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Posted on 11/05/2007 1:48:57 AM PST by HAL9000
via translation -
Pakistan: The government denies house arrest for Musharraf
ISLAMABAD - The Pakistani government denied Monday insistent rumors in the country that President Pervez Musharraf has been under house arrest by the deputy head of the army.
"This is not true. There is no truth in this. It lies at Aiwan-e-Sadr (the presidential palace), and he met with foreign diplomats, "said an AFP at the door floor-government.
President Musharraf has set Saturday evening the state of emergency in Pakistan according to him justified by Islamist terrorism and the opposition of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court is directly covered by the emergency measure. The highest court in the country had to decide in the coming days on the legality of the election, on October 6, indirect suffrage, President Musharraf. This perspective has certainly pushed the Head of State to declare a state of emergency Saturday night.
General Musharraf, also chief of the army, had designated there several weeks the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, Ashfaq Kiyani, to succeed him as head of the army, a position that Mr. Musharraf had promised to leave before taking the oath for his second presidential term.
He abandons his military uniform were due by 15 November, the date of the end of his first presidential term.
But this promise to become a civilian president "is no longer" after the establishment of the state of emergency, declared Monday a minister.
"President Musharraf had made the pledge to the Supreme Court that he would remove his uniform before swear (re-elected as president, editor's note), but now, because of the proclamation of a state of emergency, this assumption does plus, "said the AFP news agency on ministre-adjoint of Information Tariq Azeem.
fyi
BUMP
This could be huge... and bad..or not
In countries where coups are seen as reasonable options, dictators should really get used to the idea of showing they are still alive and in control.
Update
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2007/11/05/afx4298721.html
>>Pakistan denies rumours Musharraf under house arrest - UPDATE<<
>>This is not true. There is no truth in it. He is at Aiwan-e-Sadr (the presidential palace) and has met with foreign diplomats,’ a senior government spokesman told Agence France-Presse.<<
my take on all this is if the pak military stays cohesive, then this state of emergency should blow over. however, if it doesn’t - oh boy. let’s just see how persistent this rumor is, or if it goes away
Thanks....late getting here....
As far as I can tell, there has been nothing else to suggest that there is any truth to the rumor. Pajamasmedia has a report up that gives some information:
http://pajamasmedia.com/2007/11/uncertainty_and_fear_in_pakist.php
No hint of anything about Musharraf under house arrest.
Lawyers Beaten, Arrested At Pakistani Protests
***********************EXCERPT************************
police beat and arrested lawyers protesting the emergency rule of Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad today. The Islamist party leader Liaqat Baloch estimates that 500 members have been imprisoned, a fate he narrowly avoided by fleeing Lahore:
************************EXCERPT************************
Despite the obvious preparation Musharraf made in issuing the emergency order, the disorder has prompted some chaos. Musharraf himself became the object of a rumor that he had been deposed in a countercoup. He spoke with Reuters at the presidential building to laugh off the suggestion:
But rumours in several Pakistani cities this morning suggested he had been detained by members of his own staff angry at the clampdown.Gen Musharraf quickly laughed off the suggestions. "It is a joke of the highest order," he told the Reuters news agency from the Presidency building in Islamabad today.
The West appeared slow to respond on Saturday, but amplified their criticism yesterday. Both the US and the UK announced publicly that aid to Pakistan would come under review, a warning that cash and other aid would shortly stop. Condoleezza Rice demanded a return to democratic processes and elections, but also said that counterterrorism remained a high priority.
The situation has turned ugly, and perhaps the best one can hope to see is the war against the Islamists turn serious in the border provinces. Unfortunately, Musharraf has probably enhanced the Islamists' credibility in his seizure of power and elimination of the independent judiciary. He may have thrown gasoline on a fire already out of his control, gambling that putting the military in firm control of the political process will lead to a stronger fight against the rebels. He might laugh off coup rumors at the moment, but I doubt he'll sleep easily at night for a long time.
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