MikeLigalig.com

SLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 6 — In a telephone address to lawyers in Pakistan’s capital, the ousted chief justice of the Supreme Court urged the lawyers today to continue to defy the state of emergency imposed by the president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. In the second day of protests, clashes broke out between hundreds of lawyers and Pakistani police in the eastern city of Multan.

“The constitution has been ripped to shreds,” the chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, told dozens of lawyers before his cellular phone line was cut. “I am under arrest now, but soon I will also join you in your struggle.”

It was unclear how Chief Justice Chaudhry, who is under house arrest, was able to gain access to a telephone. He and other lawyers said they hoped to recreate the protest campaign they carried out this spring when the lawyers mounted big rallies in major cities after General Musharraf removed Chief Justice Chaudhry from the Supreme Court bench. He was reinstated after four months.

But government officials showed no signs of yielding to the protesters today. The government ignored the request by President Bush on Monday that General Musharraf immediately end the country’s state of emergency that was imposed on Saturday and prepare for elections as planned in January.

Citing a need to limit terrorist attacks and ”preserve the democratic transition”, General Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Saturday night, suspending the Constitution, dissolving the Supreme Court and the four provincial High Courts, and silencing privately-owned television news channels. He also threw into doubt the nationwide elections that had been scheduled for January.

After saying on Monday that elections would be held in January, aides to General Musharraf gave conflicting signals today about the election timetable.

“It will take some time,” said Sheikh Rashid Ahmad, a Cabinet member who is close to General Musharraf, the Associated Press reported.

Mr. Ahmad said General Musharraf wanted to hold the election in January, but “some elements want them to be delayed for a year.”

The country’s main political parties, meanwhile, continued to deliberate on whether to join the street protests, which so far have been led by the lawyers.

The leader of the country’s largest opposition party, Benazir Bhutto, was scheduled to fly from her home city of Karachi to Islamabad on Tuesday evening. On Wednesday, she is to meet with other civilian political leaders but she said she will not meet or negotiate with General Musharraf.

“No and nor do I intend to meet Musharraf," she told reporters at Karachi airport before boarding a flight to Islamabad, Reuters reported.

Mrs. Bhutto’s party has scheduled a protest rally on Friday just outside the capital. But so far, the lawyers are the only group that has mounted consistent protests against the state of emergency, and the clashes with police continued today.

In the eastern city of Multan today, riot police prevented 1,000 lawyers from leaving the court building to carry out a street rally, according to Pakistani journalists. The lawyers and the police then hurled stones at each other.

In a separate clash, police stormed Multan’s High Court and arrested at least six lawyers.

In Islamabad, several dozen lawyers protested inside the city’s court complex after listening to Mr. Chaudhry’s telephone call. They made no attempt to break through dozens of police who gathered to prevent them from carrying out street protests. After shouting anti-Musharraf chants for thirty minutes, the demonstration ended peacefully.

In his call to lawyers, Chief Justice Chaudhry said, “Go to every corner of Pakistan and give the message that this is the time to sacrifice," The Associated Press reported. “Don’t be afraid. God will help us and the day will come when you’ll see the constitution supreme and no dictatorship for a long time,” he said.

Potential problems for General Musharraf emerged on another front as well. On Monday, the Karachi Stock Exchange, the country’s largest stock market, declined by 4.6 percent — its heaviest ever single day loss, according to Pakistani media reports. And Standard & Poor’s, the credit rating agency, revised its credit ratings outlook for Pakistan from stable to negative.

The ratings agency blamed political upheaval caused by the government’s declaration of emergency “and its potential impact on economic growth, fiscal performance, and external vulnerability.”.

Western diplomats continued to pressure General Musharraf to end the state of emergency and hold free elections. Anne W. Patterson, the American ambassador to Pakistan, visited the country’s election commission today and urged the election commissioner to announce elections for January 15.

”I urged the commissioner to announce the election schedule as soon as possible to reassure the people of Pakistan and the international community,” Ms. Patterson said. “As President Bush has said, we urge President Musharraf to restore democracy as quickly as possible.”

Linkback: https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=6100.0