By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS
Islamabad : Citing growing militancy and judicial “interference” in government functioning, an embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Saturday declared a state of emergency, suspended the constitution, sacked 17 Supreme Court judges and told the nation his move was to “protect integrity of Pakistan”.
“We are at a grave stage in our history and have to take concrete steps to protect the integrity of Pakistan,” Musharraf said in a late night broadcast to the nation on state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV).
“I promise you that this step is for Pakistan. My guiding principle is: Pakistan first. I am sure the public will support me (in what I have done),” the president maintained.
He also attacked the judiciary for entertaining “all manner of petitions” that had “demoralized” the security forces in the war against Islamist militancy in the country.
Musharraf had issued a proclamation earlier Saturday evening declaring a state of emergency.
“Whereas there is visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks…whereas there has been increasing interference by some members of the judiciary in government policy, adversely affecting economic growth, in particular… I hereby order and proclaim that the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan shall remain in abeyance,” Musharraf said.
Prior to this, a terse announcement on PTV at 6.10 p.m. said: “The chief of the army staff (Musharraf) has proclaimed state of emergency and issued provisional constitutional order (PCO).
All private news channels were immediately taken off the air after the announcement.
The US was quick to condemn the emergency declaration, with Secretary of State Condollezza Rice describing the move as “regrettable”.
India reacted guardedly, saying it regrets “difficult times” in Pakistan even as it hoped for a quick return of normalcy and democracy in Islamabad.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and seven other Supreme Court judges were taken into custody after they termed the PCO illegal. Troops took them away to an undisclosed location.
All the 17 Supreme Court judges were given individual letters saying their services were “no longer required”, even as Abdul Hameed Dogar was sworn in as the new chief justice along with five other judges.
Under the PCO, the constitution has been suspended and the federal cabinet under Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz ceases to exist.
This is the second time Musharraf has declared a state of emergency. He had previously done so on Oct 12, 1999 after he overthrew prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup.
Musharraf’s move Saturday comes in the face of increasing Islamist activity in the country and a possibly adverse Supreme Court verdict against his eligibility to hold office for a second term.
Militants aligned to the Taliban and Al Qaeda have virtually taken over the picturesque Swat Valley in the North West Frontier Province, capturing large numbers of Pakistani Army troops and demanding the imposition of Sharia law in the region.
This apart, there have been a spate of suicide bombings in the country, the most recent in Rawalpindi Thursday in which seven Pakistan Air Force personnel were killed.
The Supreme Court was hearing a clutch of petitions against Musharraf’s eligibility to contest the Oct 6 election for a second term in office. The court had permitted the balloting to take place but had ordered that the result be withheld till it decided on the petitions against Musharraf.
With all the judges now sacked and a new set now in place, the fate of the petitions was not immediately clear.
The court was to have delivered its verdict by Nov 2 but this had got delayed as arguments by the two sides took inordinately long. The court would not have sat all of next week as one of the 11 bench members has taken leave in view of his son’s wedding.
Chief Justice Chaudhry had withdrawn from the bench given his sacking and later reinstatement earlier this year. Judge Javed Iqbal headed the bench.
The hearing was to have resumed on Nov 12, while Musharraf’s term would have expired Nov 15. Pakistan’s constitution provides for the president to remain in office till his successor takes oath.
Faced with such a situation, there had been veiled hints that Musharraf would not only remain in office but also continue to wear the army chief’s uniform that he had promised to shed before beginning his second term.
At least two federal ministers had dropped broad hints that Musharraf would impose martial law or an emergency if the court verdict went against him.
Given this, it is not surprising that Saturday’s PTV announcement referred to Musharraf as the army chief and not as the president.
Musharraf’s move is seen as a direct slight to US President George Bush, who had sent a top military commander to Islamabad to warn against any such drastic step.
At his meeting with Musharraf here Friday, Admiral William J. Fallon, who heads the US Central Command, had warned him against imposing an emergency, saying this would jeopardize the extensive American financial support for the Pakistani military.
Informed sources said military and paramilitary troops were deployed at all government buildings including those of PTV, Radio Pakistan and the Supreme Court ahead of Musharraf’s announcement.
A government official said that the Judges Colony, where almost all Supreme Court judges reside, was surrounded by soldiers.
“Troops have been deployed at all government buildings including the Judges Colony,” the official told IANS.
Under the PCO all executive powers have been transferred to Musharraf.
Lawyers who have been protesting against Musharraf were undaunted by the announcement.
“Whether it is martial law or emergency, lawyers would be on streets and continue their struggle against the military dictator,” Aitzaz Ahsan, newly elected chief of the Supreme Court Bar Association, told IANS.
He said he was going to meet his colleagues and would announce their strategy after the meeting. He was, however, soon taken into custody.
Leaders from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), which is in power-sharing negotiations with Musharraf, were reluctant to react. “I heard it on television, let’s see what actually is,” PPP leader Babar Awan told IANS.
PPP chief Benazir Bhutto who returned home from self-exile Oct 18, left the country Nov 1 ostensibly to meet her children in Dubai. She has said she would return on Nov 9. Following the announcement of emergency, she, however, rushed to Karachi.
Another former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who had been deported from Islamabad airport when he had tried to make a return from his exile in Saudi Arabia, told TV channels from Jeddah that this was the “gravest situation being faced by the country in the last 60 years”. He feared that Pakistan was “heading towards chaos”.