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NLG Pakistan Delegation
To download / read the preliminary report in PDF, please click here. Executive Summary Lawyers have been at the forefront of a civil society movement defending judicial independence, the rule of law and democracy in Pakistan. When President Pervez Musharraf placed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry on inactive status on March 9, 2007, Pakistan’s lawyers responded with mass demonstrations supported by large segments of society. The Supreme Court reinstated the Chief Justice in July 2007. But on November 3, 2007, the President, in his capacity as Chief of Army Staff, declared an emergency and issued the PCO suspending the constitution. The lawyers joined other members of civil society in protesting the action. An independent judiciary is fundamental to a free society. The delegation has concluded that any outcome short of restoring the judges serving on November 2, 2007 will have long-term negative impacts on the rule of law in Pakistan by subjecting the judiciary—and therefore the entire government and the country's 160 million people—to the whim of the executive. All media, especially the Urdu language media, remain restricted and face suppression, including outright state censorship. The repressive policies imposed by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), direct and indirect threats to media institutions and individual journalists, loss of advertising revenues, revocation of broadcasting licenses and, most insidiously, the chilling effects of these restrictions manifested by self-censorship, all limit the ability of the media to serve its essential functions. Particularly limited are the press's ability to shed light on official corruption and incompetence, substantive issues emerging in the upcoming parliamentary elections, concerns regarding their legitimacy and, notably, the ongoing government attacks on the independence of the judiciary and of the media itself. International media such as the BBC and CNN have remained comparatively free, creating a false impression of media freedom throughout Pakistan. However, the vast bulk of Pakistanis re ceive their news from Urdu television, which remains heavily censored. The delegation has determined that the restrictions on the media constitute a serious threat to Pakistan’s developing democratic institutions. The delegation has concluded that unless immediate, pervasive and fundamental changes are made concerning the nation's judicial system, including the enforcement of election laws and the creation of a truly independent election commission, the upcoming elections cannot be free, fair or transparent and are likely to fail to meet international standards. The electoral process appears to have been fundamentally corrupted from the outset due to the suppression of the media, the pervasive interference by local government officials in the election process and the fact that the Election Commission is beholden to the President. Furthermore, the absence of an independent juridical body to resolve disputes precludes the opportunity for impartial oversight. Facing such fundamental concerns about their legitimacy, elections are more likely to inflame tensions than resolve them and could potentially spark violence and further destabilize the country. Finally, many respondents noted the contradiction between U.S. rhetoric supporting democracy and the reality of its ongoing support for a military dictatorship, reflected in its failure to label the PCO a "coup," to demand reinstatement of the deposed judges, or to call for the elimination of media restrictions. Continued U.S. support for President Musharraf in the face of domestic and international criticism was often labeled “short-sighted.” In response to President Musharaff’s reported comment that he could not fight the West’s “War on Terror” with a free press and independent judiciary, deposed Justice Azmat Saeed retorted, “you cannot fight terrorism with State terrorism.” The delegation discovered a consensus that U.S. foreign policy has had negative impacts on several fronts. First, White House support for the ruling regime, notwithstanding its recent attacks on the rule of law, has severely undermined prior momentum within Pakistan towards, for perhaps the first time in its 60-year history, a sustainable and genuine democracy featuring an independent judiciary and a free press. Second, U.S. support for military rule in a time of potential democratic transition has inflamed anti-American sentiment and facilitated terrorism at its root, within the hearts and minds of extremists' potential recruits. Finally, U.S. national security interests in regional stability are suffering from the persisting uncertainty about Pakistan's constitutional crisis, magnified by the presence of a militant insurgency—one that, according to some local experts, is finding active support within the ruling Pakistani regime supported by the White House. The delegation suggests that U.S. policy should not focus on the perceived battle between democracy and “The War on Terror.” Rather, it should dedicate itself to advancing the values of democracy, rule of law and human rights over repression and autocratic rule. This view compels shifting U.S. policy away from support for military dictatorship and towards support of independent indigenous institutions that hold the greatest promise for building genuine democracy in Pakistan – and real security for its people, the people of the region and the entire globe. At a minimum, U.S. policy should promote the restoration of all judges deposed in November 2007; an independent media free of censorship; and the necessary preconditions for the upcoming elections to be free, fair, transparent, secure and scheduled with adequate notice for full participation by all voters and candidates. Click here to read the bios of the delegation members. |
Sign-On Statement
We share grave concerns about the ongoing constitutional crisis in Pakistan, and numerous pervasive threats to the legitimacy of its electoral process, the independence and impartiality of its judiciary, and the freedom of its press. We are dismayed by U.S. foreign policy towards the region, and demand action by Congress and U.S. civil society to rescind official U.S. support for President Pervez Musharraf. Message to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs We reject the legitimacy of the “Provisional Constitutional Order” (PCO) declared on November 3, 2007. The PCO, which suspended the constitution and imposed virtual martial law, was unconstitutional on its face and was rejected by Pakistan's Supreme Court shortly before 12 of its 17 Justices were removed from office. Similarly, the illegitimate removal of 60 senior judges throughout the country constituted a coup d'etat affecting 160 million Pakistanis. The casualties of martial law extend well beyond Pakistan's independent judiciary. Many people have died since the suspension of the country's Constitution, victims of the instability resulting from the escalation of internal tension and the clampdown on democratic dissent. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was one of many, and the crisis remains ongoing. In addition, journalists in Pakistan currently face censorship and both institutional and individual threats and intimidation. As a result, neither freedom of information nor any meaningful degree of transparency has survived the government crackdown. Unless pervasive and fundamental changes are made immediately to reverse the attacks on both the nation's judicial system and the press, the upcoming elections planned for February 18 cannot be free, fair or transparent. The process appears corrupted at the outset due to the suppression of media, inaccuracy of voter lists, the fact that the Election Commission is beholden to the President and the cloud on President Musharraf’s legitimacy. Finally, the absence of an independent judicial body to resolve disputes precludes the opportunity for impartial oversight. The elections will not confer a legitimate electoral mandate and could spark further violence throughout Pakistan. Official U.S. support for President Musharraf is based on claims that he is an ally in the "War on Terror" and the country's best hope for restoring democracy. Both premises are demonstrably false. First, Musharraf has, at best, a disappointing counter-terrorism record . Recent investigative reports have exposed rifts within the country's intelligence services, which have proven unable to rein in militants they – and the U.S. – once trained to suit their strategic objectives. Furthermore, contrary to the Pakistani government's public statements that it is fighting terrorism, journalists working along the Afghan border have alleged ongoing government support for militants. . In addition, nuclear proliferation by Pakistani authorities remains uninvestigated, and its potentially continuing scope remains unknown, despite being widely documented in the international media. Finally, U.S. aid amounting to over $10 billion has been squandered, with at least half having disappeared entirely. Is this the record of a strong U.S. ally on the "War on Terror"? White House claims that Musharraf is the country's best hope to restore democracy are similarly absurd. An independent judiciary is fundamental to a free society, as is a free press. Such independent institutions are of particular importance in Pakistan, where military rule, and the civilian administrations it has periodically interrupted, have lacked transparency and accountability while suffering from pervasive corruption and cronyism. Independent institutions, including the courts and the media, successfully emerged over the past several years. They asserted themselves, as they must in order for democracy to function, until Musharraf forcibly silenced them − with White House support − in November. This foreign policy decision is unconscionable and risks untold costs to the people of both Pakistan and the U.S. At the very best, it contradicts the Administration's claims to support democracy abroad and invites further terrorism around the world waged in the name of liberation from U.S. intervention. At the very worst, it risks civil war within a Muslim country which had made substantial strides towards democracy, and threatens the security of its nuclear arsenal. Thus, we call on the U.S. Congress, and in particular, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, to launch hearings into the role of U.S. foreign policy in supporting martial law and the November 3 coup d'etat, as well as the effects of the coup d'etat on Pakistani society, the legitimacy of its government, and institutions including its judiciary and press. Should these hearings demonstrate that democracy in Pakistan, and security interests shared by the U.S. and the international community, have suffered due to ongoing official U.S. support for President Musharraf, we demand the following: (1) the immediate suspension of all military aid to Pakistan; (2) the adjustment of diplomatic ties to reflect official U.S. disapproval of the unconstitutional PCO and officials beholden to it; and (3) official U.S. demands for the restoration of press freedom and the judges who served prior to the coup d'etat. Signed, To add your organization's name to the sign-on statement simply email your name and address to pakdelegation@lists.riseup.net. |