The Emergency times Nov 13th, 2007 1

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The Emergency Times

(Photo courtesy Dawn)

Police baton-charge, arrest 48 students in Islamabad Protest

12-year old boy among arrested; students subsequently released
Z.H
Islamabad, Monday: A silent student led demonstration was held at three thirty in the afternoon, near
Shaheen Chowk in Islamabad. The protesters were mainly clothed in black, but some wore their school
uniforms – the majority being young students belonging to local schools, joined by civil society members. The
tape across our mouths was meant to symbolize the recent loss of the right to free speech. A few days earlier,
a student organization had been formed, which had discussed the demonstration that took place today in
great detail. We had decided that it would be silent as well as peaceful. Thus, we walked in the general
direction of the Parliament and attempted to cooperate with the police who intercepted us within forty five
minutes. Instructed not to move any further till the Magistrate arrived – the entire demonstration sat down on
a green belt in compliance. The Magistrate told us that we could not go any further and we must go back. We
had only begun to make our way back to our cars when we realized that the road had been blocked, and a
normally congested road was now deserted. Soon, trucks upon trucks of Punjab Police (around 600 of them)
began to arrive. As we made our way to the other side of the road while thinking of a possible way out we soon
found ourselves completely encircled. We decided to form a human chain as escape seemed impossible. The
male students who were on the outer ring were immediately baton-charged and arrested, while I, among other
female students struggled to rationalize with the women police – who appeared to empathize. Forty eight of
the boys (nearly all of those who were present) were loaded into vans and sent off to the nearest police station
(Margalla Thaana). Many of those arrested were minors, one being a 12-year oldWe made our way to the
senior police officer who had just appeared on the scene and apparently ordered the entire arrest. We
explained to him how we had been allowed to walk back, to which his response was a long and detailed
explanation of the much hated section 144. After two chaotic hours, in and outside the police station, where
now foreign media was present too, all those arrested were finally released. The students resolve has only
been strengthened as a result of this incident – we will continue to voice our opinions, as is our right, in a
peaceful and non-violent manner.

Disclaimer: This publication is not affiliated with or does not endorse any political party or social group. It is a humble
effort to inspire and make aware- for we together can make a difference in these troubled times.
Write to us at theemergencytimes@gmail.com. Our online version is on pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com
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Questions to ask as a Pakistani

Hard times for our country, still harder ahead. Existential questions need to be addressed more than ever
now, and honestly, by all of us, if we are to ever dream of salvaging the dream called Pakistan. How much are
we willing to stake for in this fight? More than ever, the country needs contribution from the privileged classes
that have a duty to give back now, or else face extinction as a proud nation and the indifference of history.
The concerted efforts of the students, lawyers and media is heartening, brings a heady rush to the numbed
senses. Despite systematic efforts by the state and establishment to prevent the people to become a dynamic
civil polity, the people have proven them wrong. The people of Pakistan are the wild card here, we have the
power to make or break the situation and we must always remember that. However, carrying out street
demonstrations is not enough, the movement has to sustain and become a force of its own. That should be
the goal and the guiding light, and to get there, hard questions need to be asked, ground realities need to be
addressed. Is it enough to vilify and blame a single person for this tragic episode in our troubled history?
Should hopes be pinned on a single person or party to bring justice and good times? Can we evade the reality
that the sovereignty of the country is compromised greatly by foreign policy imperatives? So much so that the
General addresses his first press conference since imposition of martial law in English, and the leader of the
biggest political party addresses foreign audiences more than the people of her own country? Should we also
brush away the fact that Pakistani flag has been taken off in parts of Swat? Not to forget, the heinous Army
Act that has been imposed is here to stay even after the so called emergency will be lifted, making the freedom
of expression nothing more than a farce. The nexus of domestic and foreign policies has become so entangled
that the ruling clique has become nothing more than a chessboard of generals and power drunk politicians.
What can we do? What is to be done? Holding demonstrations and expressing our abhorrence to the power
games that rob us of our basic right to live as a respectable citizen of the state is the first step. This we owe to
the poor people of Pakistan, the ordinary soldier, the farmer, the sweeper, the laborer. The second step is to
not get duped by the deceptive promises of politicians and civil-military establishment and be on guard. For
that we need to support a free media and conscientious voices amongst us all, learn to go beyond the
superficial, and strive to find ways to beat the players at their own game. We need to come up with ways to
keep up the momentum of this historical movement that has woken us from our cynical apathy. And that
brings one to the basic question of how far each of us is willing to go?

LUMS Hunger Strike Week commences..

Nigraan
Lahore, 12.11.2007: This is the beginning of the Hunger Strike Week at LUMS. As it is final exam week at the
university, it is impossible for a significant number of students to hold a rally or a demonstration to protest
the continuing injustices in Pakistan, caused by the harsh policies brought about by the imposition of
Emergency rule in the country. The students continue to be outraged by the incarceration of judges, lawyers,
human rights activists, student protesters and members of the intelligentsia, in addition to the callous
treatment being meted out to any and every individual, whether it be an elderly man or woman, who even very
peacefully demonstrates against these unconstitutional and unjust acts of the government.
Wishing to show support for their principled stance but constricted by the scheduling of exams at various
times throughout the day, student protesters at LUMS have announced a hunger strike all week. For many,
the hunger strike is less a test of physical and psychological endurance than a symbolic gesture, having
historical associations in subcontinental history as a method of political resistance through non-violent
means. A small number of students are to take out the time between exams everyday to sit in a designated
area in front of the cafeteria, marked by placards proclaiming their cause. Today, a total of around twenty-five
students religiously maintained their position on the designated patch of grass in the busy lane between the
cafeteria and the academic block. They posed an interesting - and even rather poignant- sight, sitting cross-
legged on the ground with their course books and laptops on their laps, determinedly trying to study among
the consistent chatter in an effort to fulfill both their academic and civil responsibilities. The sit-in/strike

Disclaimer: This publication is not affiliated with or does not endorse any political party or social group. It is a humble
effort to inspire and make aware- for we together can make a difference in these troubled times.
Write to us at theemergencytimes@gmail.com. Our online version is on pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com
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ended for the day at 4:30 with gifts of garlands for the student protesters on strike from bystanders, a
tradition which the protestors were clearly reluctant to observe but in the end, not very stoically endured for
the sake of the cultural traditions of hunger strikes in the subcontinent.
Among all this, the small group of protesters did seem to make an impact upon the regular stream of
spectators and passers-by in that it underlined the seriousness and importance of the issue of country's
entire judicial structure being compromised and virtually shattered under the impact of the emergency laws.
The students clearly seem to consider it vital enough to spend precious time from their study schedule to
observe a collective hunger strike in protest, a fact which should prove interesting for many who considered
the lasting power of students' surprising dedication to the cause as potentially weak.

Letter from Dr. Pervaiz Hasan

Dr. Pervaiz Hasan, an eminent lawyer and member of the LUMS Management Committee was arrested at the
Lahore High Court on the 5th of November, protesting against the imposition of emergency and subjugation of
the judiciary. This is his account of his time in detainment:

They herded lawyers in the police, about 35 of us. We knew nothing about where we were being taken after
our arrest at the Lahore High Court on 5 November 2007. Speculation mounted in discussions in the bus but
it was soon overtaken by the rumor/news received on some mobile telephones with the lawyers that General
Musharraf had been removed and placed under house arrest. The hatred for Musharraf seemed so intense
that this appeared the best news of the day although with the reported take over by General Kiani, it was
sadly a case of "from the fire into the frying pan".
The first thing when we arrived at the Sabzazar Police Station (further out of Lahore near Allama Iqbal Town)
was that we were unlocked out of the police bus and searched. All mobile phones were confiscated. I do not
use, have or carry a mobile phone and by this time the expectation, subtly fed to us, was that we would be
taken from Sabzazar to jails in Bahawalpur, Sahiwal or Mianwali. I am a heart patient: I had a heart attack in
2004 and doctors at the Punjab Institute of Cardiology in Lahore then operated me to place three stents in my
heart blood vessels. I have been regimented since to taking several medicines, morning and evening. Some of
these are important for the thinning of the blood to prevent strokes. When I saw the prospect of being held
incommunicado without information to my family, I wanted desperately to reach out for my medicines.
Courtesy a colleague on the bus, I hurriedly used his mobile before getting out of the bus to be searched in
the police station to inform my Secretary in the office about the Sabzazar Police Station minutes before the
mobile was confiscated by the Police Station. Otherwise, no one could have found out where we were being
held. The only redeeming thing for the whole day turned out to be that the Police Station allowed the
medicines to be delivered to me in the cell when my son, Omar, rushed to bring these to Sabzazar.
The cell in Sabzazar was an unclean, filthy room with a toilet and tap in the middle with a 4 foot wall around
it. The 35 of us were all jam-packed, once again, into this room which was actually meant for fewer people.
Having been a political activist with the Tehrik-i-Istiqlal and, later, with the Tehrik-e-Insaf as its first
Secretary General, I well know and have been exposed to the conditions of our police stations and jails. In
criticizing the conditions for the detainees, one is not asking for 5 star comfort but what I am suggesting is
that 60 years after our independence, the conditions in our police stations and jails have not matched the
worldwide developments towards the dignity of human beings increasingly recognized through international
Magna Cartas such as the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948, and the
International Covenants on Human Rights, 1966 and the human rights provisions in our own national
Constitution. It is a measure of our national shame that even enemy prisoners of war (POWs) receive better
treatment under the Geneva Conventions than do our detainees in our police stations and jails.
We slept on the hard dirty floor in our court dresses without access to any cover of blankets in the cool and
mosquito-infested night. The space was so over-crowded that when I got up from a brief nap, I found a young
lawyer using my legs as a pillow.
But the mood was optimistic and the spirits high. We soon went into telling jokes and reciting poetry and
found a Master of Ceremonies who directed the order of our presentations. Much of the humor, mostly
obscene was in respect of General Pervez Musharaf and if there were any (spy) bugs in the room, many of the

Disclaimer: This publication is not affiliated with or does not endorse any political party or social group. It is a humble
effort to inspire and make aware- for we together can make a difference in these troubled times.
Write to us at theemergencytimes@gmail.com. Our online version is on pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com
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35 lawyers could easily be hauled up under anti-obscenity statutes!

The most eloquent and, for me, the most moving presentation was from a young lawyer who proudly declared
that 5 November 2007 was the most important day of his life because he had decided, on this date, that he
would never appear before a PCO Judge. He was equally proud to announce that, acting on this resolve, he
had only that morning returned a (huge) fee of Rs. 4,000 to a client whose case he would no longer handle.
This was the most humbling experience for me. That morning, I too had acted on the same resolve to return
the professional fee of over Rs. one (1) crore paid to me by clients whose cases I would no longer argue
because of the PCO Judges. But I felt that my gesture after 37 years of a busy professional life did not match
the sacrifice of this young struggling lawyer. I wish all other lawyers see similar light on the start of their
careers.
My bonding with the 35 colleagues at Sabzazar came to an end early on 6 November 2007 when because of
the dedicated and worried efforts of my architect son, Omar, and nephew, Jawad, I was released from
Sabzazar Police Station on grounds of age (66) and a medical condition duly certified by the country's leading
cardiologist, Dr. Shaharyar Sheikh. I should also acknowledge the humane response to my medical problems
by the efficient SHO of the Sabzazar Police Station, Qamar Abbas, and his deputy, Atif.
Dr Pervaiz Hassan

(Eds: It is imperative that we feel the plight of thousands upon thousands of innocent fellow Pakistanis
languishing in overflowing jails right now for no apparent reason other than exercising their basic human
rights. Many of them are being tortured into painful submission. We must express solidarity with them and
do our utmost to raise our voice against the atrocities being committed by the paragons of oppression. This
nation has produced more heroes in the past one week than it has done in decades. We stand by them in
these dark times.)

Some words from Mr. Asif Iftikhar..

al-Salaam 'alaykum. It's not just life that is important to us, but also, more significantly, the reasons for living
- among them, those enumerated as basic rights in the charter of human rights. In Greek tragedy, the
ultimate woe was when not only could you not achieve your dream, but also you were not even permitted to
dream the dream. Even worse is when you are also supposed to acquiesce. Basic human rights are Divinely
granted – and no government has the right to take them away. Terrorism in Northern areas and the rest of the
country has to do with factors as international realpolitik, domestic injustice and bad governance, and
political and religious indoctrination rather than with the media, freedom of expression or basic rights. I don’t
see how the arrest of Dr Pervaiz Hassan or Bilal Minto or Dr Ali Cheema would have helped the government in
curbing terrorism. Peaceful protest is the basic right of every human being. The government can’t tell people
to stop living for its self-conceived "emergency". Furthermore, the constitution is a covenant with the nation:
its breach, suppression or deliberate violation is a cardinal sin.

I think the problem with the faculty and students at LUMS is that, as much as many others in our nation if
not a bit more, they want our people to live, but, more importantly, they also want them to be alive.

Disclaimer: This publication is not affiliated with or does not endorse any political party or social group. It is a humble
effort to inspire and make aware- for we together can make a difference in these troubled times.
Write to us at theemergencytimes@gmail.com. Our online version is on pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com