National Lawyers Guild (NLG): National Lawyers Guild Strongly Condemns State of Emergency in Pakistan, Urges Bush to Suspend Aid
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NOVEMBER 9, 2007
9:21 AM
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CONTACT: National Lawyers Guild (NLG)
Marjorie Cohn, NLG President, marjorie@tjsl.edu, 619-374-6923
Jeanne Mirer, NLG International Committee, mirerfam@earthlink.net, 212-473-8700
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National Lawyers Guild Strongly Condemns State of Emergency in
Pakistan, Urges Bush to Suspend Aid
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NEW YORK - November 9 -The National Lawyers Guild strongly condemns the State of Emergency
imposed on the people of Pakistan and the attacks on lawyers and the
judiciary. The NLG demands that President Musharraf immediately
withdraw the emergency declaration of November 3, 2007, the
Provisional Constitutional Order No. 1 of 2007 (PCO), which suspends
Pakistan's Constitution. This declaration includes suspension of the
right to life and liberty, freedom of speech, assembly and
association, and equal protection of the law, all of which are
guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights.
Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry is being held under
house arrest, and over 2500 lawyers in different parts of Pakistan
including the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and other
leaders of the Bar including officials of the Democratic Lawyers
Association of Pakistan, have been detained. Journalists said the
government ordered that journalists who brought "ridicule or
disrepute" to Musharraf could face three years in prison.
The real motivation for the PCO is not to defend the country against
"Islamic extremists" but to maintain Musharraf in power. The State of
Emergency was declared after the Supreme Court indicated it would
overturn the results of the illegitimate election that preserved
Musharraf's rule. Musharraf seeks to prevent public protests that
lawyers and political parties were organizing.
The lawyers and the judiciary are resisting efforts by Musharraf to
violate Pakistan's Constitution and to interfere with the judiciary.
The NLG salutes the lawyers of Pakistan for their principled stand in
upholding the Constitution, independence of the judiciary, and the
rule of law. The NLG supports the call by the lawyers of Pakistan to
refuse to practice before judges who have agreed to take oath under
the PCO. The PCO has been held to be unconstitutional and illegal by a
7-judge bench of the Pakistan Supreme Court. Chief Justice Chaudhry
and other judges of the Supreme Court and of the High Courts who have
refused to take oath under the illegal PCO continue to hold office and
cannot be removed.
The NLG demands the immediate release of the lawyers and others from
custody and/or house arrest and withdrawal of all restrictions
illegally imposed. The NLG further urges President Bush to
discontinue all aid to Pakistan until the state of emergency is
lifted, the Constitution is no longer suspended, and Musharraf
provides assurance that the January 2008 elections will proceed as
planned.
Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association,
which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the
oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in
the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has
chapters in every state.
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