Facing a decision by Supreme Court judges that could have declared his continued leadership of Pakistan unconstitutional, President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency Saturday, suspending the nation’s constitution and firing the chief justice.
In a televised speech to the nation early Sunday, the president cited “interference” by the country’s judiciary and rising extremist violence in the country as the reasons for the declaration, which U.S. officials had warned against just a day earlier.
“Pakistan is on the verge of destabilization,” Musharraf insisted. “With all my conviction and with all the facts available to me, I consider that inaction at this moment is suicide for Pakistan.”
But U.S. officials called the move by their leading anti-terrorist ally in the volatile region “disappointing.”
“The U.S. has made very clear that it does not support extraconstitutional measures as they would take Pakistan away from the path of democracy and civilian rule,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said while en route to Tel Aviv from a conference on Iraq. “We would urge every one to be restrained and to avoid violence.”
There were no immediate reports of street violence, but soldiers reportedly were blocking the streets in sections of Islamabad, the capital.
Benazir Bhutto, the country’s leading opposition figure who had been negotiating a power-sharing deal with Musharraf, flew back to Pakistan on Saturday night from Dubai, where she had been visiting family. She called Musharraf’s declaration a bid to delay parliamentary elections scheduled for January.
An ally under siege
Musharraf, who seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999, has been a key U.S. ally in the war on terror. But over the past six months he sparked a growing political crisis when he tried to get rid of the country’s independent-minded chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry. The move set off protests across the country, easing only after the Supreme Court voted to reinstate Chaudhry.
As Musharraf has struggled politically, Islamic militants have gained strength in the remote tribal areas and even in the nation’s cities. Suicide attacks are now common. The extremist Taliban basically runs some remote districts near the Afghan border.
Washington has been accused of placing all its faith in Musharraf, considered to be a strongman who would do the U.S. bidding in the war on terror, regardless of domestic consequences. But in recent months, as Musharraf’s popularity has plummeted, the U.S. has publicly encouraged a return to democracy and free and fair elections.
Justices sidelined
On Saturday, after the announcement of emergency rule, private television stations were shut down and phone service temporarily suspended across parts of Pakistan’s major cities. Troops blockaded the offices of the Supreme Court, where the country’s top justices were gathered.
The justices, who had been expected to rule in 10 days on whether Musharraf violated the constitution in winning re-election last month while still serving as army chief, reportedly refused a request by the president to authorize the emergency. Instead, a majority issued an order declaring the state of emergency illegal.
Such independence by the judiciary is unprecedented in Pakistan. But, since voting to reinstate Chaudhry as chief justice in July, the Supreme Court has shown a growing willingness to oppose Musharraf.
Chaudhry was fired and immediately replaced Saturday, and he and 11 other Supreme Court justices were placed under house arrest. Five other judges agreed to sign a new oath to Musharraf.
Chaudry’s attorney also was arrested, and a handful of leading democracy advocates, including the chairman of the country’s human-rights commission, was put under house arrest.
A ‘setback’ for democracy
Lawyer and popular talk-show host Ayesha Tammy Haq said Musharraf’s declaration is “a huge, huge step,” throwing the country into a state that is “almost like martial law.”
But for Musharraf, the gamble is great. “This means curtains for him,” Haq said.
U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called the declaration of emergency “a sharp setback for Pakistan democracy” that “takes Pakistan off the path toward civilian rule.”
“President Musharraf has stated repeatedly that he will step down as chief of army staff before retaking the presidential oath of office and has promised to hold [parliamentary] elections by Jan. 15,” McCormack said. “We expect him to uphold these commitments and urge him to do so immediately.”
Bhutto, who last month returned to Pakistan to seek a political comeback after corruption charges against her were dropped, told reporters she planned to meet with other political leaders in an effort to get the state of emergency lifted.
Last month, nearly 140 people died in a suicide bomb attack on her during a rally in Karachi.
In recent months Musharraf has struggled with increasing pressure from emboldened Islamic militants, who have expanded their influence beyond the borders of Pakistan’s northwest tribal belt into regions like the adjoining Swat Valley.
On Thursday, 50 of what the president called “demoralized” Pakistani soldiers surrendered to militants in the hotly contested valley. They were released a day later.
Saying Pakistan is “going through a difficult stage,” Musharraf in his televised speech compared his actions to those of Abraham Lincoln, who he said violated the U.S. Constitution during the Civil War to preserve the union “by every indispensable means.”
“Whatever I do is for Pakistan,” he said. “And whatever anyone else thinks comes after Pakistan.”
In July, the president took on the country’s Islamic hard-liners by ordering troops to retake Islamabad’s Red Mosque, seized by militants. More than 100 people died in the raid.
Musharraf’s declaration of emergency rule Saturday comes a day after Rice on Friday warned the Pakistani leader against taking such action or any other non-constitutional measures to hold on to power.
U.S. policy may stay
But analysts suggest the U.S. is unlikely to withdraw the crucial support it provides Musharraf’s government.
While they have promoted a return to civilian-led democracy in Pakistan, U.S. officials also have been reluctant to back away from Musharraf, fearing a potential opportunity for militant Islamic groups.
Still, one senior administration official called Musharraf’s declaration one of a “series of mistakes.”
“This is not a good thing,” the official said. “There have been a series of mistakes by Musharraf, and this is one.”
The Pakistani president had in the past month shown some signs of openness to democratic reforms, including naming his successor for army chief.
Under Pakistan’s constitution, the country’s president cannot also serve as head of the army, though Musharraf, a general, has never renounced the title.
That conflict was one of the grounds for the Supreme Court’s deliberations as to whether Musharraf’s election last month to a new five-year term as president was constitutional. His current term expires Nov. 15.
———-
lgoering@tribune.com
bfang@tribune.com
