As of 11 am Eastern, before I got on a plane to SFO all electronic media was down in Pakistan. There is talk of a Code of Conduct being put in place for media. For unvarnished updates out of Pakistan, here's where to start:
Metroblogging Karachi
http://karachi.metblogs.com/
While the blog is constantly being updated about the events as they unfold, I am sure there would be concerns about law and order situation in the city.
and
http://lahore.metblogs.com
http://islamabad.metblogs.
and, generally:
http://bloggers.pk
PS, 7:10 pm Pacific/7:10 am Pakistan ST: We're all assessing what's going on. The words "Martial Law" keep being used. Technically, the government is trying to pass this off as a constitutionally-defined "Emergency". There's a difference.
For Civil Society in Pakistan--the media, the human rights activists, the lawyers, and the bloggers--this is our moment of truth and the folks on the ground need all the help, support, encouragement and recognition they can get.
Technorati tags applicable to this post: Pakistan - Emergency
3 comments:
golden rule:
he who has the gold makes the rule!
i feel the justices not invited to take the oath should launch a Justice Party (no pun intended) and allow the people to rally to their support
unless the people come out on the streets against the military occupation this opportunity will pass by and pakistan will continue its downward spiral
i hope i am wrong!
I have been following politics in Pakistan ever since I was 6-7 years
old. I still remember Bhutto's unlawful hanging. I remember Zia's
corrupt and bigoted martial law and I also remember the nascent and at
times the corrupt democracies which followed. But what I see happening today in Pakistan is not only unwarranted but also unparalleled in our history.
Our Judiciary is under siege, they are effectively arrested as if they
are nothing more than common criminals. Imagine majority of the Supreme Court being held hostage in any civilized country. How shameful. With them a majority of the High Court Judges of Pakistan are also being held hostage by the present regime.
And then the usurpers who call themselves the government of Pakistan
have the galls to talk about that they are doing all this for the
betterment of the country. They speak to us as if they are speaking to
their slaves. They talk down to us.
How long, how long are we going to suffer this ignominy? When will we
stand up and be counted?
All these years I have been disillusioned by the dream called Pakistan.
A ray of hope arose when the lawyer's community and the Higher Judiciary
rose to the occasion.
A hope that yes maybe I too might have some recourse against the people
who sit in the corridors of power and who are not used to any one
questioning their authority and wrong doings.
A hope, that I too can enjoy basic freedoms and human rights.
But for now it seems like it was just an amazing dream that has just
ended too quickly. The ray of hope was quashed by those who are nothing
more than Usurpers of this nation's rights and hopes. And darkness
prevails again. The fight between good and evil has moved into its
second phase.
The judges have done their duty, the lawyers and ex judges have done
their duty, the media has done its duty, and now the bugle blows for us
the citizens of Pakistan wherever we are to do our duty.
My fellow Pakistanis there is no better time to be counted than now, let
your voices be heard, let the people who are assaulting us in the cover
of darkness know that we will not take it lying down any more.
Let the usurpers and their cohorts know that Pakistan was not created
for them but for us the common man, so that we could enjoy life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.
I ask my fellow Pakistanis to register their protest peacefully and for
those who are in Pakistan to lay wreaths on the gates of the judiciary
that has been murdered by the evil usurper, and do it in large numbers.
So that by leaving behind these wreaths we can let these usurpers know
that yes we are peaceful but we are aware and we will not let them take
away our rights without a fight.
I suggest we lay these wreaths outside all the courts in Pakistan. And
mourn the death of our brave judiciary. And then when we have done this
in the thousands, then we should rejoice and welcome the new judiciary
which has arisen out of these ashes the brave judiciary who lies
captured in the hands of these usurpers, and rise to free them from
these shackles.
For those who are not in Pakistan I suggest, we register our protest by
writing to the editors of the various influential newspapers and writing
or calling our elected representatives wherever we are and letting them
know that they need to now stand up with the moderates and the democracy
loving people of Pakistan and only then is there any salvation against
the extremists that they are trying so hard to defeat. Or otherwise what
stares them in their faces is a civil war in Pakistan. And that is not
good. For you don't want another Iraq or Iran in the face of Pakistan.
It is time to be counted. Time to let our voices be heard. Stop all that
you are doing. Your country needs nothing more than for you to be on the
streets, and on the phones or with your emails to let you voices be
heard among all mankind that we will not take this lying down.
Wonderful thoughts, and wonderful expression on them, anonymous. I wish you'd left some contact information so we could continue the discussion.
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