Pakistan may declare state of emergency

AP Photo: Pakistan military ruler President Gen. Pervez Musharraf addresses a news conference in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, in... Slideshow: Pakistan

By MATTHEW PENNINGTON, Associated Press Writer

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - 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 talk from the United States about the possibility of U.S. military action against al-Qaida in Pakistan "has started alarm bells ringing and has upset the Pakistani public." He mentioned Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama by name as an example of someone who made such comments, saying his recent remarks were one reason the government was debating a state of emergency.

But it appeared the motivation for a declaration of an emergency would be the domestic political woes of Musharraf, a key U.S. 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 U.S.-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.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke at length with Musharraf in a call that took place in the early hours of Thursday in Pakistan, a senior State Department official said. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, refused to discuss the substance of the 17-minute conversation.

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.

Violence has been rising in the lawless region where critics say a September 2006 peace deal with local Taliban has allowed Islamic militants to thrive. The U.S. has called the deal a failure, saying it gave al-Qaida an opportunity to regroup in the region.

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 U.S. 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 the 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.

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. SOURCE

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Associated Press writers Munir Ahmad and Sadaqat Jan in Islamabad, Pakistan and Jason Straziuso in Kabul, Afghanistan and Scott Lindlaw in Oakland, California contributed to this report.

Full Coverage: Pakistan

Off the Wires

• Afghan anti-terror meet opens without Musharraf AFP
  
• Obama expresses sympathy for Musharraf AP

Feature Articles

• Pakistan's Next Red Mosque Problem? Time.com via Yahooo! News, Aug 08
• Hypocrisy of Pakistan's ruling elite at BBC, Aug 07

News Stories

• Pakistan polio drive is suspended at BBC, Aug 08
• Fighting in Pakistan tribal area at BBC, Aug 08

Opinion & Editorials

• Musharraf in the Twilight at The Washington Post (reg. req'd), Jul 10
• Siege on the Red Mosque at TIME Magazine, Jul 10
  

The Challenges and Complications of Pakistan (pray for it's peace that you might have peace)

Who's Who - and - What's What??

Islamic Republic of Pakistan, West Pakistan

al-Qa'ida, al-Qaeda, al-Qaida, Qaeda, Base - an intensely anti-western terrorist network that dispenses money and logistical support and training to a wide variety of radical Islamic terrorist group; has cells in more than 50 countries

al-Rashid Trust - a terrorist group organized in 1996 after the Taliban took over Afghanistan and part of Osama bin Laden's international system; provides financial support for the Taliban and al-Qaeda and Jaish-i-Mohammed and assists Muslim militants around the world; established a network of madrasas and mosques in Afghanistan

Al Faran, Harkat ul-Ansar, Harkat ul-Mujahedeen, Harkat-ul-Mujahidin, HUA, Movement of Holy Warriors, HUM - an Islamic fundamentalist group in Pakistan that fought the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s; now operates as a terrorist organization primarily in Kashmir and seeks Kashmir's accession by Pakistan

Army of Muhammad, Jaish-e-Muhammad, Jaish-i-Mohammed, JEM - a terrorist organization founded in 2000; a militant Islamic group active in Kashmir and closely aligned with Al-Rashid Trust; seeks to secure release of imprisoned fellow militants by kidnappings

Fuqra, Jamaat ul-Fuqra, Tanzimul Fuqra - an Islamic terrorist group organized in the 1980s; seeks to purify Islam through violence; the cells in North American and the Caribbean insulate themselves from Western culture and will even attack other Muslims who they regard as heretics

Lashkar-e-Jhangvi - a Sunni Muslim extremist group in Pakistan that collaborates with al-Qaeda; the armed wing of Sipah-e-Sahaba

Al Qanoon, Lashkar-e-Omar - a terrorist organization formed in Pakistan in 2002 as a coalition of extremist Islamic militant groups including Lashkar-e-Taiba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Jaish-e-Muhammad and elements of al-Qaeda

Army of the Pure, Army of the Righteous, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Lashkar-e-Toiba, LET - the most brutal terrorist group active in Kashmir; fights against India with the goal of restoring Islamic rule of India; "Lashkar-e-Toiba has committed mass murders of civilian Hindus"

Sipah-e-Sahaba - a vicious sectarian organization in Pakistan that persecutes Shiite Muslims and collaborates with al-Qaeda to attack foreigners and to disrupt the government of Pakistan

Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad, MDI - a Sunni organization formed in 1989 and based in Pakistan; opposes missionary groups from the United States; has Lashkar-e-Tayyiba as its armed wing

Umma Tameer-e-Nau, UTN - a nongovernmental organization of Pakistani scientists that has been a supporter of terrorism; has provided information about chemical and biological and nuclear warfare to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda and the Taliban

madrasa, madrasah - Muslim schools in Bangladesh and Pakistan; "the Pakistan government decided to close down madrasas that provided military training for their students"; "many madrasas in Bangladesh are supported with money from Saudi Arabia"

panchayat, panchayet, punchayet - a village council in India or southern Pakistan

Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, Inter-Services Intelligence, ISI - the Pakistan intelligence agency; a powerful and almost autonomous political and military force; has procured nuclear technology and delivery capabilities; has had strong ties with the Taliban and other militant Islamic groups

Asian country, Asian nation - countries occupying the Asian continent

Punjab - a historical region on northwestern India and northern Pakistan

Jammu and Kashmir, Kashmir, Cashmere - an area in southwestern Asia whose sovereignty is disputed between Pakistan and India

Faisalabad, Lyallpur - city in northeast Pakistan

Hyderabad - a city in southern Pakistan on the Indus River

capital of Pakistan, Islamabad - the capital of Pakistan in the north on a plateau; the site was chosen in 1959

Karachi - the largest city in Pakistan; located in southeastern Pakistan; an industrial center and seaport on the Arabian Sea; former capital of Pakistan

Lahore - city in northeast Pakistan

Peshawar - city in northern Pakistan at the eastern end of the Khyber Pass

Rawalpindi - an ancient city in northeastern Pakistan; served as capitol of Pakistan while Islamabad was being built

Asia - the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to Europe on the west to form Eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations

Hindu Kush, Hindu Kush Mountains - a mountain range extending west of the Himalayas

Please, "pray the news"