly."
Pakistan in political limbo
Under the constitution, Musharraf was ineligible for run for another term while serving both as president and military leader. However, the Supreme Court allowed the election to go ahead, saying it would decide the issue later.
Since then, Pakistan has been in a state of political limbo while the Supreme Court tackled legal challenges filed by the opposition that question Musharraf's eligibility to hold office. Some speculated that a declaration of emergency is tied to rumors the court is planning to rule against Musharraf.
Musharraf has stated repeatedly that he will step down as military leader before re-taking the presidential oath of office on November 15, and has promised to hold parliamentary elections by January 15.
A victory for Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party in those elections would give her a chance to win a third term as prime minister. Bhutto returned to her native country in October, ending eight years of self-exile. Musharraf came to power after leading a 1999 coup against the government.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Imran Khan told CNN early Sunday that police surrounded his house in Lahore and informed him that he was under house arrest.
Musharraf also had Khan placed under house arrest during a government crackdown in March 2006. Khan said he was accused of public disorder because of his participation in public protests.
"It was all expected," Khan said of Musharraf's address, before the former cricket star was placed under house arrest. "We expected General Musharraf to say that militancy and terrorism was on the increase and that he had no choice.
Musharraf blasts 'negative' news
In Britain, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Pakistan's future "rests on harnessing the power of democracy and the rule of law to achieve the goals of stability, development and countering terrorism. I am gravely concerned by the measures adopted today, which will take Pakistan further from these goals."
Musharraf complained in his speech that the media, which he made independent, have not been supportive, but have reported "negative" news.
The media have been barred from printing or broadcasting "anything which defames or brings into ridicule the head of state, or members of the armed forces, or executive,legislative or judicial organ of the state." Any newspaper or broadcaster would face fines and license revocation if they violate the new order.
The new law also forbids news anchors or moderators to express any opinion that is "prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan or integrity of Pakistan." Broadcast equipment could be confiscated by police for any violation.
Early Sunday, two dozen policemen raided the offices of AAJ-TV in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, saying they had orders to confiscate the station's equipment. There were no reports of injuries.
Talat Hussain, director of news and current affairs for AAJ, said the government had just issued a directive warning the media that any criticism of the president or prime minister would be punishable by three years in jail and a fine of up to $70,000. |
