UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 17 December 2007 -- In an unprecedented move more than 20 retired ambassadors of Pakistan which included five Foreign Secretaries, issued a strongly worded declaration on 13 December 2007 calling upon General Musharraf to restore the rule of law in Pakistan. The declaration also calls for the reinstatement of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and other senior judges who have been dismissed and detained by the Musharraf regime. It would be recalled that the Bush administration while calling upon Musharraf to lift the emergency and hold free and fair elections, is silent on the reinstatement of the Chief Justice and other judges.

 DECLARATION BY PAKISTAN'S FORMER AMBASSADORS

We, as former ambassadors of Pakistan, deplore the imposition of the state of emergency and suspension of the Constitution by General (R) Pervez Musharraf. As the Supreme Court of Pakistan declared on 3 November, 2007, these steps, which amount to the imposition of martial law, are unconstitutional and illegal. Besides undermining the rule of law and delivering a severe blow to the independence of judiciary, they have dangerously destabilised the country. They also have incurred international opprobrium and badly tarnished Pakistan’s image.  

We, therefore, demand:  

• Immediate restoration of the Constitution and the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts as constituted before the declaration of emergency on 3 November 2007.

• Formation of neutral caretaker Cabinets at the Federal and Provincial levels and reconstitution of the Election Commission to ensure the holding of free, fair and transparent elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies.

• Immediate release of all persons imprisoned or detained under the emergency, including judges, lawyers, journalists, students and others.

• Full restoration of the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution and the lifting of all restrictions imposed on the media.

• Strict adherence by the armed forces to their oath and constitutional role, in accordance with the directives given by the Quaid-e-Azam.

• Strict application of the principle of accountability of holders of public office.

We call upon the parties and the candidates participating in the elections to make a solemn commitment to treat the reinstatement of the judges of the superior judiciary as the top priority issue after the elections.  

The nation also expects that political parties and members of future national and provincial legislatures would adhere to recognized democratic norms in their future conduct and pay serious attention to the overcoming of the daunting challenges facing the nation.  

We express our deep appreciation to the judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts who refused to take oath under the PCO, the lawyers for leading the movement for the restoration of the rule of law, the journalists for resisting the regime’s efforts to gag the media and the human rights activists, students and other members of civil society for lending their full support to the democratic movement.  

We express our solidarity with the nation in its demand for the full restoration of democratic and constitutional rule in the country.  

Mr. Riaz Piracha, former Foreign Secretary

Dr. Humayun Khan, former Foreign Secretary

Tanvir A. Khan, former Foreign Secretary

Shamshad Ahmad, former Foreign Secretary

Riaz H. Khokhar, former Foreign Secretary

Gul Haneef

Amin Jan Naim

Touqir Hussain

Karamatullah Khan Ghori

Amir Usman

Javid Hussain

S. Azmat Hassan

Naeem U. Hassan

Shafqat Ali Shaikh

Karam Elahi

Afzal Akbar Khan

Mazhar Qayyum

Asif Ezdi

S. Iftikhar Murshed

Iqbal A. Khan

Shirin Safdar

B.A. Malik  

Islamabad, 13 December 2007

Labels:  Pakistan ambassadors, declaration against state of emergency,  Foreign Secretaries 

~~~~~ MaximsNews.com, An Independent Voice from the U.N., provides commentary and analysis from leading world figures: King Abdullah II (Jordan), HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein (Jordan), Sir Brian Urquhart, Hans Blix, Amb. Richard Holbrooke, Anwar Ibrahim, Bianca Jagger, Dr. Nafis Sadik, Shashi Tharoor, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Noeleen Heyzer, Masood Haider, Kerry Kennedy, Ian Williams, Stephen Schlesinger, Sen. Timothy E. Wirth, Marc Morial, Amb. Jayantha Dhanapala (Sri Lanka), Amb. Pierre Schori (Sweden), Amb. William H. Luers, Susan Roosevelt Weld, Rory Kennedy, Mehri Madarshahi, J. Michael Adams, Gloria Feldt, Jeffrey Laurenti, Rodney D. Smith, Ashley Bommer, Rory O'Connor, Genevieve Stamper, Max Stamper and others.

REACH THE WORLD'S MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE   FOR BANNER ADS, contact:  ElsieHillman@MaximsNews.com TO SUBMIT YOUR PRESS RELEASES, contact: TomHerkins@MaximsNews.com   Advertisement

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

MaximsNews® LLC  
NEWS NETWORK FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY 

MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network reaching over 30,000 in the International Community. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries. Established in 1999.  

The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews® LLC.

MaximsNews.com U.N. ® LLC  www.MaximsNews.com | MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com | Please contact us about Republishing: Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2007, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights reserved.