President Gen Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency

dawn ^ | 11/03/2007 | dawn/afp

[milwguy]

State of emergency declared ISLAMABAD, Nov 3, (AFP/AP) - President Gen Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election win and amid rising militant violence. ''The chief of army staff has proclaimed a state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order,'' a newscaster on the state-run TV channel said. Dozens of police blocked the road in front of the Supreme Court building in Islamabad where judges were believed to be inside. The state TV report gave no reason for the emergency but it follows weeks of speculation that he could take the step. 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,'' said Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for the opposition PML-N party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who Musharraf barred from returning to exile to Pakistan in September to mount a campaign against military rule.''The whole nation will resist this extra-constitutional measure,'' he said. The government blocked transmissions of private news channels in the capital and other cities. Shahzad Iqbal, an official at a cable TV news provider in Islamabad said authorities were blocking transmissions of private news channels in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. State TV was still on the air. ''The government has done it,'' he said. Residents of Karachi said their cable TV was also off the air.Paramilitary troops and police surrounded the Supreme Court in Islamabad, an AFP reporter said. Two trucks full of armed paramilitary soldiers from the Rangers force, who are under the control of the Interior Ministry, and several dozen policemen cordoned off the building. (

[milwguy]

He waits until Bhutto leaves the country and then declares martial law. Things are going to be ver yinteresting in Pakistan over the next few weeks. I Musharaff will use this to allow our special forces to operate in the tribal areas. With a news blackout, he may be more free to let our guys in to help clean out the rats nest in N and S Waziristan. Also this is the time that OBL is runored to move from his summer camp to his winter digs.

[blam]

I thought Bhutto cancelled her trip abroad?

[milwguy]

You are correct. I had not noticed that she did not leave for Dubai as scheduled.

[TLI]

President Gen Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election win and amid rising militant violence.

Well, ummm, did he actually win the election or not?

[Cicero]

I believe our State Department has been telling Musharref that he mustn’t declare a state of emergency, because that would be naughty.

I hope we don’t really mean it. Or at least that we have leashes on the guys who do mean it.

[G8 Diplomat]

FReepmail if you want on or off

[oneolcop]

This event leads to really ominous possibilities: I Musharraf loses control and a full blown civil war ensues, the safety of Iraq's nuclear weapons is in doubt.

This will bring the US into the mix since we cannot afford to have the nukes fall into the hands of the islamists.

We would either have to mount an operation to seize them or destroy them by other means. For the US to fail to do one or the other would be catastrophic.

[El Gato]

This will bring the US into the mix since we cannot afford to have the nukes fall into the hands of the islamists.

The Indians have even more immediate concerns, as they are in range of the Pakistani delivery systems.

[oneolcop]

Roger that. I suspect that the Indians will defer to the US rather than risk causing whatever is left of the Paki military establishment on them. In this case, the US would be acting as the surrogate for the Indians rather than India working on on the US behalf. That being said, I suspect that the US would get a LOT of covert support from India to make sure that the matter was taken care of.