WASHINGTON, March 11: The official US report on human rights violations during 2007, released on Tuesday, deals extensively with the judicial dispute in Pakistan, noting that judges of the country’s superior courts were dismissed summarily because they sought to check executive power.
The report’s tone and content both differ greatly with the Bush administration’s position on the issue, which views the judicial dispute as Pakistan’s internal problem and prevents US officials from commenting on it. But the State Department report, which is sent to Congress as an official document, not only condemns the way President Pervez Musharraf dismissed the judges but also notes that his re-election for a second five-year term was seen as “deeply flawed” by domestic and international observers.
The report observes that during 2007, the human rights situation worsened; stemming primarily from President Musharraf’s decision to impose a 42-day state of emergency, suspend the Constitution, and dismiss the Supreme and High Courts.
The report points out that during the year the judiciary sought to check executive power and reverse President Musharraf’s March decision to suspend the chief justice of the Supreme Court. Civil society and the press widely supported the judiciary.
