The tug of war between dictatorship and chaos continues in Pakistan, as General Musharraf declares a state of emergency in order to ensure the extension of his rule. From the Wash Post:
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf declared emergency rule Saturday, suspending the constitution amid a heavy security presence, including armored personnel carriers, in parts of the capital.
"The chief of army staff has proclaimed a state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order," a newscaster on state television said in announcing the decrees, which referred to Musharraf as head of the army and did not mention his dual role as president.
In an emergency session, the Supreme Court ruled the move unconstitutional. But Musharraf reportedly suspended the entire panel when the justices refused to sign new oaths. He was expected address the nation later and cite continuing fighting in the turbulent Swat Valley as his reason.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry and the other judges remained in the courthouse Saturday evening as police blocked the road to the building. Chaudhry had been removed from the court by Muharraf earlier this year, but the court reinstated him in August.
"This is a very fateful day for the country. Pakistan is in deep, deep crisis," said Aitzaz Ahsan, Chaudhry's attorney. "It is one man against the nation." Ahsan said that he expected to be arrested later Saturday night.
Ahsan said Musharraf had declared emergency rule because he expected to lose an upcoming Supreme Court ruling on the future of his presidency. ...
... The United States had tried to pressure Musharraf on Friday to avoid declaring emergency rule or martial law, as violence continued in the country's troubled northwest with an explosion at a suspected insurgent hideout that killed 10.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday sent a warning to Musharraf not to take authoritarian measures to hold on to power. "I think it would be quite obvious that the United States would not be supportive of extra-constitutional means," Rice said. "Pakistan needs to prepare for and hold free and fair elections."
That message was followed by a previously scheduled meeting between Musharraf and Adm. William J. Fallon, chief of the U.S. Central Command.
Way to send a message, Condi. Then again, what else can the U.S. do? We're fighting a war next door, and Pakistan is a regional ally, such as they are. So what's behind the conflict between Musharraf and the court?
Musharraf won election last month to a new, five-year term as Pakistan's president. But the Supreme Court is still reviewing whether he was eligible to run in the first place.
Meanwhile, an op-ed in the Post today suggests a radical alternative: dissolve Pakistan altogether:
The Middle East and Near East are littered with put-together countries (Pakistan, Iraq,) and former British and French tributaries (Syria, Jordan...) which emerged from the wreckage of two world wars. However at the stage, there is no preeminent power that can alter these countries' courses. It wouldn't be wise to even try, as we'lve learned, painfully, in Iraq. All that the West can do now is seek to mitigate the blowback.
Unfortunately, we haven't done too good a job at that, either.
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%>
Tell a friend
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Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
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Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
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%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
