NEW YORK, Nov 30: Three special government envoys sent to explain President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to impose emergency and his confrontation with civil society were roundly jeered at two meetings in New York on Thursday night and Friday morning.
The envoys, Dr. Nasim Ashraf, Mohammad Ali Saif (federal ministers) and Kashmala Tariq, a former member of the National Assembly, first met with journalists at the Pakistan consulate and then with New York’s elite at the Asia Society. At both places the envoys maintained that the decision to impose draconian measures was “difficult and unpalatable”, but necessary for the security and sovereignty of the state.
The journalists decried government efforts to justify imposition of emergency, arrests and incarcerations of lawyers, human rights activists, journalists, dismissal of Supreme Court judges creation of a compliant court.
The reporters also observed while the government said that the harsh measures to essential to fight terrorists but the people who were being lathi-charged and arrested were all moderate members of the civil society as the extremists were allowed to run amok.
“In this regard, we believe that your trip to the United States is a waste of our taxpayers’ money, especially when Pakistan is under de facto martial when many journalists, lawyers and many honourable judges are under detention,” said the convener of Pakistan Journalists coalition.
“Pakistan has never had such a bad image internationally -- not even in 1971 -- as we have today -- the direct result of your government flawed policies whose sole aim is to stay in power, whether it serves the national interests or not.”
Dr. Nasim Ashraf, minister of state, told the audience at Asia society that the decision to impose emergency was the “most difficult and unpalatable”, but it had to be taken to save the country from chaos.
