Ousted Chief Justice in Pakistan Urges Defiance
David Rohde and Jane Perlez of The New York Times report: "In a telephone address to lawyers in Pakistan's capital, the ousted chief justice of the Supreme Court urged them today to continue to defy the state of emergency imposed by the president, General Pervez Musharraf."
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Dozens of Pakistani security forces policing a former tourist haven surrendered to militants yesterday, raising the stakes in the country’s political crisis. The police officers and troops, outnumbered and demoralised, laid down their arms before hundreds of pro-Taleban extremists who are imposing Islamic law in an area beloved of Western hikers.
The surrender, in the scenic Swat Valley, was deeply symbolic at a time when President Musharraf is pleading for continued Western support as a key regional ally.
General Musharraf argued last week that he was imposing martial law to help the fight against extremists. Yesterday’s cave-in illustrated the limits of Pakistan’s efforts to combat the spread of militancy. And the unwillingness of those in uniform to fight allies of al-Qaeda in northern Pakistan contrasted with the brutal repression by the security forces of lawyers on the streets of the capital.
“The security forces and intelligence agencies are fighting the people instead of the militants,” Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister, said yesterday.
The surrender, in the scenic Swat Valley, was deeply symbolic at a time when President Musharraf is pleading for continued Western support as a key regional ally.
General Musharraf argued last week that he was imposing martial law to help the fight against extremists. Yesterday’s cave-in illustrated the limits of Pakistan’s efforts to combat the spread of militancy. And the unwillingness of those in uniform to fight allies of al-Qaeda in northern Pakistan contrasted with the brutal repression by the security forces of lawyers on the streets of the capital.
“The security forces and intelligence agencies are fighting the people instead of the militants,” Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister, said yesterday.
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