Pakistan’s News Media No Longer Silent, but Musharraf Has Muted His Critics

[Gunny]

By SALMAN MASOOD and DAVID ROHDE
Published: December 11, 2007

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Dec. 10 — Nearly all private television channels blacked out last month by President Pervez Musharraf’s emergency decree are back on the air. But the country’s once-thriving television news media remain largely muzzled by sweeping new restrictions that journalists and Western diplomats say stifle criticism of the government.

After the blackout cost leading channels tens of millions of dollars in lost advertising revenues, owners of all but one channel agreed to stop broadcasting the country’s highest-rated political talk shows and signed the government-ordered “code of conduct.”

And under a new ordinance, unilaterally enacted by Mr. Musharraf, television journalists face up to three years in jail for broadcasting “anything which defames or brings into ridicule the head of state” and other restrictions. The law will remain in place after Mr. Musharraf ends the state of emergency, which he has promised to do on Saturday.

“He’s getting away with it, really, because the Western support is there again,” said Talat Hussain, a popular talk show host whose program is no longer aired on two stations, Aaj and Today. “There isn’t enough pressure.”

more ... http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/w...32a7d79a7519d9&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Our "ally" in the War on Terror ...

 

[waltky]

Musharraf Returns to Pakistan...

Musharraf Greeted in Pakistan by Threats and Small Crowds
March 24, 2013 — Pakistan’s onetime military ruler, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, ended four years of self-imposed exile on Sunday in hopes of carving out a political future, but he received an unremarkable welcome as he landed at the airport in Karachi.

General Musharraf, who resigned as president in August 2008 under threat of impeachment and left the country the following April, arrived early Sunday afternoon on a flight from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A small crowd gathered at the airport and shouted slogans in his support. Mr. Musharraf appeared upbeat as he arrived. “I respect your emotions,” he said, waving to the crowd. “Thank you, thank you,” he said as his supporters shouted, “Long live Musharraf!” “I have returned. People used to think that I would not return, but I have come back,” Mr. Musharraf said. “I am not scared of anyone but God.” “I have put my life in danger, but I want to save Pakistan,” he added.

While the former president has survived multiple threats against him by the Taliban and Al Qaeda, his planned political rally on Sunday did not. Rashid Qureshi, a retired general and a leader of Mr. Musharraf’s political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, said a large welcome rally planned in Karachi had been derailed because of security concerns. “The government informed us that there was a serious threat to General Musharraf’s life, and the Taliban were going to try to kill him by a multipronged attack, including snipers and suicide bombers,” Mr. Qureshi said Sunday night. He said the government gave its permission for the rally too late to inform everyone. Still, Mr. Qureshi said many supporters went to the planned site of the rally, Jinnah’s Mausoleum, the tomb of Pakistan’s founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. But “efforts to bring everyone to the airport did not succeed,” Mr. Qureshi said.

Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the former Pakistani president, addressed supporters in Karachi on Sunday upon his return from a self-imposed exile.

He said that the authorities did not allow Mr. Musharraf to speak outside the airport, but that he made brief remarks to the crowd inside. Mr. Musharraf plans to meet with party officials on Monday, Mr. Qureshi said. The anticlimactic homecoming pointed out at least in part the many questions hanging over what role, if any, Mr. Musharraf could play in Pakistan’s changing political environment, given the security and legal hurdles in front of him. During his tenure as president, Mr. Musharraf battled with Islamist extremists who have continued to gain strength and challenge the state, especially in the country’s restive northwestern regions. Numerous court challenges await Mr. Musharraf, and before returning he managed to arrange pre-arrest bail in cases in which he faces criminal charges — in the deaths of the former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and a Baluch leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti. He has denied the charges.

Not least of the questions for Mr. Musharraf is how much political support he can expect in a country that has largely moved on since his departure. Indeed, news of Mr. Musharraf’s return was nearly overshadowed by the announcement on Sunday that a caretaker prime minister had been appointed — a decision keenly awaited by political analysts. Pakistan’s chief election commissioner announced that Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, a retired justice, would serve as prime minister and lead the government until May 11, when general elections are scheduled. Mr. Khoso, 84, has served as a chief justice of Baluchistan Province, and his appointment was widely welcomed in political circles. “My first priority is to hold fair, free and transparent elections,” Mr. Khoso said, speaking with reporters in Islamabad.

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See also:

Exiled Pakistani ex-president home to 'save' nation despite death threat
Sun March 24, 2013 - Musharraf vows to remain in Pakistan; He plans to lead his party in elections; He's been in self-imposed exile since resigning as president in 2008; Pakistani authorities have vowed to arrest him on return; Taliban threaten to kill him

In his first address since returning to Pakistan from self-exile, former President Pervez Musharraf declared his intention to run for office, saying he defied risks to "save" the country. Musharraf landed in Karachi on Sunday after more than four years in exile. He faces criminal charges, and the Taliban have vowed to unleash a "death squad" to assassinate him. However, he said, he does not plan to flee again. "I have put my life in danger and have come to Pakistan -- to you to be the savior of this country," he said at the airport. "I have come to save Pakistan."

He chided people who had doubted that he would return. "There were rumors that I would not come -- where are those people now?" he asked. "I am here. I have returned." At the airport, crowds danced, waved the nation's green flag and chanted Musharraf's name. Some people carried giant posters, plastered with his face. "Inshallah (God willing) we will be successful if I have your support," he said. After his statement, he was whisked away to an undisclosed location for safety reasons. Police hovered nearby, guns slung from their shoulders.

Complicated return

Musharraf resigned as president of the south Asian nation five years ago and went into exile in London and Dubai. He hopes to reassert his influence and lead his party in May elections. His return comes with complications. Government officials have said he would be arrested as soon as he sets foot in the nation while the Pakistani Taliban have vowed to assassinate him.

However, his party says it has taken pre-emptive measures to ward off a potential arrest. "Musharraf has been granted bail in advance of his arrival to Pakistan. We have made sure that he is not arrested and his return home will be smooth," said Jawed Siddiqui, a member of the former president's party, All Pakistan Muslim League. His lawyers paid an unknown amount of bail, which means Musharraf will not be arrested for at least 15 days, but must appear in court.

Fear of the unknown

 

[waltky]

Granny says dat's what's known as a Bush Welcome...

Lawyer throws shoe at ex-Pakistan president
Sat, Mar 30, 2013 - An angry lawyer yesterday threw a shoe at former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf as he headed to court to face legal charges following his return to the country after four years in self-imposed exile, police said.

Musharraf, who seized power in a military coup in 1999 but was forced to step down nearly a decade later, is disliked by many lawyers throughout Pakistan because of his decision to suspend the chief justice of the Supreme Court while he was in office. The lawyer tossed his shoe at Musharraf as the former military strongman was walking down a hallway in the court building in the city of Karachi surrounded by a mob of security, supporters and journalists, police official Nasir Aftab said. The shoe did not hit Musharraf, and the lawyer was not detained because no charges were filed against him, Aftab said.

Local TV channels showed video of the incident, but it was impossible to identify the show thrower because he was hidden behind part of the corridor. Following the incident, judges granted Musharraf an extension of pre-emptive bail in three cases against him, meaning he cannot be immediately arrested. Two of the cases involve the 2007 assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the killing of Akbar Bugti, a Baluch nationalist leader who died in August 2006 after a standoff with the Pakistani military. Musharraf was granted an extension of 21 days in those two cases.

He was granted a 15-day extension in connection with a third case, in which he is accused of illegally removing a number of judges at the time, including the Supreme Court chief justice, said Shahadat Awan, the prosecutor general for Sindh Province. Musharraf was also restricted from leaving the country during the period that his bail was extended, Pakistani state TV reported. Musharraf returned from exile on Sunday, seeking a possible political comeback despite the legal charges against him and death threats from Taliban militants. However, he was only met by a couple thousand reporters when his flight from Dubai landed in Karachi, and analysts have said they do not expect his party to attract much support in parliamentary elections scheduled for May 11.

Lawyer throws shoe at ex-Pakistan president - Taipei Times

 

[waltky]

Musharraf defeated before he runs...

Pakistan's Musharraf disqualified from election
Apr 16,`13 -- High court judges disqualified former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday from running in the parliamentary election, likely ending any hope of a political comeback.

The ruling was the latest blow for Musharraf, who has faced paltry public support, a raft of legal challenges and Taliban death threats since he returned to Pakistan last month after years in self-imposed exile. Many experts predicted this would be Musharraf's fate if he came back and have been scratching their heads at what drove his decision. Some have speculated he misjudged how much public backing he would get, while others guessed he was simply homesick. Musharraf received a rare piece of good news over a week ago when a judge in the remote northern district of Chitral approved his bid to run in the May 11 election, even though he was disqualified in three other districts for suspending the constitution and sacking senior judges while ruling Pakistan.

Pakistan's political system allows a candidate to run for multiple seats simultaneously. Lawyers challenged the Chitral decision, and on Tuesday the high court in the main northwestern city of Peshawar disqualified Musharraf from running in the district, said two of the lawyers who raised objections, Taufiq Asif and Rao Abdur Rahim. Asif challenged Musharraf's candidacy because of his actions while in power, while Rahim said there were procedural flaws with the former military ruler's nomination. Aasia Ishaq, a spokeswoman for Musharraf's All Pakistan Muslim League party, condemned the court's ruling and said the entire process was "biased." "They are just targeting Pervez Musharraf," Ishaq said. She said the party would appeal the decision to the Supreme Court and field candidates for nearly 200 national and provincial assembly seats even if Musharraf is disqualified.

Ashraf Gujar, a Pakistani constitutional expert, said he thought there was only a "remote" chance that the Supreme Court would overturn the ruling. Musharraf seized power in a military coup in 1999 and ruled for nearly a decade before he was forced to step down in 2008. He came back to Pakistan last month to stage a political comeback after four years in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai. But it has been a bumpy return. Only a couple thousand people turned out at the airport in the southern city of Karachi to greet the former military strongman when his plane from Dubai landed on March 24, a sign of how little support analysts say he enjoys in the country. A few days later, an angry lawyer threw a shoe at Musharraf as he walked through a court building in Karachi.

Musharraf faces a variety of legal charges, including some related to the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. He has not been arrested because he arranged pre-arrest bail before he arrived, a feature of Pakistan's legal system. The Supreme Court is also hearing petitions from lawyers alleging Musharraf committed treason while in office, an offense that can be punished by death or life in prison. He has been barred from leaving the country while there are legal challenges against him. Amid all of this, the Pakistani Taliban have threatened to assassinate Musharraf. The militants released a video the day before Musharraf returned to Pakistan saying they had set up a special death squad to target him. There is also concern that attacks by the Taliban and other militants could hamper next month's election.

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[Mad Scientist]

How do you do it Gramps? I've never seen anyone so adept at reviving these old threads.

Repped.

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - dat ol' has-been shoulda left well enough alone...

Pervez Musharraf's doomed homecoming to Pakistan
19 April 2013 - Since his return to the Pakistan last month, former military ruler Pervez Musharraf has stumbled from one problem to another.

His difficulties have gone from bad to worse. Days after he ended his self-imposed exile, he suffered the insult of having a shoe thrown at him in a crowded corridor of a court building in Karachi, narrowly missing him. Just over a week later, the Supreme Court instituted hearings to explore if he could be put on trial for treason. On Tuesday, an election tribunal ended his run for the parliament by declaring he could not be a candidate. And just when the echo of that rejection was subsiding, a court in the capital, Islamabad, on Thursday rejected his plea for bail, paving the way for his arrest on Friday.

Mr Musharraf's return comes at a time when Pakistan can ill-afford more instability than it already has

Negative ramifications

Did he really anticipate all this when he decided to return to the country? It is anybody's guess, a question only he can answer. One commentator with knowledge of the military said on a recent television news show that Mr Musharraf certainly took into account the legal challenges he faced in the country, including the possibility of his arrest. Hours after his bail was rejected, one of his lawyers said he was calm and collected, "drinking coffee and smoking a cigar" with his aides at his residence. But that is not how top officials of the country's interim government will be feeling. For them Mr Musharraf has seriously upset the applecart. The primary job of the caretaker government is to hold elections. And it already has its hands full. Militant attacks on mostly secular political forces across the country are already putting a question mark over the government's ability to hold fair elections on time by 11 May.

Arresting Mr Musharraf, a former army chief, is an unprecedented move fraught with negative ramifications which many say only a permanent government, having the support of the voters behind it, ought to be handling. Separately, the judiciary's move to try Mr Musharraf for high treason is another potential distraction, because it is the executive authority that has to institute a case. If the government persists with it, the powerful military will feel threatened because - as the theory goes - the onslaught will not stop with Mr Musharraf. The proactive role of the judiciary over the past two years has seen it visibly encroach on territory normally occupied by the executive. There is no reason why the military should not feel a similar threat.

Sensitive time

 

[waltky]

Bail granted in assassination case?...

Musharraf granted bail in Benazir Bhutto assassination case
May 20, 2013 - A Pakistani court on Monday granted bail to former army chief and president Pervez Musharraf who has been under house arrest on charges of failing to provide adequate security for former prime minister Benazir Bhutto before her 2007 assassination.

Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, returned to Pakistan in March after nearly four years of self-imposed exile to contest a May 11 general election, but he was disqualified from standing because of pending court cases. The election was won by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister Musharraf ousted in his coup 14 years ago. Musharraf became the first former army chief to be arrested, breaking an unwritten rule that the top ranks of the military are untouchable, even after they have retired.

But the current army chief has suggested the military is unhappy with how authorities have treated Musharraf. On April 20, a court remanded the former president in custody for two weeks as judges pushed ahead with plans to put Musharraf on trial for a crackdown on the judiciary during his time in office. On April 30, an anti-terrorism court put Musharraf on 14-day judicial remand for charges of failing to provide adequate security for Bhutto before her 2007 assassination.

The acceptance of the former commando's bail application could see him leave the country despite the fact that the Supreme Court has directed that he should stay put. Many observers believe a face-saving reason for his departure, perhaps on grounds of ill health, will be found.

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