Monday, December 3, 2007

Student Action Committee issues call for the 4th

IS THERE STILL ROOM FOR HESITATION??

3rd November 2007 – Martial Law was imposed on Pakistan

Independent-minded judges have been sacked & the Sovereign judiciary has been turned into a sham Institution

The Last Check on the Absolute Power of the Executive is Gone! The Last Voice of Justice has been Muffled

The Judges or anyone who argued for the cause of Justice face arrest. Who is helping the terrorists? Are they? Are we? No! It is the state of injustice that is helping the Terrorists!

No matter what is done, how many of our fellow citizens are Disappeared without explanation, how many civilians are killed in military operations, how many families are torn apart, how much the interests of the Pakistani people are harmed by following foreign directives, how many laws of state & humanity are broken

There is no one to question those in power anymore, no one to hold them accountable!

Welcome to the future: No Justice, No Accountability, Restricted Access to Information

Are we going to give up our fundamental rights without a fight?

We, the people of Pakistan, especially the students, have to prove that we are not so uncaring, self-absorbed & cowardly as to not speak up today!

There are conscientious people expressing dissent: common citizens, journalists, doctors, retired army officers & yes, even school children!

We have to ask ourselves - what is the protestors’ crime that the police attacks them with such extreme brutality, with tear gas & batons?

PROTESTING is not the real crime, the real crime is

the ATTACK ON THE JUDICIARY, the ABUSE OF OUR CIVIL RIGHTS & the ASSAULT ON THE MEDIA.

The uniform may be gone. The dates of lifting the emergency & holding elections may have been announced.

But unless the pre-Nov 3rd JUDICIARY & CONSTITUTION are restored, PEMRA’s curbs on the MEDIA are removed, all POLITICAL PRISONERS are released with the charges against them dropped,

WE WILL BOYCOTT THE ELECTIONS

The youth of the nation (students as well as people in the labour force) must work towards a Pakistan governed by humane values, where there is no discrimination on the basis of race and class. With numerous lawyers & activists behind bars & extreme limits on the media, it is our job to create awareness & raise a moral cry in defense of justice, accountability & human rights. We call upon youth to take a stand & we call for the lifting of the ban on student unions, so that campuses can become a constructive arena, not for fighting the battles of political factions & leaders, but for peaceful, non-partisan, intellectual debate on methods to improve the lot of people in educational institutions & the country in general. This is a moment when our choices could make or break our nation. At this crossroads in Pakistan’s history, the nature of governance in the next few years will be determined.

MAKE A CHOICE. IF NOT NOW, WHEN? IF NOT US, WHO? Opt for Action, not Silence.

Only if we UNITE, have FAITH in our own power to change things for the better & move forward with DISCIPLINE, can we change our destiny.

WE INVITE STUDENTS & PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE, TO JOIN OUR

PROTEST RALLY ON 4TH DECEMBER 2007, AT 3:00 PM OUTSIDE THE PRESS CLUB, LAHORE.

Student Action Committee. Lahore

Disclaimer: We represent students united against these injustices, from 21 educational institutions of Lahore. We are not affiliated with any political leader or party; rather, we represent the collective conscience of the students of Pakistan.

Please copy and distribute this to as many people as possible. Join us: sac.lahore@gmail.com.

Update on activities: httpp://pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com (Daily updates of relevant domestic and international developments); http://fastrising.blogspot.com (FAST), http://PURevoution.blogspot.com (PU)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

In solidarity.
I had planned to cast my vote for the first time in life. But each vote counts.No more. We represent a section of the electorate too and if all support this movement, it will be the strongest statement in itself.

Anonymous said...

History repeating itself..

The present day crisis has its roots in ''President Terror and Nawazu.''

Mush 'the tyrant' learned the road map to destroy SC following the script written by the great freedom fighters of today. The civil society of today will not allow this to be published but open your eyes and see

Syed Sajjad Ali Shah was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. In 1997, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party was elected with a majority large enough for Sharif to change the Constitution to remove several checks and balances on the office of Prime Minister. Sharif dismissed Ali Shah after he attempted to vacate one of these constitutional amendments, leading to a constitutional crisis.

President & The Army

Then Two high-level meetings at the Aiwan-i-Sadr took place but failed to resolve the political crisis. Army chief Gen Jehangir Karamat had not so far come up with a solution acceptable to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah.

Later after the incident occurred, Former Chief of Pakistan Army, Gen (Rtd) Jehangir Karamat, refused to send troops to dispel a mob attack on Pakistan’s Supreme Court in 1997 despite pleas from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court since as he said, he was obliged to uphold the constitution of Pakistan. Gen Karamat pointed out that there was an established chain of command and any instructions of that sort should have come from the elected prime minister and the president, who is also the supreme commander.

Reinforcing his argument General Karamat said a precedent would have been established if he had acted on the former Chief Justice Shah’s request, promoting chief justices of provincial high courts to make demands on corps commanders to deal with certain situations. That’s why, he said, he decided to keep the army out of the political trappings.

[edit] The Attack on Supreme Court

Pakistan grappled with its worst-ever constitutional crisis when an unruly mob stormed into the supreme court, forcing Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah to adjourn the contempt of court case against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Hundreds of Pakistan Muslim League supporters and members of its youth wing, the Muslim Students Front(MSF), breached the police cordon around the courthouse when defence lawyer S M Zafar was arguing his case.

A journalist rushed into the courtroom and warned the bench of an impending attack. Whereupon, the chief justice got up abruptly, thanked Zafar and adjourned the hearing. While judicial members left the courtroom soon after, the mob entered it shouting slogans, and damaged furniture. The unruly mob, led by ruling party member from Punjab Sardar Naseem and Colonel (retired) Mushtaq Tahir Kheli, Sharif's political secretary, chanted slogans against the chief justice. The mob also beat up Pakistan People's Party senator Iqbal Haider. The police managed to restore normalcy after baton charging and teargassing the mob, both inside and outside the courthouse. The court which assembled at 9:45am, could continue the proceedings for only about 45 minutes.

Acting CJ Appointed

Later Justice Ajmal Mian, the senior-most Judge, was sworn in as acting Chief Justice of Pakistan. Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui administered the oath. The ceremony was attended by Governors of all the 4 provinces, 3 Chief Ministers, 2 Federal Ministers, Judges of the Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court (FSC), High Courts, retired Judges of the Supreme Court, the Attorney-General and senior lawyers of the apex Court. Justice Ajmal Mian was one of three judges who were superseded by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah in 1994. Up until this clash of the Government and Judiciary, none of Justice Sajjad Ali Shah’s colleagues had ever questioned his appointment and even his past decisions up until this time cannot be questioned. The Nawaz Sharif's government said at this point the Supreme Court is free to do what it likes. Justice Sajjad Ali Shah expressed shock and surprise at the decision to remove him.Those who have followed Justice Sajjad Ali Shah in the Supreme Chair have still to identify and punish the desecrators of the people's apex court.

[edit] Permanent CJ Supreme Court

Justice Ajmal Mian took administrative control of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and fixed a new roaster and issued a new cause-list. Justice Ajmal Mian constituted 6 benches including the 10- member bench which continued hearing of the petitions challenging the appointment of Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah as Chief Justice of Pakistan.The 10-member bench also took up the petition challenging the Thirteenth Amendment. After the conclusion of two cases, Ajmal Mian was appointed as permanent Chief Justice of Pakistan on December 23, 1997.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sajjad_Ali_Shah