The government of embattled Pakistani President Gen. Pervez
Musharraf said Thursday it may impose a state of emergency because
of "external and internal threats" and deteriorating law and order
in the volatile northwest near the Afghan border.
Tariq Azim, minister of state for information, said some
sentiment coming from the United States, including from Democratic
presidential hopeful Barak Obama, over the possibility of US
military action against al-Qaida in Pakistan "has started alarm
bells ringing and has upset the Pakistani public."
But it appeared the motivation for a declaration of an emergency
would be the domestic political woes of Musharraf, a key US ally in
the war on terrorism who took power in a 1999 coup.
His popularity has dwindled and his standing has been badly
shaken by a failed bid to oust the country's chief justice — an
independent-minded judge likely to rule on expected legal
challenges to the Musharraf's bid to seek a new five-year
presidential term this fall.
The Pakistani government's comments on a possible emergency
declaration came hours after Musharraf abruptly announced he was
canceling a planned trip to Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday to
attend a US-backed tribal peace council aimed at curtailing
cross-border militancy by the Taliban and al-Qaida.
The decision to cancel the trip appeared linked to the
government's deliberations over declaring a state of emergency.
During a state of emergency, the government can restrict the
freedom to move, rally, engage in political activities or form
groups and impose other limits such as restricting the parliament's
right to make laws or even dissolving parliament.
"These are only unconfirmed reports although the possibility of
imposition of emergency cannot be ruled out and has recently been
talked about and discussed, keeping in mind some external and
internal threats and the law and order situation," Azim told The
Associated Press.
"I cannot say that it will be tonight, tomorrow or later. We
hope that it does not happen. But we are going through difficult
circumstances so the possibility of an emergency cannot be ruled
out," he added.
Pakistani television networks reported that a declaration of an
emergency was imminent, but other senior government officials said
no final decision had been made.
Azim referred to recent Pakistani military action against
militants in northwestern border areas that he said had resulted in
the deaths of many soldiers.
Meanwhile, Musharraf on Wednesday pulled out of a "peace jirga"
in Kabul that is to bring more than 600 Pakistani and Afghan tribal
leaders together with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
Pakistan's Foreign Office said Musharraf had phoned Karzai
Wednesday to say he couldn't attend because of "engagements" in
Islamabad, and that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would take his
place. Afghan officials said the jirga would proceed as planned
without Musharraf.
In Washington, the State Department said the US understands
Musharraf's decision to pull out of the planned meeting in
Afghanistan.
"President Musharraf certainly wouldn't stay back in Islamabad
if he didn't believe he had good and compelling reasons to stay
back," McCormack said. "Certainly we would understand that."
Musharraf is under growing American pressure to crack down on
militants at the Afghan border because of fears that al-Qaida is
regrouping there.
The Bush administration has also not ruled out unilateral
military action inside Pakistan, but like Obama, has stressed the
need to work with Musharraf.
On Wednesday, Obama was asked again about his views on
Pakistan.
"We can't send millions and millions of dollars to Pakistan for
military aid and be a constant ally to them and yet not see more
aggressive action in dealing with al-Qaida," he told reporters in
Oakland, Calif.
However, he did not repeat the most incendiary line from his
foreign policy speech last week when he promised: "If we have
actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and
President Musharraf won't act, we will."
On Tuesday night, Obama appeared to soften his position during a
debate with other Democratic presidential hopefuls.
"I did not say that we would immediately go in unilaterally.
What I said was that we have to work with Musharraf, because the
biggest threats to American security right now are in the northwest
provinces of Pakistan."
Obama and his spokesman could not immediately be reached for
comment Wednesday on Pakistan's possible declaration of a state of
emergency.
One of Musharraf's worries back home is a Supreme Court hearing
set for Thursday of a petition in which exiled former Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif — ousted in 1999 in the coup that brought
Musharraf to power — and his brother are seeking to be allowed to
return to Pakistan contest parliamentary elections due by early
2008.
Speaking from London to Pakistan's Geo TV, Shahbaz Sharif,
brother of Nawaz Sharif, said an emergency would be aimed at
stopping two "pillars of the country, two citizens of the country"
from coming back.
"This will be another blunder by Musharraf. There is no
justification, no basis for emergency," he said.
Another exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto — widely
reported to have met with Musharraf recently in the United Arab
Emirates to discuss a power-sharing deal — said that imposition of
emergency would be a "drastic" step that the government should not
take.
"This is a very big step. This kind of drastic step will not be
taken ... this will be a negative step for the restoration of
democracy," she told Pakistan's Geo TV from New York. "This will be
a retrogressive step and the country will go back."
An aide to the president said Musharraf was due to meet with
Cabinet ministers, the attorney-general and leaders from the ruling
party on Thursday to discuss whether an emergency should be
declared. He said he did not expect a declaration of an emergency
in the early hours of Thursday.
A senior government official said Musharraf had held several
meetings Wednesday with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, legal experts
and top figures of the ruling party and the leaking of possible
emergency plans indicated that it was a serious option.
Both the aide and the official spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the issue.
Under Pakistan's constitution, the head of state — the president
— may declare a state of emergency if it is deemed that the
country's security is "threatened by war or external aggression, or
by internal disturbance beyond" the government's authority to
control.
If a state of emergency is to be extended beyond two months, it
must be approved by a joint sitting of parliament, the constitution
says.
(China Daily via AP August 9, 2007)
