Friday, December 21, 2007

Unity, Faith and Discipline

E Ilahi


Lawyers, human rights activists and people from the civil society gathered at the entrance of the Judges Enclave hoping to greet the Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, as he was supposed to offer Eid prayers at the Faisal Mosque. He was prevented from doing so and his supporters who had gathered to greet him were not allowed to cross the barricades. Hence, they offered their Eid prayers right there on the road beside the barricades.


<A group of lawyers and human rights activists, who are hoping to meet with deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry on Eid-al-Adha, chant slogans after police block them near the Chaudhry's residence in Islamabad, Pakistan on Friday, Dec. 21, 2007.
(AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)



Pakistani riot police officer stand alert behind the barricade to block a group of lawyers and human rights activists.
(AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)



A group of lawyers and human rights activists, who are hoping to meet with deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, offer Eid-al-Adha prayers beside the police barricade near Chaudhry's residence in Islamabad, Pakistan on Friday, Dec. 21, 2007.
(AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)



A group of lawyers and human rights activists, who are hoping to meet with deposed Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, offer Eid-al-Adha prayers beside the police barricade near Chaudhry's residence in Islamabad, Pakistan on Friday, Dec. 21, 2007.
(AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Aitzaz Ahsan Arrested Again on His Way to Islamabad for Eid

E Ilahi


Geo News has reported that Aitzaz Ahsan has been arrested once again. According to his son, Ali Ahsan, he was arrested around 1am. He was on his way to Islamabad from Lahore with his wife and son for Eid on Friday, December 21st. Intially, he was transferred to an unknown location but later he was sent back to Lahore.

The New York Times has also reported the rearrest of Aitzaz Ahsan: Pakistan: Lawyers’ Leader Rearrested

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Aitzaz Ahsan: Pakistan opposition lawyer freed for Eid holiday


Aitzaz Ahsan, left, a prominent lawyer and opposition leader speaks during a protest arranged by journalists against President Pervez Musharraf, who has imposed restrictions upon the media, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2007, in Lahore, Pakistan. Ahsan was released early Thursday from house arrest for the three-day Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha that begins Friday, his wife Bushra Aitzaz said. He has been detained since Musharraf imposed the state of emergency.
(AP Photo/K M Chaudary)



Pakistan's opposition lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan gestures after his temporary release from detention in Lahore December 20, 2007.
REUTERS/Mohsin Raza


Aitzaz Ahsan was temporarily released from detention for Eid on Thursday and vowed to press ahead with his campaign.

Aitzaz Ahsan, a former member of the National Assembly for Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, was detained under emergency powers that Musharraf invoked on November 3.

Ahsan was held at Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi for nearly three weeks before being transferred to house arrest at his home in the eastern city of Lahore.


Aitzaz Ahsan (L) is greeted by lawyers and civil rights activists.REUTERS/Mohsin Raza


"All that I've been told is the siege of my house is being lifted for three days to enable me to perform the duties and obligations of Eid," Ahsan said.

The (constitutional) Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and several other judges remain under house arrest. Ahsan said he and other lawyers were unwavering in their demand to see the dismissed judges reinstated.

"The aims are the same, there's no change in those. We seek the restoration of the judges as on November 2," he said.

"We are a totally peaceful non-violent movement which seeks a liberal, tolerant democratic and plural polity and society in Pakistan in which the constitution is fully applicable, the judiciary is independent and parliament is sovereign."

"We are ready to face batons, bullets and bombs," he said. "Our movement and struggle will continue and there will be no let up till the restoration of judges and the judiciary," he said.


Aitzaz Ahsan (C) is greeted by lawyers and civil rights activists.REUTERS/Mohsin Raza


Ahsan said he wanted to meet colleagues over the next three days to plan out their strategy.

"I will be consulting my colleagues, I will be visiting the deposed judges and we have to decide on the future course of action, but we are not giving up," he said.

He said he wanted to travel around the country meeting lawyers as part of his campaign, as he and many colleagues did when pressing for Chaudhry's reinstatement.

"En route, if the people come out to welcome the lawyers and the judges we will, of course, be very happy."

Ahsan said fair elections were impossible under the prevailing constitutional and legal framework, with a judiciary made up of judges hand-picked by Musharraf.

"In these circumstances, in this legal and constitutional environment, there is no question of a fair election. The process is rigged from point one," he said.

source: AFP and Reuters

Fund for slain journalist Hayat Ullah Khan's young childern

E Ilahi


Hayat Ullah Khan was a Pakistani journalist who was the first one to photograph the wreckage of a US missile that killed Pakistani civilians inside Pakistani territory. After reporting on this he disappeared in December 2005. He was shot dead and his body was found in June 2006 in the North Waziristan region. His wife had protested against his abduction and murder. She also died when a bomb blew up near her house.

Hayat Ullah Khan was awarded the International Press Freedom Award by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). The death of both parents has left behind five children aged 2 to 10. A fund to help the children has been set up by the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). Mohsin Abbas, a friend of Hayat Ullah Khan, makes sure the money from the fund goes to the children. A six-year-old Canadian girl recently donated money to the fund from her own pocket after she heard the story of the slain journalist in school, read more about it below.

To read more about the work of Hayat Ullah Khan visit Frontline: Inside Pakistan's Tribal Areas

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There is change in the air, and it is good

There seems to be a greater spirit of giving this year, led by children
online link :The Spec
December 18, 2007
Suzanne Bourret
The Hamilton Spectator
(Dec 18, 2007)


The children of slain Pakistani journalist Hayatullah Khan stand by the grave of their mother, killed in an explosion.(Abdullah Noor, the Associated Press)


The six-year old Grade 1 student at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Elementary school in Caledonia made a quick decision to empty her wallet to make a donation.

She'd just been told the story about the five children, aged two to 10, who were left as orphans last month near the Afghan border after their mother was killed when a bomb was thrown into their house.

Their father, a Pakistani journalist, Hayatullah Khan, was shot dead last spring for reporting that an al-Qaeda leader was killed by a U.S. missile.

Their uncle, the father's brother, was killed three months after their father was murdered.

Relatives believe the latest killing is part of a vendetta against the family. The children are now in a safe house, but every time their friend Mohsin Abbas, a Spectator reporter, calls, he hears the youngest crying. Mohsin is working on a film, called The Handcuffed, about the price for telling the truth in Pakistan.

The $10 the little girl saved from her allowance and birthday gift money will go to a fund set up by Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) to help the family.

The money goes directly to the family, says Mohsin, who is heading up the project.

Donations can be made by calling Julie Payne at 416-515-9622, ext. 226.

Cheques should be made out to CJFE's Charitable Trust, the Hayat Ullah Khan fund. For information, go to cife.org.

For family and film updates, go to The Handcuffed.

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The Handcuffed



The widow of a Pakistani journalist who was shot dead last year for reporting that an al-Qaeda leader was killed by a U.S. missile herself was killed in a bomb blast near the Afghan border.

Mehr-un-Nisa the mother of five died when a bomb exploded outside her home in the town of Mir Ali, in the North Waziristan region.

A school teacher and the widow of Hayaullah Khan, Nisa had been active in protesting against his abduction and murder last June.

Her five children, ages 2 to 10, were sleeping in an adjoining bedroom. They were not injured in the blast.

Khan's brother says that those who killed his brother are behind his sister-in-law's death. In the past, he has accused Pakistani military intelligence of being involved in his brother's abduction, something the government has consistently denied. An investigation was carried out by the provincial government, but the authorities never found anyone responsible in his death.

Hayatullah Khan's bullet-riddled body was found in June 2006 after he was kidnapped six months earlier. Employed by the European Press Photo Agency (EPA) and by several Pakistani media, he had, just before his abduction, proved that an Al-Qaeda chief had been killed in the Tribal Areas by a U.S. missile.

Khan, who reported for various Pakistani publications, was the first journalist to photograph fragments found at the scene where the Al-Qaeda chief died that appeared to be from a U.S. missile.

Hayataullah Khan was awarded the Canadian Journalists for Free expressions World Press Freedom Award last year.

Monday, 17th December Student Action Committee Islamabad protest photos


Pakistani journalists carry their colleague who was injured in a clash between police and protesters, Monday, Dec. 17, 2007 in Islamabad, Pakistan. Riot police used tear gas and swung batons to disperse demostrators marching toward an enclave where Pakistan's deposed chief justice is being held under house arrest.(AP Photo)



Pakistani police officers detain a protester.(AP Photo)



Pakistani protesters get ready to throw stones towards police.(AP Photo)



Pakistani police fire tear gas shells to disperse protesters.(AP Photo)



Pakistani police charge protesters during a rally.(AP Photo)



Pakistani police charge protesters during a rally.(AP Photo)



Pakistani police charge protesters during a rally.(AP Photo)



Pakistani police officers beat protesters with batons. (AP Photo)



Pakistani police officers charge women protesters during a rally.(AP Photo)



Pakistani police officers charge women protesters during a rally.(AP Photo)



Pakistani police officers charge women protesters during a rally.(AP Photo)



Police run after clashing with civil rights activists trying to march towards the official residence of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. REUTERS



Civil rights activists (L) clash with police as they try to march towards the official residence of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry.REUTERS



Police beat a civil rights activist, who was attempting to march with other activists towards the official residence of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. REUTERS



Police beat a civil rights activist, who was attempting to march with other activists towards the official residence of deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry. REUTERS



Pakistani policemen beat a civil rights activist in Islamabad, 17 December 2007.
(AFP/Farooq Naeem)

Multan Lawyers Protest Rally (BBC video & photos)

Multan Lawyers Protest Rally Dec. 6th (BBC video)[CLICK HERE]


Lawyers push a police officer during a protest demanding the reinstatement of sacked judges in Multan December 6, 2007.REUTERS



Lawyers attack a policeman. REUTERS



Lawyers support an injured colleague after they clashed with police. REUTERS



Pakistani lawyers get hold of a police officer during a clash with police in Multan. AP Photo



Pakistani lawyers carry their colleague who was injured during a clash with police in Multan. AP Photo

Baton charge @ Islamabad Student Protest videos (Dec. 4th)

BBC Urdu video: Islamabad Student Protest (Dec. 4th) [CLICK HERE]

Aabpara Student Protest video (Dec. 4th) (copyright of Fauzia Minallah)

MISSING IN PAKISTAN by ZIAD ZAFAR

A very eye-opening investigative documentary !
(total length: 24 min)

Missing in Pakistan Part 1


Missing in Pakistan Part 2


Missing in Pakistan Part 3


documentary available for download from Google Video [CLICK HERE]

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PAKISTAN: DISAPPEARED by DAVID MONTERO

(length: 16.5 min)
Documentary Video [CLICK HERE]

accompanying article by David Montero

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PAKISTAN'S MISSING PEOPLE by REUTERS REPORTER ARSHAD SHARIF
(length: 2.44 min)
Video Report [CLICK HERE]

LET'S STAND WITH PAKISTAN'S HEROES

FAISAL MAHMOOD


Lawyers there are risking arrest to defend the rule of law. We admire their bravery.
By William H. Neukom
from the November 16, 2007 edition
THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

WASHINGTON - We all have seen the images: Lawyers clad in dark suits, symbols of professional responsibility, enveloped in clouds of tear gas. Soldiers surrounding a nation's Supreme Court, and thousands of lawyers and judges, as well as several justices, placed under arrest.

Much has been written about the unfolding crisis in Pakistan, and how the US government should respond. Less has been said about its significance for the rule of law, which is more important than ever in the dangerous world we live in today.

Since Gen. Pervez Musharraf, president of Pakistan, declared a state of emergency there, the impact on lawyers in America and in other nations has been electric – virtually unprecedented in my more than 40 years of practice.

To many Americans, Pakistan's breakdown may seem vaguely routine, another eruption in a distant land. But to American lawyers, the events are shocking and immediate.

In part, it is because we see our fellow lawyers and judges in Pakistan doing something dangerous and heroic: standing up to police and soldiers, subjecting themselves to arrest for such ideals as the "rule of law" and an "independent judiciary."

Their bravery reminds us that these ideals are not abstract at all. They are the difference between nations of justice and law, and unchecked tyrannies. This crisis reminds us how precious, and fragile, the rule of law is in the United States and in all nations.

This week, lawyers gathered in Washington and states across the country to express solidarity and to stand shoulder to shoulder with our courageous colleagues in Pakistan.

The American Bar Association and other bar groups have called on General Musharraf to restore the Constitution, re-instate the Supreme Court justices, and free those lawyers he has wrongly arrested. We will continue working until the rule of law is restored in Pakistan.

As lawyers, we see it as no coincidence that Musharraf targeted his crackdown on his nation's legal community, as well as on the press and other organs of civil society.

Like a free press, judges and lawyers who are free from intimidation and outside influence are essential checks to raw power. These agents of liberty are a danger to would-be tyrants, and Musharraf has treated them as such.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, American lawyers helped draft constitutions and train judges whose work would help new democracies emerge.

We appeared to be at the start of a worldwide flowering of liberty, but today, we increasingly see those gains in jeopardy.

To advocates of the rule of law, the recent actions in Pakistan are worse than a misfortune; they are a catastrophic reversal of values we hold dear. And in a world threatened by terrorism and rising autocrats, they make our world more dangerous, not less.

America's lawyers do not claim expertise in foreign policy. But we can speak for the urgency of standing up for justice and the rule of law.

The loss of a constitution and the arrest of thousands of lawyers and judges, including those on the Supreme Court, cannot be ignored. Lawful government in Pakistan is the best way to assure security and justice.

William H. Neukom is president of the American Bar Association.

Source:

The Christian Sciene Monitor