Supreme Court Strikes on Musharraf's unconstitutional November 3 actions

A verdict that may change the course of the country’s political and judicial history

Salute to the Judges of the Supreme Court ....

Read this to get the backgorund of actions of November the 3rd ...

The emergency that changed everything

Salman Siddiqui
Sunday, 02 Nov, 2008 | 10:15 PM PST |

Pakistan

Supreme Court strikes down Nov 3 emergency

'Pakistan ka Khuda Hafiz'

First the TV channels went off air. Next, telephone lines started ringing incessantly in the Newsroom. Colleagues ate up their words in mid conversation and we knew without saying a word to each other that the worst had come on November 3, 2007.

Panic-stricken citizens started bombarding the offices of media organizations with phone calls in the evening of that fateful day, inquiring whether the then president and army chief, Pervez Musharraf, had imposed a state of emergency throughout the country. Interestingly, none of the callers asked what had happened, but instead posed the question: is it true or not.

Emergency Timeline

Oct 1954: Governor General Ghulam Mohammad proclaims emergency. Oct 1958: President Iskander Mirza abrogates the 1956 Constitution under emergency rule. Gen Ayub is appointed as chief martial law administrator (CMLA). Mar 1969: Gen Ayub passes presidency to Gen Yahya, who abrogates the 1962 Constitution under proclamation of emergency and becomes CMLA. Dec 1971: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto succeeds Gen Yahya as the next CMLA. July 1977: Gen Zia takes over as CMLA and holds the 1973 Constitution in abeyance under emergency rule. May 1998: A constitutional emergency is imposed after Pakistan conducts nuclear tests. Oct 1999,Nov 2007: Gen Musharraf imposes a state of emergency and holds the 1973 Constitution in abeyance.

This is because the drastic action wasn't unexpected. Reports of Musharraf's desperate move for political survival had been doing the rounds despite denials by government spokespersons. In fact a private TV channel had aired a breaking newsfeed days before Nov 3, claiming that Musharraf was holding a key meeting with the army top command at the GHQ and an emergency rule would be declared the same night. Though that report later would prove to be false, conspiracy theorists claimed back then that the news had been deliberately leaked and the nation was being prepared for the eventuality.

Musharraf had chosen to declare the state of emergency as army chief instead of president. Dawn heralded the news as ‘General Musharraf’s second coup’ the next morning, the first being in October 12, 1999, against a democratically elected government. The measure was termed as 'emergency plus' since it came along with a provisional constitution order that held the constitution in ‘abeyance’ and replaced the superior courts. The general claimed in a statement that the move had become inevitable in the face of growing militancy and “increasing interference by some members of the judiciary”. The media too was accused of being partisan and all private TV channels were immediately taken off air across the country. All except two were restored a couple of weeks later after being made to sign a government-sanctioned ‘code of conduct’.

So what really compelled Musharraf to take this extra-constitutional step, even though he already enjoyed all powers by virtue of holding two key offices? The impetus can be traced back to July 20, 2007, when Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry was restored by the apex court as chief justice, terming his disposition by the president as illegal. After suffering the setback, Musharraf then conspired to get elected for another five-year term as president from a national assembly that itself was coming to the end of its term. He contested the presidential elections against Justice (retd) Wajihuddin Ahmed and, according to unofficial results on October 6, 2007, he won it with a comfortable majority of 253 votes.

However, even though the Supreme Court had allowed Musharraf to contest the elections on September 28, 2007, it stopped the Election Commission from issuing a notification of the result until the issue of his eligibility as a candidate for presidency had been decided.

Many underhanded tactics including blackmail were allegedly used to pressurize the judges into giving a favorable verdict. Sharifuddin Pirzada, Musharraf’s top legal aide, reportedly informed his boss a day before the emergency that seven out of the eleven-member bench of the apex court would rule against him in the high-profile case. Cornered, the general decided to make the preemptive strike.

Aitzaz had filed an application in the apex court on Nov 2, 2007, warning of an imminent martial law. Seven Supreme Court judges including Justice Chaudhry took cognizance of this fact and in an unusual move decided to hold fort in their respective chambers. As soon as the emergency was imposed, the court overturned the PCO and restrained the chief of army staff, corps commanders, staff officers and other civil and military officers from acting under the decree. The order was sneaked out to the awaiting press corp. outside the court building in Islamabad. Senior army officials then got the premises vacated and all judges were sent home and placed under house arrest.

The backlash was swift and unanimous. Lawyers came out on the streets in full force and pictures of the intelligentsia getting thrashed by security personnel were beamed world over. International indignation, especially from the US and UK, forced Musharraf to then hand over the military command to his successor Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on November 28, 2007, 25 days into the emergency. But before that he amended the Army Act of 1952 and broadened the scope of court martial to include ordinary civilians as well. This parting shot was deemed to discourage criticism of armed forces.

In pictures

With the judiciary taken care of and Justice Dogar installed as the new chief justice of Pakistan, Musharraf took oath as president on November 29, 2007 and lifted emergency on December 15, 2007. His downward spiral, however, continued and he ended his nine-year rule on August 18, 2008, with the words: ‘Pakistan ka Khuda hafiz’.

Even though the political landscape has changed completely since then, much has been left undone. The visible changes include posters of the general’s fist being replaced by the widower’s grin. However, deposed judge Iftikhar Chaudhry, who was in the centre of the whole emergency controversy, remains sacked. Even though Aitzaz still remains optimistic and Ali Ahmed Kurd is now the new Supreme Court Bar Association president, it’s a fact that the lawyers’ movement has fizzled out and no crowds rally behind their motorcade today as judges accept government offers. The issue of missing persons, considered by many the nucleus of the problem, is still unresolved. Also, the people of Pakistan remain as miserable and uncertain as their focus shifts to dire economic conditions in the country.

Amusingly, it seems even Musharraf hasn’t come out of his bubble of grandeur even after becoming a toothless entity. He recently expressed ‘concern’ over the country’s situation in the backdrop of a rumor that he was planning to launch a political career. If it bears any truth, it is unlikely that the people would start rallying behind the same man who they got rid of after so much difficulty. Disillusionment too has its limits. Or does it?

The writer can be contacted at salman.siddiqui@dawn.com

Nelson Mandela speech in Coach Carter

Alright film ... but these words are truly inspiring, taken from a speech of Nelson Mandela ...

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightening about shrinking so other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others"

Yashomati mayya se bole Nandlaala

Roman Hindi - English Translation

Yashomati mayya se bole Nandlaala

yashomati mayya got asked by Nandlaala

Yashomati mayya se bole Nandlaala

yashomati mayya got asked by Nandlaala

Raadha kyon gori mein kyon kaala

Why is radha fair, why am i dark(black)

Raadha kyon gori mein kyon kaala

Why is radha fair, why am i dark(black)

boli muskaati mayya lalan ko bataaya

smiling mayya, told to laln (nandlala)

kaari andhiyari aadhi raat mein tu aaya

you came in a dark and blinding night

laadlaa Kanhayya mera ho

O' Son, my dear

laadlaa Kanhayya mera kaali kamli waala

my dear son keeps a black cloth

isiliye kaala

that is why youre dark(black)

Yashomati mayya se bole Nandlaala

yashomati mayya got asked by Nandlaala

Raadha kyon gori mein kyon kaala

Why is radha fair, why am i dark(black)

Raadha kyon gori mein kyon kaala

Why is radha fair, why am i dark(black)

boli muskaati mayya sun mere pyaare

smiling mayya said, listen my dear

gori-gori Raadhika ke nain kajraare

fair skinned Raadhika (radha's full name) has black mascaara

kaale nainon waali ne ho

black eyed lady has put a ....

kaale nainon waali ne aisaa jaadu daala

black eyed lady has put a magical spell

isiliye kaala

that is why youre dark(black)

Yashomati mayya se bole Nandlaala

yashomati mayya got asked by Nandlaala

Raadha kyon gori mein kyon kaala

Why is radha fair, why am i dark(black)

Raadha kyon gori mein kyon kaala

Why is radha fair, why am i dark(black)

Coke Studio - Chal Diye

Performed in the 2nd edition of Coke Studio, Episode 3 by Zeb & Haniya featuring Javed Bashir.

Coke Studio - Paimona lyrics Urdu & English

T20 World Cup 2009

a

Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka in Lords to become the World Champions in the 2nd T20 World Cup

World Cup 1992 Final

Imran Khan's cornered tigers took out the favourites for the title in the 5th Cricket world Cup, the first one under lights in color clothing with a white ball. Brilliant batting by Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and Inzamam, great all round performance by Wasim Akram, the player of the match and the highest wicket taker in the tournament.

The first and only ODI World Cup that Pakistan has won. In 2009 Pakistan became the World Champions in T20 format, which is now the premiere format of cricket.

Coke Studio - Paimona Video

Performed by Zeb & Haniya in 2nd edition fo Coke Studio

Great song ... A message to Radha ... would you believe that the poetry was written by a great mathematician ... who did poetry on the side ... Amazing ...

Download Paimona Video (rapidshare) :

http://rapidshare.com/files/260885548/Zeb___Haniya_Paimona__Coke_Studio_Season-2_.flv.html

Download Paimona mp3 (rapidshare) :

http://rapidshare.com/files/260925394/CokeStudioPaimona_rar.zip

(you need winrar to extract the mp3, get winrar here )

listen to the truth that is evident in the music, the feel of the song ... You are welcome to leave your comments ...

Mission Statement

All around, you see the same thing over and over ... everyone feeling inferior to someone who in reality may not be superior ... at such point a person will look inside, take a sigh and then say ...

RADHA KYON GORI ... MEIN KYON KAALA ...

to further emphasize this point, let's explore its evidence in the things which are all around us ...