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Ottawa urges Pakistan to lift its state of emergency
Janice Tibbetts, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, November 03, 2007
OTTAWA - Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Maxime Bernier, urged the government of Pakistan on Saturday to lift its state of emergency, reinstate the fired judiciary and allow free and fair parliamentary elections to proceed as planned.
Bernier issued a statement in reaction to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's decision to impose a state of emergency and suspend the constitution to pre-empt a Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election victory amid escalating Islamist militant violence.
Bernier joined other world leaders and human rights groups who condemned Musharraf's move.
We are deeply concerned about this development and urge the government of Pakistan to cancel the state of emergency and the new provisional constitutional order immediately," said Bernier's statement, which did not name Musharraf personally."These measures undermine democratic development, judicial independence and the possibility of free and fair elections to which the people of Pakistan are entitled."
In Canada, Pakistani-Canadians had mixed reaction to the turn of events and their impact on relatives and friends in their homeland, where Musharraf, the country's military ruler, defended his decision by saying terrorism and extremism had reached their limit.
Pakistan's system of government had become paralyzed by judicial interference and he had imposed emergency rule to complete a transition to civilian-led democratic rule, Musharraf said in a pre-recorded television address.
"Pakistan has reached a dangerous point, and is undergoing an internal crisis," he said. "I fear that if timely action is not taken, then God forbid there is a threat to Pakistan's sovereignty. I cannot allow this country to commit suicide."
Musharraf appealed to the international community to understand the "criticality" of the situation and accept Pakistan needed time to reach the level of democracy enjoyed in the West.
"Please do not expect or demand your level of democracy which you learned over a number of centuries. Please give us time," he said.
He was awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether was eligible to run for re-election last month while still army chief.
In Ottawa, the president of the local Pakistan Canada Association, Javed Somra, criticized Musharraf's move.
"This is a power-grab by him so that he can stay there for as long as he can," said Somra, referring to Pakistan's upcoming Supreme Court ruling. "He came in through a coup and he is still clinging to it."
Somra said one of his big concerns is how the state of emergency will affect communications in the country.
"From what I understand, he suspended some telephone links to the outside world and also some of the news channels were blocked."
In Quebec, Pakistani-Canadian Bashir Hussain said there was strong support in the local community for Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency.
"We were expecting this," said Hussain, a Montreal-area resident and executive director of the Alliance of South Asian Communities. "Musharraf was moving slowly toward democracy and the Supreme Court chief justice was after him."
The head of the Pakistan-Canada Association in Vancouver, Farrukh Alam, said the situation is upsetting and "I just hope it doesn't lead to martial law."
Alam, a Vancouver resident, described the latest events as the sad outcome of a conflict between two men - Musharraf and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, whom Alam said should be reinstated because his firing "is a real backwards step for the country."
Alam estimated there are about 300,000 people of Pakistani origin living in Canada.
Athar Zaida, president of the Pakistan-Canada Association of Calgary, said the sensible solution is for Musharraf to lift the state of emergency and keep his word to have fair and free elections.
"Democracy is the only way of solving the problem rather than imposing one's own will," said Zaida.
Bernier, in his statement, also called on the government to respect the rule of law.
"We urge all sides to refrain from violence and respect human rights," said Bernier, who was not available for interview. "We also expect the government of Pakistan to continue in its efforts to improve regional security."
Janice Tibbetts, CanWest News Service
Published: Saturday, November 03, 2007
OTTAWA - Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister, Maxime Bernier, urged the government of Pakistan on Saturday to lift its state of emergency, reinstate the fired judiciary and allow free and fair parliamentary elections to proceed as planned.
Bernier issued a statement in reaction to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's decision to impose a state of emergency and suspend the constitution to pre-empt a Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election victory amid escalating Islamist militant violence.
Bernier joined other world leaders and human rights groups who condemned Musharraf's move.
We are deeply concerned about this development and urge the government of Pakistan to cancel the state of emergency and the new provisional constitutional order immediately," said Bernier's statement, which did not name Musharraf personally."These measures undermine democratic development, judicial independence and the possibility of free and fair elections to which the people of Pakistan are entitled."
In Canada, Pakistani-Canadians had mixed reaction to the turn of events and their impact on relatives and friends in their homeland, where Musharraf, the country's military ruler, defended his decision by saying terrorism and extremism had reached their limit.
Pakistan's system of government had become paralyzed by judicial interference and he had imposed emergency rule to complete a transition to civilian-led democratic rule, Musharraf said in a pre-recorded television address.
"Pakistan has reached a dangerous point, and is undergoing an internal crisis," he said. "I fear that if timely action is not taken, then God forbid there is a threat to Pakistan's sovereignty. I cannot allow this country to commit suicide."
Musharraf appealed to the international community to understand the "criticality" of the situation and accept Pakistan needed time to reach the level of democracy enjoyed in the West.
"Please do not expect or demand your level of democracy which you learned over a number of centuries. Please give us time," he said.
He was awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether was eligible to run for re-election last month while still army chief.
In Ottawa, the president of the local Pakistan Canada Association, Javed Somra, criticized Musharraf's move.
"This is a power-grab by him so that he can stay there for as long as he can," said Somra, referring to Pakistan's upcoming Supreme Court ruling. "He came in through a coup and he is still clinging to it."
Somra said one of his big concerns is how the state of emergency will affect communications in the country.
"From what I understand, he suspended some telephone links to the outside world and also some of the news channels were blocked."
In Quebec, Pakistani-Canadian Bashir Hussain said there was strong support in the local community for Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency.
"We were expecting this," said Hussain, a Montreal-area resident and executive director of the Alliance of South Asian Communities. "Musharraf was moving slowly toward democracy and the Supreme Court chief justice was after him."
The head of the Pakistan-Canada Association in Vancouver, Farrukh Alam, said the situation is upsetting and "I just hope it doesn't lead to martial law."
Alam, a Vancouver resident, described the latest events as the sad outcome of a conflict between two men - Musharraf and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, whom Alam said should be reinstated because his firing "is a real backwards step for the country."
Alam estimated there are about 300,000 people of Pakistani origin living in Canada.
Athar Zaida, president of the Pakistan-Canada Association of Calgary, said the sensible solution is for Musharraf to lift the state of emergency and keep his word to have fair and free elections.
"Democracy is the only way of solving the problem rather than imposing one's own will," said Zaida.
Bernier, in his statement, also called on the government to respect the rule of law.
"We urge all sides to refrain from violence and respect human rights," said Bernier, who was not available for interview. "We also expect the government of Pakistan to continue in its efforts to improve regional security."
