Video: Interview With A Suicide Bomber

Andrew Sullivan calls it interviewing evil.

Perhaps it has something to do with this individual's sociopathic, unyeilding cling to an irrational, murderous ideology that basks in its own delusions of godliness.

Via You Tube:

An interview with a Taliban trained Suicide Bomber With English Subtitles. What are the intentions and what are the motive forces behind the Suicide Bombing & other acts of terrorism? Watch from the mouth of a Taliban suicide bomber himself.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Solidarity with Pakistani Lawyers: Black Flag Week, March 9 -15, 2008

From an email received Friday:

We are asking you to support and promote international solidarity for Black Flag Week, March 9 –15, in Pakistan. Aitzaz Ahsan, the President of the Supreme Court Bar has called for using black flags at all rallies and meetings, and the lawyers in Pakistan will be distributing black headscarves and armbands. We need your help because the principles that lawyers stand for matter. Everywhere.

The purpose of Black Flag Week is to call for the restoration of the rule of law, the reinstatement of the judiciary and the restoration of the Constitution and democracy in Pakistan. The recent election was a clear referendum. The people of Pakistan have spoken. Now, it is time for the judiciary to be restored, for an end to house arrests and other measures of intimidation, for the end of arbitrary rule.

We are contacting bar associations, prominent lawyers and journalists, and law schools here in the United States and asking them to show support for Pakistani lawyers by wearing black armbands or an item of black clothing that will call attention to their struggle for civil liberties. Our goal is to inform the public about the situation there and the need for restoration of the rule of law. We would like support and publicity worldwide-- with your help-- in spreading our message or one of your own.

From Achieving Our Country:

At first glance, there would seem to be no reason to turn our attention to a lawyer’s protest in a place 10 time-zones away on the other side of the world. After all, don’t we have enough on our plate...

Why worry about the Pakistani judiciary? Why worry about the restoration of democracy there?

In truth, it is probably always a smaller world than we imagine. Black Flag Week, which starts Monday, is set to commemorate the deposition of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry last year on March 9, 2007, the catalyst of a courageous lawyers' movement - and a political firestorm - that has engulfed Pakistan for months. Along with the subsequent State Emergency declared by President Musharaff on November 3, 2007, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto on December 27, 2007, and the free elections of February 18, 2008, it was a pivotal event, with implications, as things have turned out, worldwide. In Pakistan, many tens of thousands have protested in solidarity with the lawyers, and over the course of the turbulence and the elections, hundreds, like Ms. Bhutto, have lost their lives.

See more from Wise Law Blog's archives on the courageous struggles of Pakistan's legal profession.

We are glad to offer our support.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Hostage Drama in Pakistan ends quickly

According to a BBC Report the 250 schoolchildren and teachers taken hostage by a group of armed men earlier on Monday in North Western Pakistan have been released unharmed.

- Shashi K. Raina, Toronto

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New Bhutto Video Shows Gunman, Shooting

New video of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto casts doubt on the Pakistani government's "official" explanation that Mrs. Bhutto was killed when she hit her head on a sunroof lever.

CNN reports that a lawyer on the Board of the hospital where Mrs. Bhutto died says doctors were prevented by Pakistani police from performing an autopsy of the slain leader:

It was a violation of Pakistani criminal law and prevented a medical conclusion about what killed the former prime minister, said Athar Minallah, who serves on the board that manages Rawalpindi General Hospital.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Bhutto Assassination

In Pakistan news, the fallout continues in the aftermath of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto:

• the assassination sparks riots in Pakistan
• Pakistan's election commission to hold emergency meeting on election
• unrest spreads
• the Musharraf government blames Al-Qaida and Taliban for the Bhutto assassination
• Al-Qaida and Islamic groups deny any involvement
• a Bhutto aide suggests cover-up
• Bhutto's cause of death disputed by supporters as "dangerous nonsense"
• CNN notes three causes of death for Bhutto in 36 hours
• bloggers weigh in on the cause of death, the culprits. and American policy
• American physicians doubt the "cause of death" reports
• John Bolton (of all people) slams Bush policy as "micromanagement," says US helped precipitate conditions for the assassination
• Philadelphia Inquirer suggests that not all Pakistanis are mourning Benazir Bhutto
• Canadians are warned against travelling to Pakistan

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Benazir Bhutto

Tarek Fatah has written a moving and personal tribute for Pakistan's slain leader-in-waiting. I am excerpting quite a bit of it:

............

She died as her father did: bravely

By Tarek Fatah

It was the summer of 1966. We were mere teenagers meeting Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who had just resigned as Pakistan's foreign minister and was about to launch a new left-wing political movement, the Pakistan Peoples Party.

Sitting in the front yard of his sprawling Karachi mansion, he engaged us in a lively discussion about Islam, democracy and socialism, while chewing on a cigar. That was the day I first saw Benazir Bhutto. She came in, had a brief chat with her dad and then left, as we debated how best to oust Pakistan's then military dictator, Ayub Khan.

Pinky, as Benazir was then known, barely nodded at us. The articulate young girl did not participate in the discussion about democracy, nor did she hear her father talk about the cancer of dictatorships, but she would not have to wait too long to discover that herself. None of us could have imagined how the disease, strengthened by Islamic extremism, would wipe out almost the entire Bhutto family. Within 40 years, Benazir, her father and her two brothers would all be victims of political assassination.

...While Benazir represented modernity and a quest for gender equality, the Islamist establishment and the Army's Inter-Services Intelligence - that Islamists have so effectively penetrated - wanted to turn back the clock of history and permanently exclude women from the corridors of power.

When the first suicide bombings killed more than a hundred of her followers in October, on the day she returned to Pakistan after years in exile, Benazir's naysayers claimed she had staged the attack herself. The Islamists and the left mocked her, labelling her as the poodle of George W. Bush. The cruelty of the slander was matched by her resolve.

Why did they have to kill her? If she was as corrupt as her critics claim, couldn't they have bought her loyalties? Her killers, however, knew that the woman who spent years in jail, lived in exile for a decade, had one thing on her mind: the end of Islamic extremism in Pakistan. For that, and for the fact that she was a woman, she had to be eliminated.

...In Pakistan, the forces of progress and enlightenment are lined up against darkness and death. How can we in Canada ensure that Benazir Bhutto's quest for progress and democracy is not buried with her?

...We need to stop dealing with military dictators who imprison court judges, rewrite constitutions, harbour Islamic militants and then present themselves as the saviours of the West. We need to say to these men: As long as you harbour merchants of death and purveyors of hate, we will consider you as persona non-grata and that our doors are closed for you, your ambassadors and your messages of medievalism.

Tarek Fatah's complete article is online at the Globe and Mail.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Canadian Lawyers' March for Pakistani Lawyers and Judges

From a report by Michel-Adrien Sheppard on last Sunday's march in Ottawa by Canadian lawyers in support of the lawyers and judges of Pakistan:

This morning in Ottawa, some 150 lawyers marched to the steps of the Supreme Court of Canada building to support the lawyers and judges of Pakistan and to demand the restoration of the rule of law in that country.

In early November, Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf suspended his country's constitution and purged its Supreme Court. Thousands of Pakistani lawyers and others marched in protest against the imposition of a state of emergency and the attack against fundamental democratic principles. Hundreds were beaten by riot police and jailed.

The Ottawa march, organized by the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) and the County of Carleton Law Association, was led by CBA president Bernard Amyot.

(Photo via the Canadian Bar Association)

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Commonwealth Suspends Pakistan

Just days after President George Bush's emphatic declaration that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf "truly is somebody who believes in democracy," the 53 member Commonwealth of Nations has acted upon a wholly contrary conclusion.

Thursday, Pakistan was suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth because of the Musharraf government's continuing repudiation of democracy and the rule of law.

CTV reports:

Pakistan was suspended from the 53-nation Commonwealth on Thursday over President Pervez Musharraf's failure to lift imposition of emergency rule and meet a deadline to restore democracy in the country.

The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), a committee of nine foreign ministers empowered by the Commonwealth to make such decisions, agreed to turf Pakistan during a meeting in Uganda.

The decision came following Prime Minister Stephen Harper's call earlier in the day for Pakistan's removal.

...The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting involves 53 member states, all linked together by Britain's colonial legacy.

Hindu News Update Service also reports:

Kampala, (PTI): Acting tough, the Commonwealth has suspended Pakistan after President Pervez Musharraf failed to meet a deadline to lift emergency and step down as army chief.

The "CMAG (Commonwealth foreign ministers) suspended Pakistan forthwith from the councils of the Commonwealth, pending the restoration of democracy and the rule of law in that country," Commonwealth Secretary General, Don McKinnon, told reporters after an extended late night sitting.

As does BBC News:

Pakistan barred from Commonwealth

Pakistan has been suspended from the Commonwealth because of its imposition of emergency rule, the organisation has announced after a meeting in Uganda.

Secretary General Don McKinnon said Pakistan was being suspended "pending restoration of democracy and the rule of law".

A senior Pakistani official said the government regretted the suspension.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Bush on Pakistan

Washington Post:

President Bush yesterday offered his strongest support of embattled Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, saying the general "hasn't crossed the line" and "truly is somebody who believes in democracy."

Bush spoke nearly three weeks after Musharraf declared emergency rule, sacked members of the Supreme Court and began a roundup of journalists, lawyers and human rights activists. Musharraf's government yesterday released about 3,000 political prisoners, although 2,000 remain in custody, according to the Interior Ministry.

Meanwhile, CNN reports Musharraf poised for third term:

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Thursday looked set to take the oath of office for a third five year-term as president.

Pakistan's Supreme Court, newly filled with his allies, sided with him on the final legal challenge to his candidacy, clearing the way to his re-election victory, The Associated Press reported.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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CBA: Canadian Lawyers Will March to Supreme Court of Canada November 25, in Support of Pakistani Lawyers, Judges

The Canadian Bar Association announced Monday that it is convening a dark suit march by Canadian lawyers on November 25 at Ottawa. The march is intended to be a demonstration of solidarity by Canada's legal profession with our courageous Pakistani legal brethren.

From the CBA:

CBA March in Solidarity with the Defenders of the Rule of Law in Pakistan: Sunday, Nov. 25, Ottawa

The Canadian Bar Association (CBA) is joining legal organizations around the world in a show of support for the lawyers and judges of Pakistan, calling for the restoration of the rule of law in that country.

On Sunday, November 25 in Ottawa, the CBA will be holding a march in solidarity with the defenders of the rule of law in Pakistan. CBA President Bernard Amyot will lead the procession of CBA Bar Leaders, lawyers, law students and other members of the legal community from across Canada. The County of Carleton Law Association is also giving its full support to the march to the steps of the Supreme Court of Canada. Bar Leaders will address the marchers and participants will have the opportunity to sign a petition of support for Pakistan lawyers, judges and the rule of law.

All lawyers, their families and champions of the rule of law are invited to join in this Ottawa event to show their concern.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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20,000 Pakistani Lawyers in Jail?

Yahoo India News has this chilling report, alleging a vastly higher number of Pakistani lawyers in detention than has previously been estimated:

More than 20,000 lawyers in Pakistan have been put in detention following President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency, two prominent Pakistani lawyers said here.

'One in every four lawyers in Pakistan has been put away - 2,400 in Punjab alone,' said Mohammad Akram Sheikh, a senior Islamabad-based lawyer who is on a tour of London and Washington to lobby against Musharraf.

'This is not a story that is getting out to the international media. In some places, entire bar associations have been put into jail,' he added.

'Basically, any lawyer who is objecting to the emergency is behind bars.'

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Benazir Bhutto Under House Arrest Again

Washington Post reports that for the second time in less than a week, Benazir Bhutto has been detained under house arrest:

LAHORE, Pakistan, Nov. 13 -- The Pakistani government early Tuesday placed former prime minister Benazir Bhutto under house arrest for seven days and said her party would be barred from holding a major procession to protest emergency rule.

According to AP, she responded subsequently with a call for General Pervez Musarraf's resignation;

LAHORE, Pakistan - Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Tuesday urged President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to resign and ruled out serving under him in a future government after she was placed under house arrest for the second time in five days.
Bhutto also said it was now likely her Pakistan People's Party would boycott January parliamentary elections and indicated that she wanted to build an alliance with other opposition leaders, including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to restore democracy.

CBC News has her statement:

"[President Gen. Pervez] Musharraf himself is a hurdle in the way of democracy," the former prime minister told a private TV network in a phone interview from a house in Lahore. "In order to save Pakistan, Musharraf should resign."

.......

In other developments, ABA comments on further manipulations of the Pakistani judicial system by Musharraf, now allowing civilians to be tried by military courts:

As an individual lawyer reportedly challenged, in the country's highest court, the suspension of Pakistan's constitutional system of government a little over a week ago, Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, appeared to be a step or two ahead of him.

Yesterday he amended the 1952 Army Act, to allow the army to try citizens in military court, writes Bloomberg.

Hence, it appears that Musharraf is now further expanding the influence he exerted on the judicial system Nov. 3 by firing numerous appellate judges, including the chief judge of the supreme court, when the general also declared a state of emergency and suspended the constitution. Although Musharraf portrayed the move as a necessary to keep terrorism under control, it is widely perceived as an effort to silence a supreme court that has enforced the rule of law rather than deferring to the military-dominated government.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Law Society of Upper Canada Calls On Pakistan to Reinstate Constitution

The Law Society of Upper Canada issued a statement Monday, expressing "grave concerns about the dismantling of the rule of law in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan:"

The Law Society deplores and condemns the imposition of the Proclamation of Emergency, the suspension of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the dismissal of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and over 40 other judges, the abrogation of the rule of law and of the independence of the Supreme Court Bar Association, and the reported detention of at least 3,500 lawyers and civil rights activists.

..."The Law Society stands with its colleagues in Pakistan who are engaged in upholding the Rule of Law at this difficult time. We recognize that lawyers have a unique role to play in sustaining and developing democratic principles and commend our colleagues for their vigilance and their courage. The erosion of respect for the rule of law elsewhere threatens its tenuous position even in the most democratic societies," said Gavin MacKenzie, Treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada.

...The Law Society urges the legal community to intervene in support of members of the legal profession in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in their efforts to maintain the independence of the judiciary and to promote the rule of law.

The Law Society of Upper Canada is the regulatory body that governs Ontario's lawyers. The entire statement, in PDF format, is here.

The Canadian Bar Association has also issued a statement calling for a return to the rule of law in Pakistan.

American Bar Association ABA President William H. Neukom similarly condemned Musharraf's actions, and has called for lawyers to march to the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday:

It is time for us to demonstrate that we share Pakistani lawyers' commitment to justice. Please wear your black suit and join lawyers in Washington, D.C., or in your community as we walk to court on November 14. Together, we will show that Pakistan's lawyers are not fighting alone.

Robert Ambrogi also notes that other demonstrations by lawyers are scheduled to occur in Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles today.

I agree with his comment that a more unified and less-fragmented reponse by the legal profession a whole would have been more impactful.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Is Benazir Bhutto Under House Arrest in Pakistan?

There are conflicting reports online, but it appears that Benazir Bhutto has now been detained by government forces in Islamabad.

CNN is reporting that the Pakistani opposition leader is under house arrest in Islamabad:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Dozens of security forces surrounded opposition leader and former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's house Friday and cordoned off nearby streets, hours before a massive rally organized by her Pakistan People's Party against the state of emergency was due to start, sources close to Bhutto told CNN.

..The sources said police have not served Bhutto an official house arrest notice, but according to local media reports she has been denied visitors and cannot leave her home.

As first noted by TPM, the Associated Press is also reporting that Ms. Bhutto has been placed under house arrest:

Pakistani police backed by armored vehicles detained opposition leader Benazir Bhutto at her Islamabad residence Friday and reportedly rounded up 5,000 of her supporters to block a planned mass protest against emergency rule, officials said.

Authorities were adamant the rally Bhutto planned in nearby Rawalpindi would not go ahead - under the government's emergency powers President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared last weekend, mass gatherings are banned. Mayor Javed Akhlas also said there was a "credible report" of six or seven suicide bombers in the city.

"We condemn this government move. It shows that the government is scared of Benazir Bhutto's popularity and it does not want her to be among masses," said Sen. Babar Awan, Bhutto's lawyer.

New York Times also corroborates these reports.

Reuters, however, reports this development differently. It writes that while the Bhutto house has indeed been cordoned off and surrounded by police, this move has occurred solely for her protection and her movement is not restricted:

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani police cordoned off the home of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto on Friday and sealed off a park in Rawalpindi where she was due to hold her first rally since President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule.
A senior official in Islamabad said police had cordoned off Bhutto's home in the city but only for her protection.

"It has been done purely for security reasons. There are no restrictions on her movement," said the official, who declined to be identified.

A suicide bomb attack on a procession in Karachi to welcome Bhutto home on October 18 killed 139 people.

A Bhutto party spokeswoman, Sherry Rehman, said Bhutto was not under house arrest but police had surrounded her home.

Contrary to Reuters, Pakistan Policy Blog provides additional on-the-ground perspective, and confirms the house arrest reports:

Pakistan’s GEO Television reports that People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Benazir Bhutto has been put under house arrest by the government of Pakistan. Her party planned a rally in Rawalpindi today, the military’s administrative center and neighboring city to the capital, Islamabad.

Hamid Mir of GEO states that the decision was made by the Musharraf’s camp after relations between the PPP and the Muttahida Majlis-e Amal (MMA) — the coalition of Islamist parties — warmed this week after years of frostiness. The MMA, and in particular the JUI-F, is one of the wild cards that will determine how big the street protests will become. Mir also added that Maulana Fazlur Rahman (JUI-F) could be placed under house arrest soon as well.

It should also be noted that Bhutto today called for the restoration of the pre-emergency rule Supreme Court. She had not mentioned this earlier in the week, and indeed stated that the allegations made against several of the justices should be looked into.

This is clearly a very unstable situation. With this development, it appears to be intensifying and heading dangerously toward a showdown.

UPDATE: November 9, 2007 - MSNBC now reports that the house arrest order against Benazir Bhutto, initially denied, has been lifted:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was freed from house arrest late on Friday shortly after being stopped from leaving her home in Islamabad to lead a rally against President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule earlier in the day.

"The detention order has been withdrawn," said Aamir Ali Ahmed, acting deputy commissioner of Islamabad.

The Bush administration had earlier urged Musharraf to end the house arrest.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Opposition Unsatisfied as Musharraf Announces Pakistan Election Deadline

CNN reports that Pakistan's President, General Pervez Musharraf, indicated today that parliamentary elections will be held in the country by February 15, 2008.

The opposition, led by the lawyers of Pakistan, however, is not placated by this announcement. It continues to demand the reinstatement of Pakistan's Chief Justice, Iftikar Chaudry:

"The general opposition in this country want those (Supreme Court) judges to be reinstated," opposition leader Imran Khan told CNN International. "Just lifting the emergency (order) is not good enough for us."

"We intend to resist him (Musharraf) as long as he does not reinstate the chief justice," said Khan, who is in hiding after escaping from house arrest earlier this week.

Musharraf dismissed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and the rest of the Supreme Court shortly after Saturday's emergency declaration, and replaced them with his supporters.

Khan and other opposition leaders accuse Musharraf of imposing the emergency declaration as a "power grab" by avoiding the top court's ruling that would have nullified the parliamentary vote that gave him a third term as president.

The newly installed court is expected to approve the vote, paving the way for Musharraf to take the oath of office.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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3,000 Pakistan's Lawyers Jailed - 25% of Country's Legal Profession Arrested, Charged with "Terrorism" Offenses

CNN provides an update on the fate of Pakistan's lawyers under martial rule:

About 3,000 Pakistani lawyers, rounded up since Saturday, sit in jails across the country with no courts operating to which they can appeal for release. Pakistan has an estimated 12,000 lawyers.

Police earned cash bonuses for beating and arresting hundreds of lawyers Monday who had gathered outside of Lahore's courthouse, police sources said.

Any lawyer who attempted to enter the Lahore or Islamabad courthouse Tuesday was immediately arrested, witnesses said. Some were grabbed by police as they walked toward the court, sources said.

CNN's Zain Verjee said the lawyers were charged with terrorism offenses, and human rights workers and journalists were also arrested.

In addition, television news channels -- including CNN and the BBC -- were taken off the air, Verjee said

ABA Journal also covers this story:

Already, a group of eight replacement judges on the supreme court has "set aside" a finding by the former supreme court that Musharraf's state of emergency is unconstitutional, according to the Associated Press.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Quote of the Day

BBC:

The constitution has been ripped to shreds. The lawyers should convey my message to the people to rise up and restore the constitution.

This is a time for sacrifices. I am under arrest now, but soon I will also join you in your struggle.

- Iftikhar Chaudhry, ousted Chief Justice of Pakistan

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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Pakistan Lawyers Targeted in Musharraf Crackdown

The lawyers of Pakistan are being specifically targeted by the government of General Pervez Musharraf.

On Saturday, Musharraf suspended Pakistan's constitution, declared emergency rule and disbanded the nation's Supreme Court after it refused to certify his actions.

According to news reports, 1,000 Pakistani lawyers have now been arrested in violent confrontations with security forces that have followed the weekend's imposition of martial law.

This MSNBC report sets out the background to these clashes:

Lawyers were the driving force behind protests earlier this year against the U.S.-allied military leader when he tried to fire Pakistan's independent-minded chief justice. The move tarnished Musharraf's standing and spawned a pro-democracy movement that threatened to end his eight-year rule.

Musharraf finally removed the judge, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, when he assumed emergency powers on Saturday, just as the court was preparing to rule whether the military chief's recent re-election as president was legal.

As well as calling for protests, lawyers groups have vowed to boycott all court proceedings held in front of new judges sworn in by Musharraf.

"Police have arrested hundreds of lawyers from various parts of Pakistan, but we will boycott the court and try to hold rallies where ever it is possible. We will do it to express our angers against Musharraf," said Latif Afridi, president of the bar council in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

CNN details the violence and arrests:

More than a thousand lawyers were arrested across Pakistan Monday and police blocked roads leading to courthouses in major cities.

...President Musharraf said the suspension of the constitution was made necessary by the growing threat of terrorism and out-of-control judicial activism. But opponents said Musharraf was trying to avoid a Supreme Court decision expected in the coming days that could have ruled that he was not eligible for another presidential term.

... The scene outside of the Lahore court turned violent Monday as police used tear gas as they arrested at least 1,000 lawyers gathered there. CNN's Mohsin Naqvi, who was in the crowd, said police were brutally beating the lawyers and the journalists who were covering the story. While Naqvi said he was not hit, he was coughing from the tear gas.

Police sources told CNN over the weekend that they had a list of 1,500 lawyers and political activists who were to be arrested. The round up which started Saturday night continued Monday morning with 205 lawyers taken into custody in Faisalabad, a city in Punjab province.

Another 30 lawyers were arrested in Islamabad and Rawalpindi as they gathered for a demonstration, police said.

Police raided the lawyers' bar association office in Karachi Monday morning, arresting several dozen lawyers, police said.

The Associated Press also reports on violent clashes between police forces and Pakistani lawyers:

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Hundreds of police firing tear gas and swinging batons clashed with lawyers Monday as security forces across Pakistan blockaded courts to prevent protests against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency.

In the biggest gathering, about 2,000 lawyers congregated at the High Court in the eastern city of Lahore. As lawyers tried to exit onto a main road to stage a rally — in defiance of a police warnings not to violate a ban on demonstrations — hundreds of officers stormed inside.

...Police bundled about 250 lawyers into waiting vans, an Associated Press reporter saw. At least two were bleeding from the head.

For further analysis of the political underpinnings of the crisis in Pakistan, see A Country At War, an essay at New Statesman by Ziauddin Sardar.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

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