[NYTr] Musharraf's Days Are Up

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

sent by Steven Robinson

International Viewpoint IV394 - November 2007
http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article1345

Pakistan  - Musharraf's Days Are Up

by Farooq Tariq

General Musharaf would have not thought of the political scenario that
has emerged after five days of the martial law he imposed on 3rd
November. His hopes for a normality of the situation have been dashed
even after he has used the most vicious repression against the
advocates and political activists. More unpleasant surprises will come
in future for the military regime who was used to a rather stable
political control until now.

After advocates, now students are emerging on the political opposition
to the military regime. Demonstrations took place on 7th November 2007
in most of the public and private universities mainly in the main
cities of Pakistan . "Student power rises from slumber" was the
headline of News International on 8th November. All the courts across
Pakistan are on stand still and Pakistan Bar Council has announced an
indefinite strike till the new Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO)
is withdrawn. There have been daily demonstrations by the advocates
across Pakistan . This is an extra ordinary militancy shown by the
middle classes during this period.

Most of the newspapers in Pakistan are full of stories of the arrests,
demonstrations and strikes of different actors of the society. But it
is the fifth day; no private television channel has been allowed to
telecast their broadcasting in Pakistan. You can only watch songs,
dances, sports and religious readings on different channels but no news
bulletin is allowed apart from the official Pakistan Television.

The most surprising opposition to the military regime has come from
Benazir Bhutto. She was in negotiation with Musharraf regime for a
power-sharing formula. But the advocate movements intervened in this
unholy alliance forcing Benazir Bhutto to come up openly against the
military regime. Almost half of the arrested advocates belong to
Pakistan Peoples Party. It left very little room for Benazir
maneuvering, playing games with the regime. She asked the Pakistani
masses to rise up against the martial law of General Musharraf.
"Restore the constitution or we will have long march from Lahore to
Islamabad on 13th November" she warned the regime. This resulted in the
arrests of Pakistan Peoples Party activists across the country. They
were spared by the regime in the first phase of repression started from
3rd November.

The media organizations of the bosses and employers are also joining the
mass movement after unprecedented repression against the electronic and
print media by the regime.

It was a black Monday on 5th November for the stock exchanges in
Pakistan. The stock exchange crash resulted a net loss of four billion
dollars in one day, unprecedented in the history of last 17 years of
the exchange.

His close imperialist friends from US, UK and European Union have been
forced to condemn this imposition of emergency, at least in word, for
the first time since 9/11. Any gross violation of human rights in
Pakistan since 9/11 was always an internal matter for the US
imperialism. Even Australian imperialism is also condemning the sorry
state of affairs of Pakistan and terming Musharraf "a dictator" for the
first time, a fact Pakistani people knew for eight years. But it seems
General Musharraf is trying to show his angry eyes even to his bosses,
the same way the religious fundamentalists are going out of the control
of the military regime in Pakistan . "You can never control a monster
for long time" it seems from the action of General Musharraf. The
Netherlands has suspended the aid to Pakistan and the US is reviewing
its relationship with the military regime, according to reports printed
here.

The movement is still growing in all sphere of life. This is despite an
unprecedented level of repression during the first five days of the
emergency; the real name is martial law. The police entered the office
of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan arrested over 80 social and
political activists who were discussion their strategy to oppose the
military action. This was unheard in past, that police will enter in
this most prestigious independent building in Lahore. Police went in the
buildings of Lahore High Court and arrested over 700 advocates from the
chambers of the judges, libraries, bar rooms and canteen. This was not
done even under the most brutal martial law of General Zia Ul Haque in
the eighties.

According to the home ministry in Punjab province, 1734 political
activists, journalists and advocates have been arrested during the
first four days of the martial law. Similar figures are stated by the
administrations of the other three provinces. This is the most brutal
repression of the opponents of the Musharraf regime during the last
eight years. The arrested advocates and political activists have been
charged with Anti Terrorist Act and they have been sent to far off
places from their home towns. No one can meet them.

Similarly repressive treatment has been the case of those judges of the
Supreme Court and High Courts of Pakistan who have courageously refused
to take oath under the new Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). They
are put under house arrest and their children are not allowed to go to
school. Doctors have been refused entry to their houses where they were
called for emergency treatments.

Police are raiding the houses of the advocates and political opponents
of the military regime on a regular basis. Pakistan has become a police
and military state in the real sense of the term. Police is seen
everywhere in the main cities. There has been an increase of thefts and
robberies during the last four days because police is only deployed to
curb the opposition of the regime.

General Musharraf is now having more opposition than ever among the
general public in Pakistan.

Musharraf is losing his internal and external support at a fast speed.
He has almost lost the support of his most recent friend, Benazir
Bhutto. The religious parties have been forced to de-link their long
lasting relationship with the regime. The old alliances and formations
are in crisis. This is a real crisis of the Pakistan state. The regime
is becoming more isolated day by day. Now, it is only two political
parties supporting the regime, it is Muslim League Q and Muhajir Qaumi
Movement, both are partners of the military government. But both are
hated more and more by ordinary citizens of Pakistan.

The path of repression to control the opposition is losing its weight
day by day. The state can not repress all the growing voices against
the regime. The implementation of a neoliberal agenda on a faster speed
has been marked by daily price hikes and growing unemployment. It is
brutal rule of the free market resulting the monopolizing the economy.
The growth of capitalist economy has not touched to the bottom line and
the bottom line is over 70 percent of the 160 million population.

Several activists of Awami Jamhoori Tehreek, the left alliance of seven
political parties and groups are under arrest including Nisar Shah,the
chairperson of Labour Party Pakistan. Abid Hassan Minto, the convener
of AJT and president of National Workers Party has asked all the left
forces to join the movement and fight the military regime. The Left is
not any more an insignificant force in Pakistan . The student uprising
against the regime is mainly the work of the left wing forces and
radical social activists.

The regime can not last long. The movement is on and is growing. The
advocates unprecedented courage has influenced many and they are taking
the road of active opposition.

The opposition to military regime will be strengthening by the active
solidarity of our friends and comrades outside Pakistan. The pickets of
the Pakistani embassies all over the world will be one the most
effective way of opposition. We are not alone, we know, but we need to
know more of it.

[Farooq Tariq is the general secretary of Labour Party Pakistan.]