NEW YORK, Oct 23: The Pakistani government should end attempts to intimidate the Supreme Court as it hears legal challenges to General Pervez Musharraf’s controversial October 6 re-election, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday.
The New York-based human rights watchdog noted that the government ministers had repeatedly said that should the Supreme Court rule Musharraf’s election illegal, the military could suspend the Constitution, impose martial law and fire the judges. On October 16, a day before the Supreme Court resumed hearings into the case, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan Khan Niazi stated: “The imposition of martial law can’t be ruled out if the Supreme Court decides that President Musharraf’s re-election is invalid.”
“Musharraf should publicly state that he will accept the decision of the Supreme Court and withdraw the threat of martial law,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The government is attempting to frighten the judiciary into submission and is holding Pakistan, its constitution and its people hostage to Musharraf’s desire to cling to power.”
The HRW observed “on September 26, Musharraf’s legal team told the Supreme Court that he was constitutionally entitled to hold both offices only until November 15. But shortly after the Supreme Court’s move to examine fresh challenges to his election, Musharraf appeared to renege on that position when he told supporters in Islamabad that he would remain army chief and president ‘until’ the Supreme Court reached a final decision on his presidential bid.
“Musharraf seems to be giving the Pakistani people an impossible choice: ‘democracy’ if he succeeds in his bid to stay in power or martial law if the judiciary tries to prevent him from remaining in office,” said Adams. “After eight years of military rule, Pakistan needs legitimate parliamentary and presidential elections to get back on the path to genuine democratic rule.”
Human Rights Watch called on Musharraf’s international supporters, particularly the US and UK governments, to urge an immediate return to constitutional civilian rule.
“The Bush administration’s continued support for a coup-maker holding onto office by his fingernails is pushing Pakistan into a growing crisis,” said Adams. “The question now is whether the US, Britain or Pakistan’s other allies will insist upon the rule of law in Pakistan or be seen by Pakistanis as supporters of an abusive military strongman.”
