Musharraf To Lift Emergency, With A Caveat

Pakistani President Will Change Constitution So He Can't Be Brought Before Court

(CBS/AP)  President Pervez Musharraf will lift Pakistan's state of emergency Saturday, only after changing the constitution to ensure he cannot be hauled before a court, a senior official said, as lawyers held more protests against the retired general.

Musharraf purged the judiciary, jailed thousands of opponents and silenced television news channels after he suspended the constitution and declared emergency rule Nov. 3.

The U.S.-backed leader said he acted to prevent political chaos and give authorities a freer hand against Islamic militants. Critics accuse him of a last-ditch power grab before the old Supreme Court could declare his continued rule illegal.

Two suicide attacks killed three members of Pakistan's security forces in the southwestern city of Quetta on Thursday, state television reported.

Deputy police chief Rehmatullah Niazi confirmed two explosions near a checkpoint in the city, the capital of Baluchistan province, but had no details of casualties. Pakistan television said three members of the security forces were killed and seven were injured.

On Thursday, Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum told The Associated Press that the president, who has acknowledged he breached the constitution when he imposed emergency measures on Nov. 3, will amend the charter to protect his decisions from legal challenges.

Qayyum said government legal experts were finalizing the changes that would be announced before Musharraf lifts the emergency Saturday, but provided no details.

"The president will lift the emergency to restore the constitution and the fundamental rights," he said.

Parliamentary elections on Jan. 8 will decide who will form the next government. Opposition leaders Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, two former prime ministers who recently returned from years of living in exile, have hit the campaign trail this week after abandoning threats to boycott the balloting.

While Bhutto and Sharif are united in their opposition to Musharraf, they are longtime political foes who already have been squabbling about the best way to create an independent judiciary after Musharraf replaced the purged judges with ones who have rejected all challenges to the new four-year term he won in October from a Parliament stacked with his loyalists.

About 1,000 lawyers rallied in the eastern city of Lahore, chanting slogans against Musharraf and urging a vote boycott unless the government reinstates the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry and other independent-minded judges. About 800 lawyers, Islamists and rights activists held a similar rally in Multan.

Bhutto told reporters in Karachi that no other opposition party had approached her to form an electoral alliance, indicating that major maneuvering remains on who will have the numbers to put together a government.

Musharraf, who seized power in the 1999 coup, stepped down as army chief last month, meeting a key demand of the opposition and his foreign backers. He was sworn in as a civilian to begin a new five-year presidential term.

[sgtrds]

A Bush idea all the way. Sounds like a perfect plea bargaining position for Bush when he''s finally indicted for war crimes. He pleads guilty for no sentence. Personally I support the idea of him being tried in Iraq, with the same penalty Saddam got. He deserves worse, But I''d happily settle for him hanging. After a "fair" Gitmo style "enhanced interrogation" and trial of course.

[omarali50]

I can already visualize the statement from the American ambassador that will be issued after the polls:

"elections in Pakistani were substantially flawed, but the very fact that elections were held is a step in the right direction. We still feel General Musharraf is sincere in his commitment to eventual democracy and we hope that Pakistan will continue to move towards greater public participation yada yada yada. we hope the 22000 detained lawyers will be released soon and the 36 people allegedly beaten to death in yesterday''s unfortunate occurence in Lahore will be given a decent burial. We also hope that the banned TV networks will be restored and the journalists who were publicly undressed yesterday in Gujarat will get their clothes back very soon. Ambassador Patterson has offered to give one of her own skirts to the 3 PPP women workers who were stripped by the police in today''s unfortunate event in Larkana. We believe that everyone should look ahead instead of wallowing in the past. We hope that the 6th set of judges just appointed by supreme judge Malik Qayyum under the new revised amended PCO will strive for judicial independence and rule of law, principles upheld by the anglosphere since 1215 AD. We support the people of Pakistan, yada yada yada...

[j-whitman]

hillaryin08,,,, I guess you haven''t been watching the debates ---- Republicans have been trying to distance themselves from Bush months ago.
.. But it''s impossible for them to distance themselves from the damage done to our nation

[hillaryin08]

Question for you libs

If the Republicans distance themselves from Bush in order win back the Congress and Presidency next year is that going to be ok with you?

[sbb2211]

jh6379

"Its like he''''s using Bush''''s playbook or something."

It is more along Bill Clinton''s style; look at all the pardons he gave, especially to those that could point the finger at him if investigated. Buy ''em off, pardon ''em, or kill ''em.

[cyberus-2009]

"President Pervez Musharraf will lift Pakistan''''s state of emergency Saturday, only after changing the constitution to ensure he cannot be hauled before a court"

Please, don''''t give Bush any ideas.

Posted by rafterman1 at 08:52 AM : Dec 13, 2007
****************

Where do you think he got the outlines for the patriot act?