Background
- The Emergency Declaration of November 3, 2007, and Provisional Constitutional Order No. 1 of 2007 (PCO) issued by the government of Pakistan on November 3, 2007 put Pakistan’s constitution into abeyance.
- This means that constitutional safeguards, including those to security of the person, arrest and detention safeguards (including access to counsel), freedom of assembly, association and speech, have been suspended.
- The Chief Justice of the Pakistan Supreme Court, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, has been removed and is under (de facto) house arrest.
- No court can challenge the order or rule against the president or prime minister, and judges must take an “oath of loyalty” (Oath of Offices (Judges) Order, 2007). More than 60 out of a total of 97 judges have refused to take the oath.
- Article 63 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan prohibits military personnel from taking a seat in Parliament until two years after the cessation of military service. It was widely anticipated that the Supreme Court of Pakistan was going to render a judgment confirming the unconstitutionality of Musharraf concurrently holding positions of President and Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army.
- President Musharraf has justified these actions on the basis that they are required to curb terrorism and the courts and judges working at “cross purposes” with the government.
- There has been a crackdown on the media, with private television stations taken off the air and various new rules curtailing news coverage (including anything that defames or ridicules the Head of State or the government). Access to foreign news channels is also being curtailed.
- Some have estimated that as many as 1 in 4 lawyers in Pakistan and 80 percent of the judiciary are behind bars under the wide powers of police to arrest and hold people for 90 days under its “preventative detention” laws. Hundreds of lawyers and civil rights activists have been beaten and arrested. These include many bar leaders and past bar leaders.
- Some reports indicate that some lawyers are being turned over to intelligence agencies, and are thought to be under risk of torture or other degrading or dehumanizing treatment.
- Others arrested are believed to include Asma Jahangir, United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, and 55 members of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). A warrant for the arrest of United Nations Special Rapporteur in Human Rights Defenders, Hina Jilani has been issued.
[Information from reports by media, human rights organizations, and lawyers and human rights activists in Pakistan]
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What You Can Do
Sign the Petition to Restore the Rule of Law in Pakistan
Write to the High Commissioner of Pakistan
Please join the CBA and lawyers around the world in speaking out in support of our Pakistani colleagues—send a letter to the High Commissioner of Pakistan and copy it to prominent Canadian politicians.
Model Letter (.doc)
Suggested recipients:
High Commission for Pakistan
10 Range Road
Ottawa ON K1N 8J3
parepottawa@rogers.com
Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper
Harper.S@parl.gc.ca
Hon. Maxime Bernier
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Bernier.M@parl.gc.ca
Send Us Your Feedback
To share your views on this important issue, e-mail us at info@cba.org.
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