-- Musharraf suspended the constitution on November 3, and dismissed most Supreme Court justices after they refused to take an oath to abide by a provisional constitutional order. He gave sweeping powers to police to arrest and detain people and suspended fundamental rights, such as freedom of speech and expression, and rights of assembly have been curtailed.
-- Paramilitary troops and police have been deployed near parliament and the courts, reporting curbs placed on the media and hundreds of opposition supporters, lawyers, politicians and rights activists detained.
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Beyond State of Emergency -- Musharraf's suspension of the constitution goes beyond typical state-of-emergency provisions. He imposed the emergency rule in his capacity as army chief and not as president. He allowed the central government, provincial governments and parliament to stay. But he barred courts from issuing orders against himself, the prime minister or any authority designated by the President.
-- Under the constitution, the tenure of the National Assembly could be extended up to a year but Musharraf set no timeline in his order. Officials have said elections will be held on schedule by mid January, but Musharraf has not yet given definitive word.
-- Critics say Musharraf's main motivation was not to stop terrorism, but to tighten his personal grip on power by pre-empting a looming Supreme Court decision that could have ruled invalid his re-election by parliament on Oct. 6 because he contested while still army chief.
-- Musharraf said on Monday he was "determined" to relinquish his military role once he had established harmony between the judiciary, executive and parliament.
-- Pakistan was last under emergency rule in Oct. 1999. Then army chief, Musharraf proclaimed emergency rule when he deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, suspending the constitution, dissolving the National Assembly and bringing Pakistan under the control of the armed forces. |
