2008 Woodie Awards
Pakistani president declares emergency rule
by Sara Wahlberg
Issue date: 11/13/07 Section: News
Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan, joined journalists in the streets of Islamabad on Saturday to protest the emergency rule called by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Nov. 3.
The protest on Saturday was only part of the backlash against Musharraf, who has recently suspended the constitution, blacked out many independent television stations in the country and ousted the chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry.
Acting against the advisement of U.S. government officials, Musharraf implemented the emergency rule because the country's Supreme Court was likely to decide that it was unconstitutional for him to be elected president while simultaneously serving as Army chief of staff.
According to a report by The New York Times, Musharraf said he declared the emergency rule in the nuclear-armed country because of the need to fight terrorism and provide fair elections.
Bhutto, who recently returned to Pakistan to promote democracy in the scheduled elections, planned to protest in the city of Rawalpindi on Friday, before police suspended the rally and put her under house arrest, The New York Times reported.
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., issued a statement last week that called on the Bush administration, which gives billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan each year, to act quickly.
"President Bush should personally make clear to General Musharraf the risks to U.S.-Pakistani relations if he does not restore the constitution, permit free and fair elections and take off his uniform as promised," Biden said.
Frederic Grare, a visiting scholar with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said he thinks the United States will urge Musharraf to end the emergency rule, but will not cut off assistance.
"They are still convinced that [Musharraf] is somebody they can make business with and they are trying to protect him as the chief of the country," Grare said. "They wouldn't touch any of the money going to the army, because they said the money is supposedly going to the war on terror."
The protest on Saturday was only part of the backlash against Musharraf, who has recently suspended the constitution, blacked out many independent television stations in the country and ousted the chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry.
Acting against the advisement of U.S. government officials, Musharraf implemented the emergency rule because the country's Supreme Court was likely to decide that it was unconstitutional for him to be elected president while simultaneously serving as Army chief of staff.
According to a report by The New York Times, Musharraf said he declared the emergency rule in the nuclear-armed country because of the need to fight terrorism and provide fair elections.
Bhutto, who recently returned to Pakistan to promote democracy in the scheduled elections, planned to protest in the city of Rawalpindi on Friday, before police suspended the rally and put her under house arrest, The New York Times reported.
Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., issued a statement last week that called on the Bush administration, which gives billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan each year, to act quickly.
"President Bush should personally make clear to General Musharraf the risks to U.S.-Pakistani relations if he does not restore the constitution, permit free and fair elections and take off his uniform as promised," Biden said.
Frederic Grare, a visiting scholar with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said he thinks the United States will urge Musharraf to end the emergency rule, but will not cut off assistance.
"They are still convinced that [Musharraf] is somebody they can make business with and they are trying to protect him as the chief of the country," Grare said. "They wouldn't touch any of the money going to the army, because they said the money is supposedly going to the war on terror."
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