Pakistani State of Emergency, 2007 - Events During The State of Emergency

Events During The State of Emergency

Opinion polls reflected strong public opposition to imposition of the state of emergency. 67% demanded General Musharraf's resignation whereas 71% said they opposed the suspension of Constitution. More than 70% people surveyed said that they were opposed to closure of private television channels, arrest of Chief Justices and mass arrests.

Islamabad:International broadcasts and local phones were blocked in some locations. Additionally, barriers and barbed wires were erected at important points in the capital.

Aitzaz Ahsan, a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), attorney and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was arrested at his home.: Key opposition figures and senior lawyers were also placed under house arrest. It should be noted that all were released in a couple of days time.

Hundreds of students joined in protests led by faculty of Quaid-e-Azam University; they were joined by scores of civil rights activists. Police presence forced students to 'flash demonstrations' and prompt disbanding.

Lahore: After the announcement of emergency, police acted swiftly to arrest thousands of lawyers, human rights activists and politicians. Crackdowns were made throughout the night of November 3 to thwart any opposition.

All members of the HRCP, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, including Asma Jehangir and Salima Hashmi were jailed. The Mall Road, where official buildings including Secretariat, Governor House, and the High Court are, remained barricaded at a number of points.

There were protests at all universities of the city, Pakistan's leading university LUMS, Punjab University, Beaconhouse National University, National College of Arts, Government College, Foreman Christian College and others. The students also led the fight on the internet where thousands of blogs unanimously denounced the State of Emergency.

Faisalabad: Heavy contingents of police were deployed in the eight major bazaars of the city and the district courts. Hundreds of lawyers, civil rights activists, journalists, media persons and political activists protested, prompting brutal use of force and baton charging by police. Police also sealed the courts and the press club.

Sialkot

Opposition leader khawaja mohammad asif, Member of the National Assembly (MNA), was placed under house arrest shortly after the declaration of emergency.He had been arrested, by order of the Pakistan Army, and taken to an undisclosed location. Khawaja Asif is a member of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML(N)), the party headed by exiled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif..He was elected for his third term as MNA from a PML(N) seat and is currently a member of Parliament of Pakistan

Peshawar

Army pickets were established in Peshawar, the capital of North-West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan. Hundreds of protesters joined processions led by the local Awami National Party forcing police to arrest all local political leadership of opposition parties to crush demonstrations.

Karachi

Reports from inside Karachi state that the situation remained peaceful and not entirely different than any other weekend.

Quetta

The police also picked up five lawyers from southwestern Quetta, who were known as staunch supporters of Chaudhry.

Nationalist opposition leaders Mehmood Khan Achakzai and Qadir Magsi were detained in their home towns in southern Pakistan.

• BBC: On 3 November 2007, BBC opened debate on the Emergency and more than 10,000 comments were received, many against emergency rule.BBC
• By the end of 5 November 2007 over 3,500 people had been arrested. Most of these were lawyers, civil rights leaders and members of the political parties. But almost all of them were soon released and by the time the emergency ended, all arrested had been released. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour also reported that a Pakistani UN official, Asma Jahangir, was among the judicial and political officials detained. The vast majority of the detained were released within a two-week period and the remainder released in the following days.
• On November 14, 2007, former cricketer and Opposition Leader Imran Khan arrived at Punjab University to take part in a protest with the students. However, Imran Khan's presence enraged some students, who felt he was attempting to take credit for their efforts and also because the students had previously made it clear that politicians were not welcome in their protests. As a result, some students of the Opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party manhandled Imran Khan soon after his arrival, locked him up in the University for around two hours, and later handed him over to the local police.

• While some Pakistani expatriates called 3 November 2007 a Black Day in the History of Pakistan, when General Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, other expatriate Pakistanis supported Musharraf's decision to impose a brief emergency rule in Pakistan and held pro-Musharraf rallies in London, Toronto, Brussels, and other Western cities.