PAKISTAN: Supreme Court sealed off as emergency law imposed in Pakistan
- 00:03:50
- ITN Source
PAKISTAN: Supreme Court sealed off as emergency law imposed in Pakistan
The Supreme Court Chief Justice in Islamabad has been dismissed, and troops have been deployed across Pakistan following President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule. Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Saturday (November 3) and deployed troops across the capital in a bid to reassert his flagging authority against political rivals and Islamist militants. Nuclear-armed Pakistan's internal security has deteriorated sharply in recent months with a wave of suicide attacks by al Qaeda-inspired militants, including one that killed 139 people. State-run Pakistan Television said General Musharraf, who is also chief of army staff, had suspended the constitution and declared an emergency. The move is expected to put off parliamentary elections due in January. Witnesses said paramilitary troops were deployed at Pakistan Television and radio stations ahead of the announcement, which follows weeks of speculation that U.S. ally Musharraf might impose emergency rule or martial law. Troops sealed off Constitution Avenue, the thoroughfare where the presidency building, the National Assembly and the Supreme Court are located. Television channels also said that Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, whose earlier dismissal in March marked the beginning of a slide in Musharraf's popularity, had been told that his services were "no longer required". Chaudhry had been reinstated in July. Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, was awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether he was eligible to run for re-election last month while still army chief. The court said on Friday it would reconvene on Monday and try to finish the case quickly, having earlier said it would take a break until Nov. 12 -- just three days before Musharraf's current term is due to expire. About 139 people were killed on October 19 by an attempted suicide bomb assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto during a procession through Karachi when she returned from eight years of self-imposed exile. Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari said she was already on a flight back to Pakistan from Dubai. He described Musharraf's move was "definitely not pleasant news".
ITN Source | November 3, 2007
