pakistan on the brink

Add your name to the global Pakistan emergency petition by clicking > >below:"We, the undersigned, call on all nations to condemn General > >Musharraf's crackdown, and to suspend military aid to Pakistan until the > >constitution is restored and free, fair elections are ensured."> > Pakistan is on the brink: unpopular president General Pervez Musharraf > >has imposed a state of emergency, sacked the Supreme Court, shut down the > >media and basic freedoms, and imprisoned democratic opposition leaders. The > >general blames his actions on an imagined coalition of terrorists and > >independent-minded judges -- but his real fear may be losing absolute > >power. Elections are planned for January 2008 -- they must not be > >postponed. But martial law and the imprisonment of democratic opposition > >leaders don't make for a free and fair vote either. So we're calling on the > >international community -- particularly the US Congress, which has voted > >Musharraf billions of dollars in military aid over the last six years -- to > >use all its leverage for swift elections and restoring constitutional > >protections. Click below to sign our petition immediately, then tell your > >friends so they can do the same -- > >http://www.avaaz.org/en/emergency_pakistan We just received this email from > >Asma Jahangir, head of the Pakistani Human Rights Commission and the UN's > >Special Rapporteur for freedom of religion worldwide. Now under house > >arrest in Lahore, she's one of many Pakistanis urgently asking the world > >community to raise our voice:> >There is a strong crackdown on the press and lawyers... The Chief Justice > >is under house arrest (unofficially). The President of the Supreme Court > >Bar (Aitzaz Ahsan) and 2 former presidents, Mr. Muneer Malik and Tariq > >Mahmood have been imprisoned for one month under the Preventive Detention > >laws... There are other scores political leaders who have also been > >arrested. Yesterday I was house arrested for 90 days... the President (who > >has lost his marbles) said that he had to clamp down on the press and the > >judiciary to curb terrorism. Those he has arrested are progressive, secular > >minded people, while the terrorists are offered negotiations and > >ceasefires. Lawyers and civil society will challenge the government and the > >scene is likely to get uglier. We want friends of Pakistan to urge the US > >administration to stop all support of the instable dictator, as his lust > >for power is bringing the country close to a worse form of civil strife... > >--Asma JahangirLahore, PakistanGeneral Musharraf claims that martial law is > >necessary to combat extremist terror. But it just doesn't add up. Musharraf > >retains strong links with the Pakistani Taliban (see PS below). His > >emergency powers are being directed only against the democratic opposition, > >free press and judiciary – just days before a scheduled ruling on whether > >Musharraf could run for president while remaining army chief. In an August > >poll, too, Pakistanis rated "ensuring an independent judiciary, free press > >and free elections" as their top priority. Right now, leaders around the > >world are deciding how to respond. The General is dressing up his crackdown > >in the rhetoric of "anti-terrorism" because Musharraf and his military > >supporters depend on foreign military aid and international recognition to > >maintain their legitimacy. That's why we have to speak out now. The world > >can't ignore the threat of chaos in Pakistan, or the voices of our fellow > >democrats there. Let's come together as we did on Burma, and move our > >governments to act. In these crucial early days, the voice of the world's > >people has tremendous power