August 10, 2007	Friday	Rajab 25, 1428

LAHORE, Aug 9: The Punjab Bar Council and the Lahore High Court Bar Association have criticised reports that the government has been pondering over imposition of emergency in the country, pledging to resist the move tooth and nail.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, the LHCBA office-bearers said the reports indicated that Gen Musharraf wanted to prolong his dictatorship at a time when voices for democracy were gaining strength. They laid emphasis on holding of free and transparent elections under a neutral caretaker set-up and transfer of power to democracy.

They said the government had decided to impose the emergency because it was scared of the movement for the independence of judiciary and rule of law in the country.

In a separate statement, the PBC members said the government would deviate from the objectives central to the Movement of Pakistan if it slapped emergency. The move would not be only resisted by the lawyers, but also by the civil society as well as the patriotic political and social forces, they said.

They criticised Gen Musharraf for not participating in the Pakistan-Afghanistan Jirga and called for formation of a realistic policy supported by the people of the two countries.

HRCP: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) says the imposition of emergency will cast fissures in society.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, the HRCP said official denial to the reports, regarding the looming emergency, appeared hardly reassuring in the light of the fact that the credibility of the regime had plummeted to a new low in recent months.

“With the possible exception of external aggression, there can be no justification for the imposition of an emergency. The sole objective to impose the emergency is to give a fresh lease of life to the authoritarian rule in the country,” the HRCP said.

The commission said if there was such a plan, the country’s leaders should take steps to undo it and avoid a plunge into a greater crisis.

“There can be no option but a swift return to a democratic rule if the problems faced by the country and the mounting frustration of its people are to be resolved,” it concluded.

BALOCH: Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) Punjab president Liaquat Baloch has expressed concern over the attempts to impose a state of emergency on the country, saying the step might deteriorate the situation.

In a press statement on Thursday, Mr Baloch said rulers who were politically isolated wanted to take refuge behind extra-constitutional measures to prolong their rule.

The MMA leader said such step would be a conspiracy against the integrity of the country which the opposition would not allow to succeed. He said the All Parties Democratic Movement would launch a movement to prevent the regime from imposing emergency and suspending fundamental rights.