My favorite part about this story: "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged restraint on all sides and a swift return to democracy in Pakistan."
Return to democracy? Perhaps if Rice had been following the news in the 90s she may have noticed that Musharraf originally came to power in a military coup, after which he promised to return power to a civilian government as soon as possible. She might also have remembered that his government was condemned by the US until we decided we had bigger fish to fry in the region.
I ask myself for the ten thousandth time - why Pakistan, and not India, as our ally in this War on Terror?
Musharraf Declares Emergency in Pakistan
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Nov 3, 12:51 PM (ET)
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON
(AP) In this undated file handout photo from Pakistan's Press Information Department, Pakistan's...
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, suspending the constitution, replacing the chief justice before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president, and cutting communications in the capital.
Pakistan's main opposition leader, Benezir Bhutto, flew back to the country from Dubai and was sitting in an airplane at Karachi's airport, waiting to see if she would be arrested or deported, a spokesman said. Dozens of paramilitary troops surrounded her house.
Seven of the 18 Supreme Court judges immediately condemned the emergency, which suspended the current constitution. Police blocked entry to the Supreme Court building and later took the chief justice and other judges away in a convoy, witnesses said.
The government halted all television transmissions in major cities other than state-controlled Pakistan TV. Telephone service in the capital, Islamabad, was cut.
(AP) Soldiers arrive in front of the administrative center of the capital Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday,...
Full Image
A copy of the emergency order obtained by The Associated Press justified the declaration on the grounds that "some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive" and "weakening the government's resolve" to fight terrorism.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged restraint on all sides and a swift return to democracy in Pakistan.
The United States "does not support extraconstitutional measures," Rice told CNN from Turkey, where she was participating in a conference with Iraq's neighbors.
Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and has been a close ally of the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has struggled to contain spreading Islamic militancy that has centered along the Afghan border and spread to the capital and beyond.
Pakistanis have increasingly turned against the government of Musharraf, who failed earlier this year to oust Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry - the chief justice replaced Saturday.
The Bush administration said it was "deeply disturbed" by the developments, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.
"A state of emergency would be a sharp setback for Pakistani democracy and takes Pakistan off the path toward civilian rule," McCormack said.
Return to democracy? Perhaps if Rice had been following the news in the 90s she may have noticed that Musharraf originally came to power in a military coup, after which he promised to return power to a civilian government as soon as possible. She might also have remembered that his government was condemned by the US until we decided we had bigger fish to fry in the region.
I ask myself for the ten thousandth time - why Pakistan, and not India, as our ally in this War on Terror?
Musharraf Declares Emergency in Pakistan
Email this Story
Nov 3, 12:51 PM (ET)
By MATTHEW PENNINGTON
(AP) In this undated file handout photo from Pakistan's Press Information Department, Pakistan's...
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, suspending the constitution, replacing the chief justice before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president, and cutting communications in the capital.
Pakistan's main opposition leader, Benezir Bhutto, flew back to the country from Dubai and was sitting in an airplane at Karachi's airport, waiting to see if she would be arrested or deported, a spokesman said. Dozens of paramilitary troops surrounded her house.
Seven of the 18 Supreme Court judges immediately condemned the emergency, which suspended the current constitution. Police blocked entry to the Supreme Court building and later took the chief justice and other judges away in a convoy, witnesses said.
The government halted all television transmissions in major cities other than state-controlled Pakistan TV. Telephone service in the capital, Islamabad, was cut.
(AP) Soldiers arrive in front of the administrative center of the capital Islamabad, Pakistan, Saturday,...
Full Image
A copy of the emergency order obtained by The Associated Press justified the declaration on the grounds that "some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive" and "weakening the government's resolve" to fight terrorism.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged restraint on all sides and a swift return to democracy in Pakistan.
The United States "does not support extraconstitutional measures," Rice told CNN from Turkey, where she was participating in a conference with Iraq's neighbors.
Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup and has been a close ally of the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, has struggled to contain spreading Islamic militancy that has centered along the Afghan border and spread to the capital and beyond.
Pakistanis have increasingly turned against the government of Musharraf, who failed earlier this year to oust Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry - the chief justice replaced Saturday.
The Bush administration said it was "deeply disturbed" by the developments, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement.
"A state of emergency would be a sharp setback for Pakistani democracy and takes Pakistan off the path toward civilian rule," McCormack said.
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