Pakistan Coup, Mid-term Review

Does he take his coffee black?

Some people are better at coups than others. The Russians always seemed good at these sort of things as they were particularly vicious and clumsy at crushing dissent. The clumsiness part always seemed to work well because it served the purpose of dishing out lots of collateral damage which had a colon cleansing effect on nosy civilians. You can always tell a good coup by studying the street litter and the degree of emptiness on the streets. Empty streets well sprinkled with discarded shoes and other personal affects are always good signs. Think Tianeneman square. Streets, crowded with thousands of lawyers in Armani Knock-offs, is not the same and does not have the desired panache.

Successful coups require brutal simplicity, a large black coffee approach. The Pakistani coup has more of a "marble mocha macchiato with skim milk" feel to it. I am sure you agree.

Responding to internal or external threats is always a good idea for a coup. It provides justification and virtue. Musharraf may be getting around to that part.

Overall I give him a "D-" on his coup, but finals are coming and we shall see.

Army claims Pakistan rebel deaths BBC

Militants in Swat maintain a highly visible profile

At least 33 militants have been killed in clashes between the army and pro-Taleban rebels in north-western Pakistan, the military has said.
The troops attacked rebel positions in the mountains of Swat using helicopter gunships and artillery.

Two soldiers were also killed in the attack, the army said.

Located near the country's restive tribal area along the Afghan border, Swat has been the scene of recent clashes between the two sides.

The authorities say there are fears that the Swat valley is becoming a haven for al-Qaeda and the Taleban and last month the army sent reinforcements to the area.

Shelling

The men were killed on Wednesday in a series of attacks in Swat, a valley about 160kms (100 miles) northwest of the capital, Islamabad, army spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said.

"Helicopters were used in the operation. They shelled known militant positions on hill tops," he said.

"In one incident a vehicle carrying 17 militants was targeted, the vehicle fell from a hilltop and all were killed. They were militants, there is no doubt, they had arms," he added.

Officials said the dead militants were loyal to a pro-Taleban rebel cleric, Maulana Fazlullah.

An army statement said militants fired six mortar rounds on Wednesday at the airport near Mingora, the region's main town, killing two troops and injuring five more.

Ringed by mountains, the Swat Valley is a scenic area traditionally popular with tourists, but has been overrun by militants in recent times.

Musharraf Should Ignore the US and UK.

Musharraf will get no advice from the US or UK that will do him any good. Britain is slathered in political correctness and the Bush-Carter Administration is still delusional with the push for democracy in the Islamic world.

Musharraf warned: hold elections and quit as army chief


Envoys to spell out ultimatum in talks today in Pakistan

Declan Walsh in Islamabad and Julian Borger
Monday November 5, 2007
The Guardian

The US and Britain are today expected to demand that Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, honour pledges to hold elections in the next two months and step down as the army chief, or face a cut in western support.
The diplomatic showdown will come in the form of a meeting in Islamabad between the Pakistani leader and a group of ambassadors, two days after he declared emergency rule - and three days after giving assurances to the prime minister, Gordon Brown, and the US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, that he would stick to an election deadline in mid-January, and step down as head of the country's army.


Last night Pakistan's prime minister, Shaukat Aziz, called those promises into question when he said the government had not decided when to hold the elections and warned they could be delayed by up to a year. Wielding his new powers with an iron fist yesterday, Gen Musharraf rounded up hundreds of opposition and human rights activists and introduced tight media regulations. Mr Aziz's statement directly contradicted personal assurances Gen Musharraf apparently gave to Mr Brown and Ms Rice on the eve of the emergency declaration.
The pledge to the prime minister was made on Friday, when Mr Brown telephoned Mr Musharraf and expressed concern over reports that an emergency decree was being planned.

"He [Mr Brown] said we had heard he was considering this and we thought it was a bad idea," a British official said.

Downing Street and the Foreign Office denied claims from Islamabad yesterday that Britain had, in fact, sanctioned Gen Musharraf's declaration.

A Musharraf aide told the Guardian that the Pakistani president had "satisfied" objections raised by Mr Brown during the conversation. "There was pressure from the US and Britain in the beginning. But later on, when the government gave them the detail that elections will be held on time, and the president will take off his uniform, they did not have any objections," the official said, on condition of anonymity. A Foreign Office official insisted "no consent was implied or given".

In his address to the nation on Saturday night Gen Musharraf said the step was necessary to combat growing Islamist extremism that has seen a succession of suicide bombings and a battle in the previously peaceful northern area of Swat.

But yesterday his police turned their batons on political opponents and human rights critics from a wide spectrum of society - although notably not from Benazir Bhutto's People's party. Ms Bhutto, who has been edging towards a power-sharing deal with Gen Musharraf for months, condemned emergency rule but did not call her supporters on to the streets.

In Lahore police armed with assault rifles raided the offices of the national human rights commission.

Police seized camera equipment belonging to journalists. The ousted chief justice, Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhry, was trapped behind a cordon of police at his Islamabad house.

The leader of the lawyer's movement, Aitzaz Ahsan, was held incommunicado at Adiala Jail near Rawalpindi. Tammy Haq, a colleague who attempted to visit him, said she feared he was being tortured. "I've seen martial law before, my brother was in jail, and this is exactly the same," she said.

Mr Aziz said the former cricketer Imran Khan and retired intelligence chief Hamid Gul were among 500 people being held in preventative detention. Private TV channels remained off air and senior journalists said they feared arrest. The only news coverage came through the state TV channel, which broadcast a report into the lack of press freedom in India.

The British and US reaction has so far been cautious. It has fallen short of condemnation. More severe measures, as well as a reassessment of western aid to the Musharraf government will hinge on today's critical meeting.

"What we will make very clear is that the government must keep to the commitment to hold elections on time, the commitment to take off the uniform, the commitment to a free press, the commitment to reach out other parties, and the commitment to release political prisoners," a senior British official said. "How they respond to that will determine how our reaction thereafter."

Ms Rice, speaking to journalists in Jerusalem, said yesterday the US would "review" aid to Pakistan, which has totalled $11bn (£5.5bn) since 2001.

British officials said they would reassess aid in coordination with the US.

In Lahore a human rights campaigner, Asma Jahangir, sent an email from home where she has been placed under detention for 90 days. "Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people while the terrorists are offered negotiations and ceasefires," she wrote.

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, president of the ruling PML-Q party, said the decision to impose emergency rule was triggered by fears that the supreme court would rule against Gen Musharraf's recent re-election in a legal appeal. A friendly judge passed the information to the government last Wednesday. "He said the verdict may be unanimous. So we had no choice," he told the Guardian. "The debate was whether to impose emergency before or after [the court ruling]."

Asked how long the emergency measures would be in place Mr Aziz said: "As long as it is necessary."

Musharraf Prefers to be a General. Pray He Not Become a Shah.

General Musharraf has crossed the Rubicon. Unless he wants to end with a rope around his neck or a bullet in his brain, he needs to be more ruthless and determined to see his coup completed. Pakistan is not going to be ruled by an elected president. If Musharraf listens to the US and the West, Pakistan will become another Iran after the Shah, only worse. It will be an Iran with nuclear weapons. A democratic change in Pakistan will only weaken the central government and play into the hands of the Islamists. US pressure on Pakistan to become a democracy, by the Bush Administration, is right out of the Jimmy Carter play book on losing.

Musharraf would be wise to look at the mistakes made by Batista in Cuba or the Shah in Iran and copy what the Chinese Communists did after Tiananmen Square. There is no democratic alternative for Pakistan as long as the Islamists infiltrate Pakistan society. Waziristan is ungovernable. Musharraf would be wise to recognize Waziristan as an independent state, let the crazies go there, and allow the West to figure out what to do with them. Musharraf has the worst job on the planet. He deserves our sympathy.

Musharraf declares martial law in Pakistan
By Massoud Ansari in Islamabad Telegraph
Last Updated: 2:16am GMT 04/11/2007

President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan last night declared a state of emergency, suspended the constitution and was expected to halt planned parliamentary elections for at least a year.

In a dramatic move ahead of an expected ruling by the Supreme Court to disqualify him as president, General Musharraf ordered soldiers into the court building to tell the country's chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry, that he was sacked.

Just 30 minutes after news was broadcast that the government was imposing emergency law, eight judges of the Supreme Court met and declared Gen Musharraf's orders "unconstitutional" and "illegal". But even as they did so, police and soldiers began detaining lawyers.

They also took most television and radio stations off the air and disrupted mobile telephone networks in the capital, Islamabad, and other cities.

Armoured vehicles moved into Islamabad soon after sunset and soldiers took over strategic buildings, including parliament. The streets emptied rapidly as residents returned to their homes.


Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister and opposition party leader who returned to Pakistan from exile last month, last night flew back to Karachi from Dubai, where she had been visiting family. She was escorted from the airport towards her house - itself surrounded by troops - by more than 100 police guards.

She said she believed that emergency rule was designed to delay elections by "at least one or two years".

Nisar Khuhro, a senior PPP leader, declared: "We cannot accept the derailment of democracy and will definitely resist and rally around people against it. Otherwise we will be back to square one."

Aitzaz Ahsan, a leading opposition lawyer who is president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, said outside his home: "One man has taken an entire nation hostage. The time has come for Gen Musharraf to go."

Fellow lawyers shouted "Go Musharraf, go!" as Mr Ahsan was arrested and driven away by police, giving a defiant victory sign to his supporters.

Gen Musharraf blamed the imposition of emergency law on the need for a crackdown which had been prevented by the judiciary. The proclamation order claimed that militants, extremists, terrorists and suicide bombers were being released from prisons on the orders of the judges.

It added: "Some members of the judiciary are working at cross-purposes with the executive and legislature in the fight against terrorism."

In a recorded television address last night, Gen Musharraf said emergency powers were needed to defend Pakistan from Islamic fundamentalists.

"Extremists are roaming around freely and they are not scared of law enforcement agencies," he said. "They want to run a parallel government and impose their extremist views on the rest of the country. It is a direct challenge to the stability of Pakistan."

After giving the majority of his address in Urdu, he gave a special message in English, asking Western nations to give Pakistan time to implement democracy.

"Please do not expect or demand your level of democracy which you learned over a number of centuries. Please give us time," he said.

The Sunday Telegraph has learned that Gen Musharraf's decision was made secretly on Friday. Soldiers were discreetly deployed across the country in preparation for yesterday's move.



In a television address Gen Musharraf said emergency powers were needed to defend Pakistan from islamic fundamentalists

Sources at the country's broadcasting authority, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority, said they had orders to keep the dozens of independent television channels off the air indefinitely. Only the official state station was broadcasting subdued news reports last night.

The Supreme Court had been expected to rule this week on whether or not Gen Musharraf's recent re-election by MPs to a third term of office was valid. It forbade the election commission to declare the result officially until the case had been decided.

The plan - encouraged by America and Britain - had been for Ms Bhutto to support Gen Musharraf as president in return for the freedom to contest parliamentary elections, from which she hoped to emerge prime minister.

Gen Musharraf made up his mind to declare emergency law after hearing that the chief justice planned to summon the head of Pakistan's intelligence agencies this week to ask why hundreds of people were being held without charge.

Constitutional experts said the fact that eight of the court's 13 judges had immediately ruled the declaration of emergency illegal suggested that they would refuse to swear a new oath of loyalty.

Baz Khan Kakar, a lawyer at the Supreme Court, said: "The country will be in chaos as there will be no courts functioning." But the government said last night that another judge, Hameed Dogar, had been sworn in as the new chief justice.

Pakistani TV, Radio Off the Air. Land Lines and Mobile Phones Down.

Musharraf imposes emergency rule BBC

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has declared emergency rule, state-run TV has said, amid reports that police have surrounded the Supreme Court.
Judges are believed to be inside the building in Islamabad, reports say.

Troops have been deployed inside state-run TV and radio stations, while independent channels have gone off air.

Gen Musharraf is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether he was eligible to run for re-election last month while remaining army chief.

Pakistan has been engulfed in political upheaval in recent months, and the security forces have suffered a series of blows from pro-Taleban militants opposed to Gen Musharraf's support for the US-led "war on terror".

The BBC's Barbara Plett reports from Islamabad that fears have been growing in the government that the Supreme Court ruling could go against Gen Musharraf.

Land and mobile telephone lines are down in Islamabad, reports say.

Private channels Geo News and Dawn News earlier quoted unnamed sources as saying the government had made up its mind to declare emergency rule. Shortly afterwards they came off air.

One TV channel reported that emergency rule may involve the suspension of the constitution.

Parliamentary elections are due in January - it is not clear whether they will go ahead.

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who recently returned to the country after years of self-exile to lead her party in the elections, is currently in Dubai on a personal visit.

"Democracy vs. Dictatorship," Pakistan's Musharraf Arrests Opponent.

UPDATE:
Pakistan 'deports' ex-PM Sharif

Nawaz Sharif (centre) was surrounded on his arrival
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been arrested and deported within hours of returning to Pakistan from exile, officials say.
After landing in Islamabad he was charged and put on board a plane, reportedly bound for Saudi Arabia.

The World's scariest Islamic power is Pakistan. Talk of democracy for Pakistan is insanity and a naive delusion. Speculation about an Islamic nuclear armed Iran is an interesting academic discussion, but a nuclear Pakistan is reality. Pakistan under the Islamists would be Hell in waiting. Encouraging democracy for Pakistan is the worst idea since Jimmy Carter persuaded the Iranian military not to take charge in the last days of the Shah. Hopefully Musharraf agrees.

Ex-PM Sharif 'held in Pakistan' BBC

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been taken into custody in Islamabad after returning from exile, officials say.
Mr Sharif, who was ousted by President Pervez Musharraf in a bloodless coup in 1999, says he wants to challenge the president ahead of elections.

Pakistan's Supreme Court has affirmed Mr Sharif's right to return, but it is not clear what will now happen to him.

There is some speculation that he may face corruption charges or be deported.

On board the plane that carried him home, Mr Sharif told the BBC he was returning to Pakistan to help restore the rule of law.

"It's democracy versus dictatorship," he said.

President Musharraf given 48 hours to respond to Bhutto demands. Then what?

Bhutto 'ultimatum to Musharraf'
By Barbara Plett
BBC News, Islamabad

Could Benazir Bhutto co-operate with a Musharraf government?
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has given President Musharraf 48 hours to respond to her demands for a power-sharing deal, media reports say.

The embattled military ruler is seeking support for presidential elections that would give him another five-year term.

But his options have narrowed after a series of Supreme Court decisions.

Ms Bhutto wants a clear statement the general will resign as army chief of staff before year end, some say before a presidential vote due in the autumn.

Uniform off

She also wants a pledge to remove legal obstacles currently preventing her from becoming prime minister.

Until now Gen Musharraf has said he will abide by the constitution when it comes to his dual role as president and army chief.

Some say this means he will take off his uniform by year's end.

But Ms Bhutto wants a public declaration. So why has she upped the ante now?

Analysts say she was alarmed by the Supreme Court's decision last week allowing the exiled opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif, to return to Pakistan, perhaps as early as next month.

Mr Sharif has gained much support for opposing army rule and vowing to force President Musharraf out of office.

Ms Bhutto on the other hand has been losing public support by negotiating with the general.

It is not clear whether the military leader can accept her demands.

At the moment he has enough votes in parliament to win another five-year term.

But there are growing defections from the ruling party and crucially, the Supreme Court might rule that his re-election from existing assemblies is unconstitutional.

Will Bhutto Save Musharraf and Pakistan?

"The Red Mosque was just a warm-up for what will happen if the religious schools are not disarmed," Bhutto said.

Bhutto warns of Islamist revolt in Pakistan
29 Jul 2007, 1958 hrs IST,AFP

BERLIN: Exiled former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto warned of a looming Islamist revolution mounted from the country's madrassas, in a German magazine interview to be published on Monday.

Bhutto said she was planning her return to Pakistan this year to help stabilise the country in the face of the extremist threat.

"The Red Mosque was just a warm-up for what will happen if the religious schools are not disarmed," Bhutto said.

She added that Islamist extremist leaders were plotting an overthrow of President Pervez Musharraf's government and had converted madrassas in Pakistani cities into military headquarters with well-stocked arsenals.

A suicide bombing during protests on Friday at Islamabad's pro-Taliban Lal Masjid killed 14 people in the 13th suicide blast to hit the country since a bloody army raid on the Lal Masjid on July 10.

The bomber targeted officers policing Islamic students who had occupied the mosque to demand that their jailed former cleric should lead prayers after its chaotic reopening on Friday.



The government has denied reports that Musharraf held a secret meeting with Bhutto in Abu Dhabi in a bid to arrange a power-sharing pact to steady his position.

Bhutto, who has lived in self-imposed exile since 1998 in London and Dubai because of corruption claims against her, said there were ongoing talks with Musharraf about her possible return to Pakistan.

She could be jailed on the charges upon re-entering the country, which she said she plans to do by December.

The reports of the meetings and negotiating is being reported in the Indian papers.

Islamabad, July 31 (PTI):

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's recent meeting with former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has caused "immense turmoil" in the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) and opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP), according to leaders of the two parties.

"Don't ask me about the level of our demoralisation and frustration. Where do we stand now as we have again sought the props of a military dictator after agreeing to accept him in uniform and re-elect him as President?" 'The News' reported yesterday, quoting a top PPP leader.

In fact, nearly all PPP leaders in Pakistan are in a state of shock and refuse to believe that their party chief has joined hands with Musharraf. They are also worried that the party would experience large-scale defections ahead of the general elections slated for later this year.

"I am still to comprehend why Benazir Bhutto showed desperation in meeting a desperate Musharraf despite knowing that she would gain nothing but would lose massively. We have been fighting against the military rule for the past eight years not to see this day," another senior PPP leader said.

Even PML bigwigs are dumbfound and dazed because of the recent meeting between Bhutto and Musharraf in Abu Dhabi.

They too fear that a number of their party comrades may desert the outfit and join PPP or other opposition parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, in the country.

Some PML leaders also fear that their party may fall apart, particularly if the anchor (Musharraf) becomes "weak and unstable".

"Undoubtedly, we have the largest number of influential constituency based figures in our ranks, but they can't win without the state patronage. We are doomed if we're not significantly helped in any way by the President in the parliamentary polls," a PML leader said.

Where Zawahiri is Going. Continuing the previous thread.

Dead man walking?

(Hat tip: Sam)

Sam, by now Bush is toxic to any conversation or idea about almost anything. No one respects anything he has to say. At least LBJ had the sense to know he was finished and stood down. It does seem that we hanged the only guy who could keep the Iraq fire under control. At this stage it would take a coalition of 500,000 mostly non US troops to secure Iraq of which 350,000 would not fight. The fighting would still fall on the Americans the Aussies and a few other stalwarts.

The political waters are so spoiled that the only way that happens is if things get worse, and I fear they will. Zawahiri wants to open a new front in Pakistan to outflank Afghanistan and break the coalition there. If that happens, and it only takes the death of Musharraf, all bets are off. Zawahiri is an Egyptian. Zawahiri wants to take Egypt and Mubarak down.

Zawahiri will focus on the Palestinians, Jordanians and Lebanese with the ultimate goal of bringing Egypt into the fray and killing Mubarak. It is interesting to look back to August 2002.

After Musharraf, is he next?

When Bush got the idea in his head to go after Saddam, Mubarak begged him not to do it, but afterall what did Mubarak know about the Middle East? Here is a 2002 report from the Australian ABC

Egypt warns US not to attack Iraq

AM - Wednesday, 28 August , 2002 00:00:00
Reporter: Mark Willacy

LINDA MOTTRAM: United States President George W. Bush has been trying to convince a reluctant ally in Saudi Arabia to support an American strike against Iraq and he's been doing so as Arab voices were being raised in a new chorus against any assault.

Included overnight was that of one of the most senior leaders in the Middle East, Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak, who delivered a sharp warning hot on the heels of US Vice President Dick Cheney's strong reassertion of the case for an attack.

Amid the sound and fury over whether or not to go to war, British and American warplanes were engaged over Iraq, not in the beginning of a new conflict, but in the now very extended effort to contain Saddam Hussein, under post-Gulf War arrangements.

Middle East correspondent Mark Willacy reports.

MARK WILLACY: For George W. Bush winning friends and influencing people in the Middle East is proving a frustrating task. Now one of the more moderate and democratic Arab states has lined up against the US President's push for a strike against Saddam Hussein.

In typically blunt fashion, Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, is warning of turmoil in the Arab world should the US military go into Baghdad.

HOSNI MUBARAK [translated]: If you harm the Iraqi people while the Palestinians are still suffering it will only fuel the anger of the Arabs. No leader in the Arab world would be able to stop people expressing anger at such a move.

MARK WILLACY: And in a clear reminder of the mood of the Middle East, President Mubarak has reminded George W. Bush that not one Arab state, not even Kuwait or Saudi Arabia, wants a strike on Iraq.

A veteran of the shifting sands of Middle Eastern politics, the Egyptian leader knows full well that a US led regime change in Baghdad would inflame Islamist elements within his own country.

But Hosni Mubarak is right when he argues that no one here wants the United States trooping around Iraq.

In the last few days, Qatar has joined the list of Arab states counselling President Bush against military action. Jordan's King Abdullah argues that hitting his neighbour would open a pandora's box in the Middle East. Privately his officials fear a strike would devastate the kingdom's already sick economy.

Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, enjoying a slight warming in relations with Saddam Hussein, says a strike would destabilise the whole region. That's a view shared by Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Abdullah Bin Abdul Azziz, who warns it could lead to a human tragedy.

Saudi Arabia is seen by many of its own citizens as being too close to the US, so approval to use its airbases is highly unlikely. But the Bush administration isn't giving up on the Saudis. The US President spent hours at his Texas ranch listening to the concerns of a Saudi delegation.

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.

ARI FLEISCHER: Every time the President meets with foreign leaders and the topic of Iraq comes up, the President thinks it's a constructive exchange of ideas.

He listens carefully to the thoughts that people have about how to deal with Iraq. He hears them say and agree with him that Saddam Hussein is a threat, that Saddam Hussein is a menace, and then the President makes his case about why the world be better off without Saddam Hussein there.

The President is speaking in general terms at this time because no decision has been made.

MARK WILLACY: Iraq knows that George W. Bush is struggling to find some like-minded friends in the Middle East. Sniffing the wind, Saddam Hussein has declared to Iraq's official news agency that US threats are aimed not only at Baghdad but the entire Arab world.

It's not quite the 'come here and you'll leave in a coffin' rhetoric because the Iraqi leader has recently decided to tone down his language. In what some have described as a chum offensive, Saddam is instead insisting that any settlement of what he calls 'the problem' must rely on international law and the United Nations charter.

But the two sides in this debate are arguing different points. While Saddam Hussein's talking about weapons inspections and sanctions, George W. Bush is talking about wholesale regime change. And it's easy to forget that military operations in Iraq never really stopped anyway.

An Iraqi government spokesman says in the last 24 hours, British and US planes enforcing a no-fly zone bombed the airport of the main northern city of Mosul, while a military spokesman says war planes hit an Iraqi civilian installation in the south of the country.

LINDA MOTTRAM: Middle East correspondent Mark Willacy reporting.

Worried about Iran? What if Musharraf falls?

We are worried , with good reason, about the witches brew being cooked up by the mullahs in Iran. The worry is about an Islamist government with the ability to launch a nuclear weapon. What is our plan if Pakistan falls under the control of any of the violent crazies rife in Pakistan? It is not an unlikely event.

Strike Brings Karachi Screeching to Halt
By Zarar Khan
The Associated Press

KARACHI, Pakistan -- A general strike paralyzed Karachi and closed businesses in other major Pakistani cities Monday as discontent grew over President Pervez Musharraf's ouster of the chief justice and a weekend of violence that left 41 people dead.

Shops were shut and traffic was thin on the roads in the southern port city, where security forces have authority to shoot rioters on sight, after the worst political violence in Pakistan in years broke out over the weekend.

Security forces Saturday took no action as rival groups demonstrating over an abortive visit to Karachi by suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry fought fierce clashes that also wounded more than 150 and caused widespread damage to property. Opposition parties blamed the government for the violence and called a nationwide protest strike Monday.

"There is a complete strike in Karachi," said Azhar Faruqi, the city police chief.

He reported that law and order was improving -- after the unrest took an ominous ethnic turn Sunday with clashes between Urdu-speaking Mohajirs linked to a pro-government party and Pashtuns, whose rivalry has caused bloodshed here in the past.

Officials said the strike was being observed in towns and cities across southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital. It was also observed, in varying degrees, in Islamabad and the capitals of Pakistan's other three provinces, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta.

Many citizens appeared to support the strike call; others observed it out of fear of recrimination or unrest during pro-Chaudhry street demonstrations.

In Lahore, about 8,000 people, including lawyers, opposition party and human rights activists, chanted "Go Musharraf Go!" and "Death to Altaf Hussain." Hussain is leader of the pro-government Mutahida Qaumi Movement party blamed for much of the Karachi violence.

They burned two effigies of Musharraf and hundreds of protesters pushed through a police barricade.

The weekend's bloodshed marked a serious escalation in a crisis that began March 9 when Musharraf suspended Chaudhry, and has hardened opposition to plans for the general, a key U.S. ally, to extend his nearly eight-year rule, seeking another term this fall.

The death cult of Islam with nuclear missiles. Worth the risk?

If you have not done so, please read the previous post and watch the video, and then think of AQ in charge of Pakistan and the thought of what happens to the nuclear missiles in Pakistan. Forget what they are saying about Iran. That is a smoke screen. The real threat is Pakistan. They just cannot say the words. If Musharraf is killed and the Islamists are in control... The West needs a defence system that works

The Telegraph
By Condoleezza Rice, US Secretary of State, and Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense

Rice seeks to ease Moscow fears on missile system

Sixteen years after the end of the Cold War, the transatlantic community and Russia are not adversaries. Indeed, on a number of issues, we are partners.

We both face a number of common challenges, among the most threatening is the possibility that a dangerous state will use ballistic missiles, tipped with nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, to hold our societies hostage – or worse.


Condoleezza Rice, Secretary of State
Make no mistake: This is a real challenge. Despite our best efforts, including notable successes in Libya and breaking up the A.Q. Khan network, weapons of mass destruction and missile capabilities continue to proliferate.

We sincerely hope that the diplomatic efforts now under way will succeed in addressing the challenges we face from states like North Korea and Iran. We have made some progress with Pyongyang, and though Teheran still defies the international community, there are signs that it is feeling the diplomatic pressure.

However, we cannot guarantee success, and governments have a responsibility to defend their people.

The logic of Cold War "Mutual Assured Destruction" does not make sense in today’s strategic environment. Today, we seek security based on more than the grim premise that we can destroy those who seek to destroy us.

We need to be clear that the missile threat from Iran is real and growing, and it is a threat not just to the United States, but to Europe and Russia as well.

Looking a few years ahead, other such missile threats will likely emerge as well. It is with these new realities in mind that we are developing and deploying modest missile defenses.

Our goal is to field systems capable of protecting not only the United States and our forces, but also friends and allies like those in the transatlantic community. We speak of the transatlantic community because we have learned that our security is not divisible; that if our allies are not secure, America is not secure. America cannot "go it alone."

To ensure our common security, we need defenses in place well before a threat fully emerges. Accordingly, we have approached some of our allies with the idea of deploying limited missile defense capabilities: 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar installation in the Czech Republic.

While the United States can defend its own territory without these additional capabilities, fielding them would enable us to extend coverage to most of Europe while providing improved protection at home.

Our strategy is to strengthen our ability to detect, defend against, and thus deter a missile attack.

Missile defenses are part of contemporary deterrence and promote stability, as we saw last summer, when we activated our system for the first time in response to North Korean missile launch preparations. In that case, our missile defense system allowed our national leadership to consider a wider, more flexible range of responses to a potential attack.

Effective defenses also reduce incentives for states to acquire missiles in the first place, by undermining their military utility and thus promoting our nonproliferation goals.

We have come a long way from early programs and tests in the 1980s and 90s. Since 2001, we have had 26 successful hit-to-kill intercepts out of 34 attempts. And 15 of the last 16 flight tests have been successful in the past couple of years.

Given this trend of success, we are confident that these systems will work, and that they will represent a practical 21st century solution to the new threat we all face. The system we have in mind is limited, and the missiles have no warhead at all. It is oriented against a potential enemy with a small arsenal, attempting to blackmail our people, sow chaos, and sap our collective will.

Development of such a limited system is realistic. Critics of this approach should also be realistic: This system is of no use against a huge nuclear and ballistic missile arsenal, such as that possessed by Russia.

Talk of a new "arms race" with Russia is anachronistic and not grounded in reality: America and Russia under the Treaty of Moscow are reducing our strategic nuclear warheads to levels not seen in decades.

Security should be—must be—discussed in a cooperative, multilateral way.

That is why the United States has consulted extensively about our plans over the last few years both with Russia and our Allies, including in Moscow, within NATO, and at the NATO-Russia Council, most recently on April 19.

NATO and Russia have had good, practical cooperation on theater missile defense for the past seven years. We look forward to continued and expanded cooperation both in NATO and with Russia.

President Bush has reaffirmed to President Putin our desire to cooperate with Russia on missile defense, and a US delegation offered new proposals for potential partnership with Russia in this area in Moscow on April 17.

We both have planned visits to Moscow to follow up and advance our consultations with the Russians – Secretary Gates recently completed a visit on April 24, and Secretary Rice will be visiting next month.

Our collective defense is too important for us to fall prey to scare tactics, slogans from the past, or attempts to drive wedges between us.

NATO has a role in missile defense. So do bilateral arrangements between America, our Allies, and hopefully also with Russia.

We all face an emerging common threat, and America has proposed a practical solution.

Europe, above all, must know – based on its own modern history - that the time to cooperate is now, not when the threat is imminent.