Just saw the news. Putting up some links.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/10/news/Pakistan-Bombing.php
http://www.guardian.co.uk/pakistan/Story/0,,2238322,00.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Pakistan-Bombing.html?hp
Archive for the 'Pakistan' Category
Suicide bomber hits Pakistani High Court
Published by January 10th, 2008 in Pakistan and Panic time. 3 CommentsAfter Bhutto’s Murder- Policy Briefing by the International Crisis Group
Published by January 4th, 2008 in News, Pakistan and benazir bhutto. 4 CommentsPolicy Briefing
Asia Briefing N°74
Islamabad/Brussels, 2 January 2008
After Bhutto’s Murder: A Way Forward for Pakistan
I.
OVERVIEW
How a ‘wisp of a girl’ conquered Pakistan- Mohammed Hanif
Published by December 30th, 2007 in Pakistan, benazir bhutto and guest writer. 0 CommentsIt is with great pleasure that I introduce Mohammed Hanif and welcome him to SMC. Hanif is the editor of BBC Urdu and the author of the much awaited novel ‘A Case of Exploding Mangoes.‘ This article was first published in the New York Times.
WITH half her adult life spent either in exile or in prison, Benazir Bhutto might have lived like a medieval princess, but she died like an ordinary, modern Pakistani. When the assassin struck, Ms. Bhutto, the former prime minister, was doing what so many Pakistanis most love to do: electioneering.
Two months earlier, when she had arrived in Karachi after eight years in exile, there were legitimate questions about her democratic credentials. Even her die-hard supporters were embarrassed by her blatant deal with Pakistan’s military ruler, President Pervez Musharraf, the very man who had publicly vowed that she would never return to the country.
Yet when she arrived at the Karachi airport, her reception was spectacular — the biggest street party the city had seen in decades. My friend Moeen Qureshi, a lapsed Bhutto supporter, took his children to the rally “just out of curiosity, to relive my youth.†Fortunately, he left before two suicide bombers struck her convoy, killing more than 130. “This woman,†Mr. Qureshi told his children as they later watched Ms. Bhutto on TV being sped away from the devastation, “is bulletproof Bhutto.â€
Benazir’s “not unexpected death”- An analysis by Prof. C.M.Naim
Published by December 29th, 2007 in Death, Pakistan, Uncategorized and benazir bhutto. 0 CommentsAn analysis by Prof Naim forwarded by a friend. This is from chapatimystery.com
Almost every report or commentary on Benazir Bhutto’s assassination that I have seen or heard today included in its first or second sentence: ‘it was not unexpected.’
The commentators who began by saying that the assassination was not unexpected offer various suspected assassins: Extremist Muslims, if they are from the West; Extremist Muslims, if they are English language journalists in Pakistan; Pervez Musharraf and his coterie, if the writer is a member of the PPP. I didn’t read any Urdu journal today but I can guess fairly assuredly that their list of suspects would go like this: Pakistani Army and the CIA, if the journalist is writing in Urdu, but has a moderate bent of mind; Israel and the CIA, if the Urdu journalist is not concerned with moderation; and Israel, India, and the CIA, if the journalist really knows his niche audience. I didn’t bother to find out what the White House said, for I know their response too: the Terrorists did it. I couldn’t avoid hearing the Democrat candidates in one report, they kept saying: it was the Alkeda. No matter who the suspect party, the motive in every case was understood to be the same: ‘They’ wished to cause instability in Pakistan. The American pundits were, naturally, more concerned with its effect on the GWOT.
the tangled web we weave…
Published by December 29th, 2007 in Death, Pakistan and benazir bhutto. 0 CommentsAs the government changes its official version of the assassination for the third or fourth time, many questions remain unanswered.Yesterday things took a turn to the absurd with the Press briefing of Brig. Javed Iqbal Cheema revealing the elaborate plot- There were no bullets that hit Bhutto, she died of a skull fracture as a result of hitting her head on the sunroof of the car. The assassin had fired bullets but missed and then went on to blow himself up. Not that one was desperate for evidence that proved the contrary but today’s report in the CNN has a close associate of Benazir who washed her body before burial saying that there were clear bullet wounds in the head region. Hadn’t the same Interior Ministry said on friday that she died of bullet wounds to the neck but by the evening it was a shrapnel and then finally hitting her head on the roof of the car. By the weekend we might even hear that she just suffered bad health and died of natural causes! In a very swift intelligence operation, a phone call is intercepted in which the mastermind according to the Ministry, Baitullah Mehsud is heard owning up to the assassination. Here is the transcript of the the “alleged” phone call as Dawn rightly puts it.
“Nothing will, god willing happen”
Published by December 29th, 2007 in Death, Pakistan and benazir bhutto. 0 CommentsFrom Dawn.com.
NEW YORK, Dec 28: It was a story CNN’s Wolf Blitzer hoped he would never have to report — an email sent through an intermediary to him by Benazir Bhutto complaining about her security. Conditions of use: only if she were killed.
Ms Bhutto wrote to Wolf Blitzer that if anything happened to her, “I would hold (President Pervez) Musharraf responsible.†Mr Blitzer received the email on Oct 26 from Mark Siegel, a friend and longtime Washington spokesman for Ms Bhutto.That was eight days after she narrowly escaped an attempt on her life on Oct 18.
Benazir Bhutto wrote to Blitzer: “I have been made to feel insecure by his (Musharraf’s) minions,†that specific improvements had not been made to her security arrangements, and that the president was responsible.
Blitzer agreed to the conditions before receiving the e-mail. He said on Friday that he called Siegel shortly after seeing it to see if there was any way he could use it on CNN, but was told firmly it could only be used if she were killed. Siegel could not say why she had insisted on those conditions.
There are just speculations out there right now. But a small paragraph in NYT caught my attention. It sounded more plausible than one man walking up to Benazir, pumping bullets into her and then carrying out a suicide attack by detonating himself.
But witnesses described a sniper firing from a nearby building, raising questions about how well the government had protected her in a usually well-guarded garrison town and fueling speculation that government sympathizers had played a part. … There were differing accounts of the attack. Zamrud Khan, a member of her party, said Ms. Bhutto was shot in the head from gunfire that originated from behind her car in a building nearby. Seconds later a suicide bomber detonated his bomb, damaging one of the cars in her motorcade and killing some 15 people on the ground, Mr. Khan said. … Apparently no autopsy was done, because the police did not request one, Dawn TV reported. Lawyers calling for an international neutral investigation are raising questions about the speed with which Ms. Bhutto’s body was moved. The body arrived in her southern home province, Sindh, before dawn, party officials told Agence-France Presse.
Its quite a long article and you can read the entire thing here.
A tragedy born of military despotism and anarchy- Tariq Ali
Published by December 28th, 2007 in Death, Pakistan and benazir bhutto. 0 CommentsTariq Ali in the Guardian today.
A tragedy born of military despotism and anarchy
The assassination of Benazir Bhutto heaps despair upon Pakistan. Now her party must be democratically rebuilt
Tariq Ali
Friday December 28, 2007
The Guardian
Even those of us sharply critical of Benazir Bhutto’s behaviour and policies - both while she was in office and more recently - are stunned and angered by her death. Indignation and fear stalk the country once again.An odd coexistence of military despotism and anarchy created the conditions leading to her assassination in Rawalpindi yesterday. In the past, military rule was designed to preserve order - and did so for a few years. No longer. Today it creates disorder and promotes lawlessness. How else can one explain the sacking of the chief justice and eight other judges of the country’s supreme court for attempting to hold the government’s intelligence agencies and the police accountable to courts of law? Their replacements lack the backbone to do anything, let alone conduct a proper inquest into the misdeeds of the agencies to uncover the truth behind the carefully organised killing of a major political leader.
Benazir Bhutto Dead
Published by December 27th, 2007 in Death, Pakistan and benazir bhutto. 2 CommentsWas reading the news about the suicide attack on a rally held by Benazir Bhutto. It said that she had escaped unhurt when the news came in that Benazir Bhutto is dead. From CNN just minutes ago.
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (CNN) — Pakistan former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has died after a suicide bombing that killed at least 14 of her supporters, ex-government spokesman Tariq Azim Khan and Pakistan’s primary television networks said. Bhutto suffered bullet wounds in the aftermath of the bomb attack, TV networks report.
Video of the scene just moments before the explosion showed Bhutto stepping into a heavily-guarded vehicle the video report on NDTV.com
*UPDATE* Video obituary on CNN
Aftermath of the attack on CNN
From Adnan Sattar this poster and update on Muneer Malik.
This is the brave face of defiance that is Muneer A. Malik, ex-President Supreme Court Bar Asociation. Malik played an instrumental role in the lawyers’ movement and galvanized people through his fearless speeches. Following the November 3rd coup, he was among the first people to be bundled up and transferred to jail, of course without any charges, let alone a trial. On Saturday last, he was rushed to a hospital in Islamabad with kidney failure. We met him in the hospital where he was getting a dialysis. Malik maintains the authorities knew all along he was a kidney patient but provided him no medical support till his kidneys stopped functioning. He also underwent psychological torture in jail. His condition is still serious but stable.
Walk the talk:Pakistan talk shows take to the road
Published by November 24th, 2007 in Pakistan, censorship and journalists and reporters. 1 CommentThe recent ban on news and current affairs related talk shows in Pakistan has generated creative responses. The latest being that the hosts of these various talk shows have now in the face of the ban simply taken the show out of the studios on to the road. Talat Hussain from AAJ TV and Hamid Mir from Geo amongst others are running their shows from street corners and pavements. An excerpt from a news story:
One of Pakistan’s most popular political TV chat shows, Capital Talk, had an impressive collection of panelists for yesterday’s show, including a retired general and a senator.
Hamid Mir, a leading Pakistani journalist and the program’s host, orchestrated a lively debate, engaging the audience with his usual skill. The familiar theme music introduced and ended the program, which focused on the most popular topic in the country: the emergency measures and the January election.
But the program was not filmed yesterday as usual in the studios of the popular Geo television channel. There was no point. Geo has been pulled off the air. Instead, the show was set up on the pavement outside the studio building. Instead of playing to millions of viewers, Capital Talk was seen by only the few dozen who gathered on the street to watch and a small number tuning in via the Internet.
Images of Protest II- Asad Zaidi
Published by November 23rd, 2007 in Pakistan, Panic time and photography. 0 Comments
Our friend ADNAN SATTAR has sent us these images from the Islamabad Protests. The march was led by Justice Wajihuddin Ahmed, former High Court Chief Justice who was also lawyers’ nominee for presidential elections and later the main petitioner challenging Musharraf’s candidature. All photographs are by Asad Zaidi. Adnan also recommended reading this article in today’s DAWN by Kuldip Nayar. Read Below
A society without remorse
By Kuldip Nayar
HUMAN rights activist Asma Jehangir has a point when she regrets the silence of Indian civil society on the happenings in Pakistan. Although there is a groundswell of sympathy — and concern — in the country for the people facing the emergency-cum-martial law yet visible public response is lacking.
There has been no demonstration, no protest rally, not even a meeting to express solidarity.
Lawyers should have passed a resolution at every bar association in the country. Only a couple of high courts have done so. Aitzaz Ahsan was a guest when he visited Delhi High Court some years ago. Still the bar has not held any meeting to recall his visit or issued a statement when he languishes in solitary confinement.
The PEMRA code of conduct
Published by November 21st, 2007 in Pakistan, censorship and journalists and reporters. 0 CommentsHere is an excerpt from the new code of conduct for the Media in Pakistan:
(k)Â Â Â ensure that no anchor person, moderator or host propagates any opinion or acts in any manner prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan or sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan.
…(m) not broadcast anything which defames or brings into ridicule the Head of State, or members of the armed forces, or executive, legislative or judicial organs of the state;
The entire text can be found here.
“Hamare mulk mei sab fit hai…”
This has to be watched. The new regulations for the media is only making them better.
is quite an art. And I heard some very good ones in the London protest (both the Daily Mail and Telegraph made it a point to note in their report that they found the protesters quite noisy!!! Nahi Chalegi Nahi Chalegi…) against Martial Law in Pakistan on the 10th of Nov at Downing Street. I cannot even attempt a translation but would be grateful if one of you gave it a shot.
Hairat hai bhai Hairat hai, General bara begairat hai
(While this was a popular one everybody also agreed that isme koi khaas hairat ki baat bhi nahin)
Kali suit Kali tie, Musharraf teri shyamat aayee
Yeh jo dehshatgardi hai, iske peeche vardi hai
Sher Dekha Sher Dekha, Ali Ahmed Kurd dekha
Chief (Chief Justice) tere jaan nisar, beshumar beshumar
The other slogans were the more familiar ones like Lathi Goli ki Sarkar, Nahi Chalegi Nahi Chalegi. And a placard which read: ‘Shameless Puppet.’ Now thats not fair- one can either be a puppet or shameless. Aaah he is shameless about being a puppet! No…that’s still not right.
Anyway there is now a ring-tone available for your cellphone which a friend from Pakistan sent which goes -
Protest Rally- Free Pakistan Movement
Published by November 16th, 2007 in Announcements and Pakistan. 1 CommentRally - 18th November, Sunday
Infront of Pakistan High Commission
Lowndes Square, London
12 noon.
Speakers: Jemima Khan, George Galloway, Shahbaz Sharif, M Sarwar
New Blog: Academics for Freedom
Published by November 15th, 2007 in Announcements, Latest news, Pakistan, blogosphere and journalists and reporters. 1 CommentHere is a new blog called Academics for Freedom. Do check it out. Thanks to Masala Chai for the link.
Nomenclature is important here. This word, “emergency”, is being shoved down our throats to confuse us into thinking that what General Musharaff has done may be just a little less “unconstitutional” than it actually is. Yes, it is correct that the Constitution recognizes the word “emergency” and if certain conditions exist a “proclamation of emergency”, with limited consequences, may be made under the Constitution but in no case does the Constitution permit its own blanket suspension and it admits of no situation in which an army chief who is no more than the equivalent of a Grade 22 civil servant, may have a role in the governance of the country.
…So the only “Emergency” on November 3 was Musharaff’s own because it appeared certain that the Supreme Court would throw out his illegal and indefensible candidacy for President. What he has imposed on us as a result of this personal emergency is Martial Law. This is not a “sort” of Martial Law or “almost” “Martial Law”. It is Martial Law, full and complete, because that is what it is when an army general says “I decide”.
Images of protest - photos by Asad Zaidi
Published by November 12th, 2007 in Latest news, Pakistan and journalists and reporters. 5 Comments
Photo credits: Asad Zaidi
Call to all to join the movement by holding pickets and rallies outside pakistan high commission, the parliament calling for:a) Reinstatement of suspended judges;
b) Restoration of the Constitution;
c) Withdrawal of bans on private news channels; and
d) Ouster of General Musharaf from power now
DEMONSTRATION - Against the Imposition of Martial Rule in Pakistan, 10th November.
Published by November 9th, 2007 in Announcements and Pakistan. 0 Comments
DEMONSTRATION
Against the Imposition of Martial Rule in Pakistan
Stop Martial Rule in Pakistan!
Release all political prisoners now!
Restore the Judiciary!
Restore Democracy!
2pm
Saturday 10th November
Opposite 10 Downing Street
In the Islamabad protests day before yesterday
Published by October 1st, 2007 in Latest news, Pakistan, censorship and police. 0 CommentsJust had news that Adnan Sattar whom all of us have been reading regularly on our site was injured in the protest demonstration outside the Supreme Court in Islamabad. Friends tell me that he has two fractures on his wrist and ankle. However things slightly better now and he is now out of hospital. From one of his posts in a celebratory mood (the Supreme Court had reinstated the Chief Justice)-
“Even as we sang, swirled in joy, clapped and danced late into night while it poured heavily in Islamabad, we knew it was just the beginning of a long way to real political change in the country.” The movement for democracy and the protests continue in Pakistan.
The protests on the 29th of Sept. were against the approval by the Election Commission of General Musharraf’s candidacy for Presidential elections. Read the news here.
Note: While this video says Karachi, these are images from Islamabad
From another report today:
Two top police officials in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, and another city official have been suspended, the interior minister says.
Earlier the Supreme Court demanded their suspension following anti-government clashes on Saturday in which many people were injured.
From Marxist dialectics to the mystical, our man in Pakistan, Adnan Sattar delves into it all. Here he is, ruminating on one of the greatest poet and mystic, Bulleh Shah. Enjoy.
Adnan Sattar
Drench yourself in wine and feast on roasted flesh, O Bullah, break into the house of God and swindle this cheat of cheats,†wrote Baba Bulleh Shah, the great Sufi poet, the pride of Punjab, my adopted home.
The town of Kasur, an hour’s drive from Lahore is glowing with colours these days, the air filled with music as devotees from as far as Multan in the South and Amritsar in the West descend on Bullah’s shrine to celebrate his urs. Sidewalk artists, lunatics, junkies, philosophers, revolutionaries, Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, everyone can belong here. The sheer irreverence towards authority, the joy in ordinary delights of life, the assertion of individual autonomy…..that is the voice of Bullah and also the voice of Pakistan that lives in its villages and shanty towns, inner cities and suburbs.
Dha Day Jo Kujh Disda Par Kissay Da Dil Na Dhaween Rub Dilan Wich Wasda Tear down the Mosque, tear down the temple
Adnan Sattar is today a happy man. He has been working tirelessly protesting against the sacking of the Pakistani Chief Justice and is overjoyed at the Supreme Court verdict. While we celebrate with him, I must ask Adnan whether it is at all possible that the verdict was a way to kill the popular movement against Gen Musharraff. Meanwhile, read with Joy.
Adnan Sattar
DAY OF DELIVERANCE
Four months of rallying, picketing, negotiating cordons and barricades and full-throated slogan-raising did not go in vain after all. The Supreme Court of Pakistan yesterday (July 20, 2007) reinstated Chief Justice Iftekhar Chaudary declaring presidential reference against him to be without legal authority and ultra vires of the Constitution.
While a traditional legal historian would record the judgment as an assertion of judicial activism and independence in the catalogue of constitutional case law, I’m more inclined to go a step further and view it as an example of ordinary people acting as agents of legal transformation.
It is highly unlikely that the ruling would have been the same had it not been for massive public agitation that followed the suspension of the chief justice.
Everybody here must already have got the news about the Supreme Court judgement which reinstated the Chief Justice. Here is a video of the lawyers celebrating soon after they got the news. The four month long movement carried on by the lawyers would probably be remembered as one of the most successful democratic movements in Pakistan.
The Cable Guy
Published by June 3rd, 2007 in News, Pakistan, censorship and journalists and reporters. 5 CommentsEverybody here is quite familiar with the recent happenings in Pakistan and the ways in which Aaj TV has been at the centre of a huge censorship drama. In the recent months many TV channels in Pakistan have been taking a very critical posture vis-Ã -vis the State and the Army with reference to the current judicial crisis. On June 1, PEMRA (Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority) issued notifications to private TV channels to inform them of the decision banning TV coverage of the events related to the chief justice. Amir Wasim writing in the Dawn yesterday says,
The Pemra letter to the TV channels, a copy of which is available with Dawn, states: “No programme shall be aired which (i) is likely to encourage and incite violence or contains anything against maintenance of law and order or which promotes anti-national and anti-state attitude; (ii) contains anything which amounts to contempt of court; (iii) contains aspersions against the judiciary and integrity of the armed forces of Pakistan; (iv) maligns or slander any individual in person or certain groups, segments of social, public and moral life of the country; and is against basic cultural values, morality and good manner.†“You are, therefore, advised to refrain/desist from relaying programmes which deviate (from) Pemra laws and Code of Conduct. Non-implementation of the directives in this respect shall invoke legal action under Pemra Ordinance 2002 and rules/regulations made there under,†says the letter carrying the signature of Pemra director-general (enforcement) Rana Altaf Majid.
Law & Politics: Parameters of Public Action
Published by May 21st, 2007 in History, Pakistan, guest writer and journalists and reporters. 0 CommentsA post from our guest writer Adnan Sattar. This is an abridged version of an article published in The News.
Courtesy: BBC Urdu
Dictators ride to and fro upon tigers, which they dare not dismount. And the tigers are getting hungry.
–Winston Churchill
In the wake of non-violent protests against the chief justice’s removal, Pakistan’s Information Minister, Muhammad Ali Durrani, was repeatedly heard telling lawyers, legal experts politicians and activists not to ‘politicise the issue’. Advice to the same effect has also come our way from the prime minister and General Musharaf himself. While legal injunctions against commenting on matters sub judice can be understood, one wonders what right do the rulers have to tell people what they should and should not organise political struggles around.
These official statements implicitly seek to impose on people a very narrow and an exclusive legal interpretation of the events surrounding the chief justice’s suspension. They seem to be emanating from a misplaced belief that the government can hush the rising crescendo of public distrust and anger by stripping General Musharaf’s action of all political context and background. Nothing would suit the regime better than a muted populace willing to stand by as a silent spectator while it mops up all opposition to its present and future ambitions. If the people were to heed the official advice, they would be forced into inaction or, at best, compelled to view the government’s assault on judiciary as an innocuous, routine legal matter.
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