Pakistani State Of Emergency, 2007
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A state of emergency was declared by
President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.
Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...
on 3 November 2007 which lasted until 15 December 2007, during which the
Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ; ISO 15919, ISO: '' Āīn-ē-Pākistān''), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. The document guides Pakistan's law, political culture, and system. It sets out the state's outlin ...
was suspended. When the
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
was declared, Musharraf controversially held both positions of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
and Chief of Army Staff. He later resigned as army chief 25 days into the emergency on 28 November. The state of emergency and its responses are generally attributed to the controversies surrounding the re-election of Musharraf during the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...
on 6 October 2007, including his holding of both offices of President and Chief of Army Staff at the time.
Chief Justice of Pakistan The chief justice of Pakistan ( initials as CJP; , ''Munsif-e-Āzam Pākistān'') is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and is the highest-ranking officer of the Pakistani judiciary. The Federal Court of Pakistan was establis ...
Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry reacted promptly to the emergency declaration, convening a seven-member bench which issued an interim order against this action. He also directed the armed forces of Pakistan not to obey any illegal orders. Subsequently, the 111th Brigade of the
Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...
entered the
Supreme Court of Pakistan Building The Supreme Court Building in Red Zone, Islamabad is the official and principal seat of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the apex court of the country. Completed in 1993, it is flanked by the Prime Minister's Office to the south and the Presidenti ...
and removed Chaudhry and several other
judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...
s from the premises and arrested them. It was announced early that the state of emergency would likely end in late November or early December 2007. After being sworn in for a second presidential term on 29 November 2007, Musharraf immediately declared that the state of emergency would end on 16 December 2007, although the emergency actually ended one day earlier, on 15 December 2007, with an announcement by Musharraf. The
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
previously scheduled to occur in early January 2008 was postponed. At the beginning of the emergency, Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan said on television that the general election could be delayed many months and perhaps up to a year. Later, the election was rescheduled to take place by 15 February 2008, as announced by Musharraf himself. A few days later he called for the election date to be on or before 9 January 2008, before a final date of 8 January 2008, was decided. However, because of unforeseen events that occurred after the state of emergency ended, primarily the
assassination of Benazir Bhutto The assassination of Benazir Bhutto () took place on 27 December 2007 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan and then-leader of the opposition party Pakistan People's Party, had been campaigning ahead o ...
and its aftermath, the general elections were again postponed by the
Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
, and were finally held on 18 February 2008.


Background

Leading up to the 2007 presidential elections, the Election Commissioner approved General
Pervez Musharraf Pervez Musharraf (11 August 1943 – 5 February 2023) was a Pakistani general and politician who served as the tenth president of Pakistan from 2001 to 2008. Prior to his career in politics, he was a four-star general and appointed as ...
as a candidate for re-election. One of his opponents, retired Supreme Court justice Wajihuddin Ahmed, challenged the ruling in the Supreme Court. The dispute was primarily regarding whether a member of the military was constitutionally permitted to run for the office of the president, as Musharraf held both titles of President and Chief of Army Staff. Responding to the challenge, on 28 September 2007, Pakistan's Supreme court cleared the way for President Pervez Musharraf to seek another five-year term when it threw out a major legal challenge to his re-election plans. But barred the Election Commission from officially declaring a winner until it made its final decision. On 6 October, presidential elections were held with Musharraf winning 98% votes in the Senate, Parliament and the four provincial assemblies. While the Supreme Court was hearing the case of Musharraf's eligibility as a candidate, it announced that it would likely need to delay the hearing until 12 November due to a personal engagement of one of the honourable members of the bench. On 2 November, the court reversed its decision to break, stating that it would now reconvene the following Monday on 5 November to attempt to resolve the political situation quickly. This reversal was in part due to criticism that the court's continuing delay was adding to Pakistan's general instability. Convening on 12 November would have left a tight schedule of just three days before the end of Musharraf's previous presidential term on 15 November. Parliamentary elections were due to be held in February 2008, no later than a month after the original target date for elections. The
2008 Pakistani general election General elections were held in Pakistan on 18 February 2008 to elect members of the 13th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. On 3 November 2007 President Pervez Musharraf enacted a state of emergency; elections were initia ...
was held on 18 February 2008. Prior to the emergency declaration,
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Malik Qayyum, representing Musharraf, had assured the court that there was no planned move by the government to impose
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
.


Declaration of a state of emergency

Before the court could reach a decision, General Pervez Musharraf, acting as Chief of the Army Staff, declared a
state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
as per Article 232 of the constitution, on the evening of 3 November 2007, and issued a Provisional Constitutional Order which replaced the country's constitution. The Constitution of Pakistan, Article 232, allows the President of Pakistan to declare a State of Emergency when he is satisfied a situation exists that warrants its imposition. In the case that a President of Pakistan declares a State of Emergency, the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
has to approve it within 30 days. The state-run
Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. I ...
issued a brief announcement saying that, "The Chief of the Army Staff (General Musharraf) has proclaimed state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order," at 6:10 am local time without giving any details. Under the order, the
Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
was suspended, the federal cabinet ceased to exist, and the justices were ordered to take an oath to abide by it. Those who failed to do so would be dismissed.


Text of the Proclamation of Emergency

Following is the text of the Proclamation of Emergency declared by Chief of the Army Staff Gen Pervez Musharraf:


Text of Provisional Constitutional Order 2007

Following is the text of the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) promulgated by Chief of the Army Staff Gen Pervez Musharraf:


Supreme Court validates Presidential elections, PCO and emergency

On 24 November 2007, a seven panel larger bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogor, directed the chief election commissioner and the government to declare Pervez Musharraf President for a second term by 1 December, and said that President Musharraf shall relinquish the office of the chief of army staff (COAS) before taking oath as civilian president. The Supreme Court also validated the imposition of emergency and the promulgation of the Provisional Constitution Order issued by the Chief of the Army Staff. The larger bench held that President General Musharraf was qualified to contest the presidential election and did not suffer any disqualification under the constitution and the law. The court also vacated the interim stay of the 6 October presidential election results that had kept the Election Commission from announcing them until now. The bench was headed by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar. The other members were Justice Ejazul Hassan, Justice Muhammad Qaim Jan Khan, Justice Muhammad Moosa K Laghari, Justice Chaudhry Ejaz Yousaf, Justice Muhammad Akhtar Shabbir, and Justice Zia Pervez. Later, on 15 February 2008, the Supreme Court delivered a detailed judgement to validate the Proclamation of Emergency on 3 November 2007, the Provisional Constitution Order No 1 of 2007 and the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007. This Full Court judgement was written by Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar. Other members of the Full Court were Justice Ijaz-ul-Hassan, Justice Mohammad Qaim Jan Khan, Justice Mohammad Moosa K. Leghari, Justice Chaudhry Ejaz Yousaf, Justice Muhammad Akhtar Shabbir and Justice Zia Perwez. The Supreme Court wrote, "In the recent past the whole of Pakistan was afflicted with extremism, terrorism and suicide attacks using bombs, hand grenades, missiles, mines, including similar attacks on the armed forces and law enforcing agencies, which reached climax on 18th of October 2007 when in a similar attack on a public rally, at least 150 people were killed and more than 500 seriously injured. The situation which led to the issuance of Proclamation of Emergency of the 3rd day of November 2007 as well as the other two Orders, referred to above, was similar to the situation which prevailed in the country on the 5th of July 1977 and the 12th of October 1999 warranting the extra-constitutional steps, which had been validated by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Begum Nusrat Bhutto V. Chief of the Army Staff (PLD 1977 SC 657) and Syed Zafar Ali Shah V. Pervez Musharraf, Chief Executive of Pakistan (PLD 2000 SC 869) in the interest of the State and for the welfare of the people, as also the fact that the Constitution was not abrogated, but merely held in abeyance" It further wrote, "The learned Chief Justices and Judges of the superior courts, (Supreme Court of Pakistan, Federal Shariat Court and the High Courts), who have not been given, and who have not made, oath under the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007 have ceased to hold their respective offices on the 3rd of November 2007. Their cases cannot be re-opened being hit by the doctrine of past and closed transaction."


Supreme Court and PCO 2007

On 2 November 2007,
Barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
Aitzaz Ahsan submitted an application to the
Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
asking that the Government be restrained from imposing
martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...
in Pakistan. To this application a seven panel Supreme Court bench issued a stay order on 3 November 2007 against the imposition of an emergency. The bench was headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry. The other members of the bench were Justice Rana Bhagwandas, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice Nasirul Mulk, Justice Raja Fayyaz, and Justice Ghulam Rabbani. This stay order was ignored by the Chief of Army Staff and the emergency was imposed across the country.


Speech to the nation

Early Sunday morning Pervez Musharraf addressed Pakistan for the first time since declaring the state of emergency in a speech broadcast on state-run PTV. The following is a translation of Musharraf's speech from the original
Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
: Musharraf also referred to US President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
, saying that Lincoln's suspension of Habeas corpus during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
to save the nation was analogous to his declaration of a state of emergency for Pakistan. Musharraf said that the forthcoming election date will not be affected by the declaration.


Impact on higher judiciary

The judges of Supreme Court,
Federal Shariat Court The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) is a constitutional islamic religious court of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which has the power to examine and determine whether the laws of the country comply with Sharia law. The court was established in ...
and four High Courts were asked to take an oath on the PCO. Some of the judges opted to take the oath on the PCO immediately, while some took it over a period of time and some remained steadfast in refusing to take the oath on the PCO. Immediately after the emergency, out of 18 Supreme Court justices, only five judges took the oath on the PCO. Initially in Islamabad, Abdul Hameed Dogar who was inducted as the new Chief Justice, Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Khokhar and M. Javed Buttar took the oath under the PCO. Later in the evening, in Karachi Saiyed Saeed Ashhad also took the oath on the PCO on 3 November 2007. From the remaining judges, Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Falak Sher, Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Justice Mian Shakir Ullah Jan, Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, Justice Nasir ul Mulk, Justice Chaudhry Ejaz Ahmed, Justice Raja Fayyaz, Justice Syed Jamshed Ali and Justice Ghulam Rabbani declined invitation to take oath of supreme court took oath on PCO. The Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Rana Bhagwandas and Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday also did not take oath on PCO nor were they offered to. On 3 December 2007, the federal government issued a notification of removal of three justices of the Supreme Court without any retirement privileges. They were Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Rana Bhagwandas and Justice Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday. On 3 December 2007, the federal government issued another notification that in pursuance to Article 3 of the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007 (Order No. 1 of 2007), 24 judges of the High Courts of Sindh, Punjab and NWFP had ceased to hold office, with effect from 3 November 2007, the day emergency was proclaimed in the country. According to the notification twelve justices of Sindh High Court were notified to cease to hold office. They were Justice Rahmat Hussain Jafferi, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain, Justice Aamir Hani Muslim, Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Maqbool Baqar, Justice Muhammad Athar Saeed, Justice Faisal Arab, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, Justice Zafar Ahmed Khan Sherwani, Justice Salman Ansari, Justice Abdul Rashid Kalwar and Justice Arshad Siraj. According to the notification ten justices of Lahore High Court were notified to cease to hold office. They were Justice Khawja Muhammad Sharif, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, Justice Muhammad Tahir Ali, Justice Ijaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Justice M. A. Shahid Siddiqui, Justice Muhammad Jehangir Arshad, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, Justice Umar Atta Bandial and Justice Iqbal Hameed-ur-Rehman. According to the notification two justices of Peshawar High Court were notified to cease to hold office. They were Justice Ijaz Afzal Khan and Justice Dost Muhammad Khan. All justices of the High Court of Balochistan took the oath on the PCO.


Events during the state of emergency

Opinion polls reflected strong public opposition to imposition of the state of emergency. 67% demanded General Musharraf's resignation whereas 71% said they opposed the suspension of Constitution. More than 70% people surveyed said that they were opposed to closure of private television channels, arrest of Chief Justices and mass arrests.


Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

International broadcasts and local phones were blocked in some locations. Additionally, barriers and barbed wires were erected at important points in the capital. : Aitzaz Ahsan, a member of the
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...
(PPP), attorney and president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, was arrested at his home. Key opposition figures and senior lawyers were also placed under house arrest. All were released within a few days. Hundreds of students joined in protests led by faculty of Quaid-e-Azam University; they were joined by scores of civil rights activists. Police presence forced students to 'flash demonstrations' and prompt disbanding.


Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

After the announcement of emergency, police acted swiftly to arrest thousands of lawyers, human rights activists and politicians. Crackdowns were made throughout the night of 3 November to thwart any opposition. All members of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, including Asma Jehangir and
Salima Hashmi Salima Hashmi (; born 1942) is a Pakistani painter, artist, former college professor, anti-nuclear weapons activist and former caretaker minister in Sethi caretaker ministry. She has served for four years as a professor and the dean of Nationa ...
were jailed. The Mall Road, where official buildings including Secretariat, Governor House, and the High Court are, remained barricaded at a number of points. There were protests at all universities of the city, Pakistan's leading university LUMS,
Punjab University Punjab University may refer to: India * Punjab Agricultural University, a state agricultural university in Ludhiana, Punjab * I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, a state university in Kapurthala, Punjab * Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Techn ...
, Beaconhouse National University,
National College of Arts The National College of Arts (colloquially known as NCA) is a public university located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Overview The National College of Arts – Federally Chartered Institute, is the oldest art school in Pakistan and the second ...
, Government College, Forman Christian College and others. The students also led the fight on the internet where thousands of blogs unanimously denounced the State of Emergency.


Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

After the announcement of emergency, Heavy contingents of police were deployed on G.T Road, Sialkot road, Civil lines and Cantonment. Hundreds of lawyers, civil rights activists, journalists, media persons and political activists protested.


Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

Heavy contingents of police were deployed in the eight major bazaars of the city and the district courts. Hundreds of lawyers, civil rights activists, journalists, media persons and political activists protested, prompting brutal use of force and baton charging by police. Police also sealed the courts and the press club.


Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

Opposition leader Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Member of the National Assembly (MNA), was placed under house arrest shortly after the declaration of emergency. He had been arrested, by order of the Pakistani Army, and taken to an undisclosed location. Khawaja Asif is a member of the
Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...
(PML-N), the party headed by exiled Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...
. He was elected for his third term as MNA from a PML-N seat and is currently a member of the Parliament of Pakistan.


Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

Army pickets were established in
Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
, the capital of
North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...
bordering
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. Hundreds of protesters joined processions led by the local
Awami National party The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...
forcing police to arrest all local political leadership of opposition parties to crush demonstrations.


Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Reports from inside Karachi stated that the situation remained peaceful and not entirely different from any other weekend.


Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

Nationalist opposition leaders Mehmood Khan Achakzai and
Qadir Magsi Qader Magsi () is a Pakistani politician from the Sindh Taraqi Pasand Party. Qader Magsi was born on 25 December 1962 in Thatta. He received primary and intermediate education in Thatta. Later he joined Liaquat University of Medical and Healt ...
were detained in their home towns in southern Pakistan. The police also picked up five lawyers from southwestern Quetta, who were known as staunch supporters of Chaudhry. *
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
: On 3 November 2007, BBC opened debate on the Emergency and more than 10,000 comments were received, many against emergency rul
BBC
*By the end of 5 November 2007 over 3,500 people had been arrested. Most of these were lawyers, civil rights leaders and members of the political parties. But almost all of them were soon released and by the time the emergency ended, all arrested had been released. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Louise Arbour Louise Arbour, (born February 10, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer, prosecutor and jurist. Arbour was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former Chief Pr ...
also reported that a Pakistani UN official, Asma Jahangir, was among the judicial and political officials detained. The vast majority of the detained were released within a two-week period and the remainder released in the following days. *On 14 November 2007, former
cricketer Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
and Opposition Leader
Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...
(who was elected Prime Minister 11 years later) arrived at
Punjab University Punjab University may refer to: India * Punjab Agricultural University, a state agricultural university in Ludhiana, Punjab * I. K. Gujral Punjab Technical University, a state university in Kapurthala, Punjab * Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Techn ...
to take part in a protest with the students. However, Imran Khan's presence enraged some students, who felt he was attempting to take credit for their efforts and also because the students had previously made it clear that politicians were not welcome in their protests. As a result, some students of youth organisation
Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba () IJT is the largest student organization in Pakistan. It was founded by 25 students on 23 December 1947 at Lahore, Pakistan. Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba is working in Pakistan to eliminate the non-Islamic elements and secul ...
, a part of the
Jamaat-e-Islami Jamaat-e-Islami is an Islamist fundamentalist movement founded in 1941 in British India by the Islamist author and theorist Syed Abul Ala Maududi, who was inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood. It is considered one of the most influential Isla ...
party manhandled Imran Khan soon after his arrival, locked him up in the University for around two hours, and later handed him over to the local police. The police arrested him and sent him to the Dera Ghazi Khan jail in Punjab province where he spent a few days before being released. * While some Pakistani
expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...
s called 3 November 2007 a Black Day in the History of Pakistan, when General Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan, other expatriate Pakistanis supported Musharraf's decision to impose a brief emergency rule in Pakistan and held pro-Musharraf rallies in London, Toronto, Brussels, and other Western cities.


Ban on media

With the imposition of emergency a media blackout followed. National channels like
ARY One World ARY Digital Network () is a subsidiary of the ARY Group. The ARY group of companies is a Dubai-based holding company founded by a Pakistani businessman, Haji Abdul Razzak Yaqoob (ARY). The network has a video on demand streaming service called A ...
,
GEO TV Jang Media Group (), also known as Geo Group, is a Pakistani media conglomerate and a subsidiary of Dubai-based company Independent Media Corporation. It has headquarters in Printing House, Karachi. It is the publisher of the Urdu language new ...
,
Aaj News () is a 24-hour Pakistani news television channel. It is a privately owned Urdu language TV station which covers national and international news. The channel started out as hybrid channel (news, current affairs and entertainment), but later se ...
, and other channels were also blocked. General Musharraf maintained that these channels were creating discord, misrepresenting facts, were not responsible, and were contributing to the instability of the nation. The Government also cracked down on international channels like
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
. ARY reported that authorities in
Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...
had asked the network's administration to close down its operations. The network said no reason had been given for the move. The government expelled three journalists from the British newspaper ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' after calling general Musharraf "our son of a bitch". This is an allusion to
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
's defence of Nicaragua's heavy-handed but U.S.-backed dictator,
Anastasio Somoza García Anastasio Somoza García (1 February 1896 – 29 September 1956) was the leader of Nicaragua from 1936 until his assassination in 1956. He was officially the 21st President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 unt ...
. However this is still viewed as an extremely severe insult in Pakistan. On 21 November 2007 two thousand detainees under the Emergency were released, but 3,000 remained in detention, according to London's Metro newspaper. Musharraf's Govt. also arrested moderate groups of society such as human rights activists and lawyers.


Effect on the economy

The Pakistani stock market was the first to react, with the
Karachi Stock Exchange The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), founded as Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE), is a stock exchange based in Karachi, Pakistan. PSX was classified by MSCI as a Frontier markets, frontier market on 8 September 2021. Pakistan Stock Exchange was fou ...
(KSE) falling by more than 4.6% on the first day of the emergency. Investors in the United Kingdom pulled back $26.27 million while investors in the United States withdrew $51.93 million. It is estimated that more than $235 million in total were withdrawn from the KSE during the emergency.
Standard & Poor's S&P Global Ratings (previously Standard & Poor's and informally known as S&P) is an American credit rating agency (CRA) and a division of S&P Global that publishes financial research and analysis on stocks, bonds, and commodities. S&P is co ...
Ratings Services also revised its outlook on the long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings of Pakistan from stable to negative. The Dutch government froze development aid to Pakistan in response to the imposition of emergency rule. Deputy Minister for Development
Bert Koenders Albert Gerard Koenders (; born 28 May 1958) is a Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2017. He is currently a professor at Leiden University and a special envoy of the World Bank. He i ...
decided to suspend the remainder of the €15 million (US$22 million) that had yet to be paid in 2007.


Reaction


Pakistan


Opposition leaders

The AP reported that
Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...
was greeted by supporters chanting slogans at the airport. After staying in her plane for several hours she was driven to her home in
Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
, accompanied by hundreds of supporters. On 8 November, Bhutto was placed under
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
by the Pakistani government. After one day the house arrest was lifted. Bhutto said that the election date set of 15 February 2008 was "too vague" and planned to undertake a "long march" in car procession around Pakistan, as she did before, protesting against Nawaz Sharif. The Army cautioned her against this, citing the risk of further suicide bomb attacks. On 12 November 2007 she was again placed under house arrest for a week to prevent this happening. Musharraf also gave the election date as 9 January 2008. Bhutto rejected this as being too soon after emergency rule. Subsequently, Bhutto was released from house arrest again, but the Daily Jang (20 Nov.07) reported the Attorney General, Mohammed Qayyum as saying that five writs were to be heard to revoke her immunity from prosecution on corruption charges, which claim that only the judiciary had the right to grant immunity not President Musharraf. Qayyum described them as "likely to succeed". Bhutto had by 25 November filed nomination papers for 8 January elections, despite not confirming her intention to boycott them. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that "Imposing emergency is another form of terrorism." The acting head of the former Prime Minister's political party,
Javed Hashmi Makhdoom Muhammad Javed Hashmi (; born 1 January 1948), is a Pakistani politician, political realist, and a senior conservative thinker on the platform of Pakistan Muslim League (N). After serving as a cabinet minister in the Sharif's adminis ...
, who was arrested, stated, "People will win. Generals will lose. They have to surrender." On 23 November 2007 it was announced in ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' that
Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...
would return to Pakistan after the King of Saudi Arabia reportedly told Musharraf that they would not keep him in Saudi Arabia and he landed in Lahore on 25 November in a Saudi aircraft, with his wife, Kulsoom and brother Shehbaz. He said that he wishes to restore democracy from dictatorship, but did not say whether he would boycott the elections in January. Neither did Bhutto, but she had already filed nomination papers. Sharif filed nomination papers the day after his return, but said that he would not serve as Prime Minister under Musharraf. The Minister of the State for Information, Tariq Azim Khan, said on television media that the elections in Pakistan scheduled for January would be delayed indefinitely. President Musharraf later announced that elections would be held by mid-February.


Judges

The new Provisional Constitutional Order required judges to retake an oath of allegiance to Musharraf. Many refused to do so, including 15 Supreme Court judges. Additionally, only a fraction of the judges in Pakistan's provinces took the new oath: in
Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
12 out of 31, in
Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
4 out of 27, in the
North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...
7 out of 15, and in
Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...
5 out of 11 retook their oaths. On 6 November Pakistan's Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who was under house arrest, spoke by phone to a group of 500 lawyers. In his statement he said that the constitution had been "ripped to shreds" and that the people should "rise up and restore" it. He added that while he is under guard, he will soon "join you in your struggle." It was alleged that the government used blackmail to get judges to take oath under the new PCO. Videos were sent out to at least three of the 11 judges as they were whether General Pervez Musharraf was eligible to run for president. Around 60 judges refused to take the oath under the "PCO", which includes a statement that no judgment can be passed against any government even if found guilty. On 20 November 2007 it was reported in the
Daily Jang The ''Daily Jang'' () is an Urdu language newspaper headquartered in Karachi, Pakistan. It is considered one of Pakistan's newspaper of record and a leading newspaper of Pakistan. History It is the oldest newspaper of Pakistan in continuous p ...
that a newly appointed Supreme Court had dismissed five writs challenging Musharraf's confirmation as president and was waiting to adjudicate the sixth. Another from the
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...
was withdrawn as the originators do not recognise the new court. The Court has threatened to revoke the licence of any lawyer not recognising its authority. Packing the Supreme Court with supporters is not unusual. Previously Musharraf appointed Iftikar Chaudhry as his nominee and the previous prime minister Nawaz Sharif also packed the judiciary with his sympathizers. All judges were restored after elections were held.


Religious leaders

Qazi Hussain Ahmed Qazi Hussain Ahmad (; born 12 January 1938 – 5 January 2013) was an Islamic scholar, democracy activist, and former Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami, the socially conservative Islamist political party in Pakistan. He opposed the United States' partic ...
called for protests to overthrow "the military dictator," during a speech near the outside of
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
to 20,000 of his followers. He is an Islamic leader of
MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...
, a religious alliance opposing Musharraf.


Lawyer community strike

Deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry called on lawyers nationwide on 11 November to defy baton-wielding police and protest President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule. "Go to every corner of Pakistan and give the message that this is the time to sacrifice," Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who is under virtual house arrest in Islamabad, told lawyers by mobile phone. "Don't be afraid. God will help us and the day will come when you'll see the constitution supreme and no dictatorship for a long time." The President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and other legal leaders were taken into custody immediately after the imposition of emergency rule. As a result, the Pakistan lawyer community called for a nationwide strike on 5 November 2007 against Musharraf's decision to impose emergency rule.


International

The immediate response from most countries was critical, with the measures viewed as running counter to liberal-democratic reforms.


PCO Judges case

On 31 July 2009, the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared the steps taken on 3 November 2007, by former president Pervez Musharraf as illegal and unconstitutional under the Article 279 of the Constitution. The judgment came after the 14-judge larger bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry completed the hearing of constitutional petitions regarding PCO judges, appointments of judges of higher judiciary and 3 November 2007, steps. The decision's short announcement also stated that the results of 2008 Pakistani general election, held on 18 February, will be given judicial protection and that President
Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...
will not have to take a presidential oath again. However the court has some reservations about how the Ordinances including the controversial National Reconstruction Ordinance (NRO), were handled by the interim Supreme Court during the emergency Period, but present government was given 120 days to regularise them through parliament. Lawyers and advocates celebrated after the announcement was made by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. Musharraf was summoned by the court, but his lawyers did not appear because in their opinion he did not receive the court summons. The verdict was also welcomed by the spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar who said that "The Supreme Court short order today declaring the 3 November 2007 actions of General Pervez Musharraf as unconstitutional is a triumph of the democratic principles, a stinging negation of dictatorship and is most welcome."


Criminal indictment

On 17 December 2019, a death sentence
high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...
was handed down to Musharraf in exile, for suspending the Constitution in 2007. The verdict, which was handed down by a three-member panel of the special court, headed by the chief judge of the
Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
High Court, Waqar Ahmed Seth, was later overruled by
Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...
on 13 January 2020 but on 10 January 2024 Supreme court set aside Lahore Highcourt judgement bad reinstate death plenty of General Musaraf. A four member bench headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa declared LHC judgment unconstitutional and against the law and Question the conduct of Judges who give relief to General Musaraf. The Bench of Lahore High court was headed by Justice Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, who was later promoted to supreme court has been recently dismissed by supreme judicial council in case of misconduct and Corruption. https://tribune.com.pk/story/2452797/sc-upholds-musharrafs-death-penalty-in-treason-case?amp=1lahore-high-court-annuls-musharrafs-death-sentence/article30557948.ece ''Lahore High Court annuls Musharraf's death sentence'', The Hindu, 13 January 2020
/ref>


See also

*
1999 Pakistani coup d'état The 1999 military takeover in Pakistan was a bloodless ''coup d'état'' initiated by the military staff at the Joint Staff HQ working under the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharr ...
* Coup d'etat *
Benazir Bhutto assassination The assassination of Benazir Bhutto () took place on 27 December 2007 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan and then-leader of the opposition party Pakistan People's Party, had been campaigning ahead o ...


References


Literature

* Schoresch Davoodi & Adama Sow: ''The Political Crisis of Pakistan in 2007'' – EPU Research Papers: Issue 08/07, Stadtschlaining 2007 * Anil Kalhan, ''Constitution and 'Extraconstitution': Emergency Powers in Postcolonial Pakistan and India'', in Emergency Powers in Asia (Victor Ramraj & Arun Thiruvengadam eds., Cambridge University Press, 2010) * Anil Kalhan, ''"Gray Zone" Constitutionalism and the Dilemma of Judicial Independence in Pakistan'', 46 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 1 (2013)


External links

*
Movement for Rule of Law
', Related to Lawyers Movement Pakistan.
Text of Pakistan emergency declaration

Pakistan's Lawless Plight: Prescription for Another Coup?
JURIST A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
, 4 November 2007
Pakistan's 'Proclamation of Emergency', the Judiciary and Other Stories
JURIST A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
. 3 November 2007
Martial Law by Another Name in Pakistan
JURIST A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...
, 2 November 2007
Provisional Constitution Order (constitutional articles suspended)
Farrukh Malik
Silence
3 November 2007
Geo television live video broadcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistani State Of Emergency, 2007
State of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
2007 in politics December 2007 in Pakistan State of emergency, 2007 Military dictatorships November 2007 in Pakistan State of emergency, 2007 Pervez Musharraf State of emergency, 2007 State of emergency, 2007 2007 in Pakistani politics