respected lawyer of Pakistan (Chaudhary Aitzaz Ahsan) ,

the attorney general of Pakistan Malik Qayum accepts that the actions taken by Musharraf (at that time the Army Chief

of Pakistan)  were “not according to the constitution” (but even after saying that he was committed with his stated position that they were not “un-constitutional”).

The puzzled and confused attorney general in the heat of the debate on several occassions changed his position on many

issues including the arrest of

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary, the current constitution and PCO of November 3 2007, the illegal dismissal of the judges  and also he had to admit that the parliament can take the issue of Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary and the current SC of Dogar cannot legally stop it.

In the debate while talking on the use of article 190 (which obligates all the executives to come in aid of the Supreme Court),

Aitzaz Ahsan said if this article is in consideration for the use then the executives must have to act in aid of the Supreme

Court

ruling by Seven Member Bench headed by CJP Iftikhar on 3rd Novemebr 2007 according to which the PCO and

emergency were

illegal and actions taken by Musharraf were illegal as well.

Meanwhile in an address to the lawyers in Hari Pur , the SC bar president expressed his stance on

the current judicial crisis and warned

the President and his Attorney General  that if they create hurdles in the way of restoration of the judiciary and the judiciary was not restored after the 30 day deadline then a long march from all parts of Pakistan will start and will go the the Army house Rawalpindi(still used by Musharraf).

The SC bar president was well received by the citizens and lawyers of Hari Pur.

This is a follow up on the Open Letter to General Kayani by Mrs. Amina Masood Janjua, from Defence of Human Rights asking for an official statement on the missing people with their charges and tried before the independent pre-Nov 3rd Judiciary. The ultimatum was 15th March, which has passed, and now cases for release of these people will be registered in international courts since Pakistan is unable to provide them justice.

To journalists and bloggers: While I understand the news piece may have some difficulty in getting published, please try your best to spread the word for the innocent missing people and their affected family members. This is the least we can do to condemn this heinous crime of the current regime.

In Solidarity,
Ryzwan Ullah Shaikh

 Email message from Mrs. Amina Masoor (From Emergency mailing list)

——————————————————————–

From: Amina Masood
Date: Mon, Mar 17, 2008 at 1:12 AM
Subject: Justice denied to 529 Missing Persons of Pakistan
To: Dear Sarosh, AOA  Please forward it to your respectable father because there is other way I can access him.I will be truly greatful to you. You may be or may be not aware of the

 most tortureing and painful issue of our Nation , It is the fundamental human rights concern

 of those honorable citizens of Pakistan who have been picked up by our agencies ,later on

 either sold to USA or Rienditioned to unknown locations held by CIA detentions.Few lucky

ones are with our own agencies ,they either die within the custody not able to bear the

torture or being released when they are mentally collpsed and good for nothing.Their

numbers with me are 529 today,but International Human rights groups say they are thousands more.Here is a chance for you to prove you care for you poor aggrieved Nation.  Please play your role in this hour of need and turmoil for your Pakistani bretheren.  Warm regards  

Amina Masood Janjua

————————————————

Open Letter to Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Gen. Kayani

The International Campaign to Restore Democracy in Pakistan (crdpnow.org) and partnering organizations demand that Pakistan Chief of Army Staff Gen. Kayani submit a list of all the held detainees kept illegally by the intelligence and military forces under his jurisdiction.  A majority of Pakistan’s judiciary was dismissed on November 3rd when President Musharraf imposed martial law in the guise of “emergency.” On November 13th, Pakistan’s Supreme Court was due to hear the cases of 485 victims of enforced disappearance over the past six years. Many of these had returned with horror stories from detainment centers around the world, including the one in Guantanamo Bay. The campaign demands the release of all those who are innocent and so that their missing status can be changed and family contact can be established. The families of victims of enforced disappearances demand that the COAS’s office issue a list of the names and charges of all Pakistanis held under extrajudicial detainment on account of actions taken by the army and intelligence forces under his command. In the weeks before March 15^th, the deadline announced for the release of the names and charges of all detainees, this joint effort by Defense of Human Rights (DHR) and the International Campaign to Restore Democracy in Pakistan (CRDP) will investigate the evidence against all individuals associated with the government of Pakistan who may have authorized and carried out these abductions.  The campaign will also consult with its partners in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Pakistan to develop a strategy to take immediate legal action against all parties responsible for these disappearances if no response is received from General Kayani’s office by March 15^th. The Defense of Human Rights welcomes the campaign’s statement. Since September, 2001, thousands of valuable citizens are picked and kept in illegal detention where they are being tortured and interrogated, beyond the pale of the Rule of Law.  Defense of Human Rights invites General Kayani to bring all such detainees to justice, release them all and submit a list of names of all those which are kept with Army or its Intelligence Agencies. We demand that those accused should be tried in open Courts, let their families contact them and have legal aid of their choice according to rule of Law. The Army Act Amendment implemented retroactively to justify illegal activities of intelligence agencies and try civilians in Army Courts will not be acceptable. In the absence of any acceptable response from your office before the proposed deadline of March 15th, 2008 the families of the victims of enforced disappearance have pledged to observe the following course of action: 

1. We will launch our struggle abroad where 520 cases of Enforced disappearances would be refiled for Justice.

1. In the absence of an independent judiciary prepared to hear our cases,” the Defence of Human Rights will seek justice in international tribunals of justice.
2. We will mobilize students to spearhead a Pakistan-wide campaign on behalf of the victims.
3. The families of victims will travel all over Pakistan in all the major cities and launch a massive series of protests demonstrations.

 Amina Masood JanjuaAnchor PersonDefence of Human RightsCell: 0301-5240550

Office No: 051-5511686

Note:The letter above refers to the case which became the main cause of differences between the Musharraf administration and the Supreme Court of Pakistan(which took notice of the missing persons situation and was trying to give them justice).

Updated Events at : http://blackflagweek.blogspot.com/
———————————————————————————————————————
KARACHI CAR RALLY
3:00pm
KHI: FOUR RALLIES: Car.Truck.Bus.Rickshaw Rallies
When Sun, Mar 16, 3pm – 5pm

All 4 rallies end at Quaid’s Mazar.

Starting at these 4 points:

1. Bacha Khan Chowk,
2. Malir District Courts,
3. Bacha Khan Chowk,
4. Seaview.

Bring your car
Bring your motorcycle
Bring your rickshaw
Bring your bus Or
Bring your truck

Wear Black Armband
Fly a Black Flag on your vehicle

EVENTS FOR FRIDAY:
——————————————————————————————————————
Karachi

4:00pm
KHI: Flag Hoisting: Seaview
When Fri, Mar 14, 4pm – 5pm
Where Seaview
Description People’s Resistance

5:00pm
KHI: Seminar & Flag Hoisting
When Fri, Mar 14, 5pm – 7pm
Where Jinnah Medical College (Medicare)

——————————————————————————————————————
Lahore

10:30am
LHR: G. House Meeting
When Fri, Mar 14, 10:30am – 11:30am
Where Lahore High Court & Lahore Bar Association

5:00pm
LHR: Black Flag Rally
When Fri, Mar 14, 5pm – 6pm
Where Lahore liberty Roundabout

——————————————————————————————————————
Islamabad:

4:00pm
ISB: Black Flag Demo at G-10 Markaz
When Fri, Mar 14, 4pm – 6pm
Where G-10 Markaz, Isl.

WhenFri, Mar 14, 4pm – 6pm
WhereG-10 Markaz, Isl.

Nationwide: Complete boycott of ALL courts on Thursday
——————————————————————————————————————————————
Lahore: Car Rally on the 13th from Lahore to Gujranwala at 8:30 am. This will leave from 5 zaman park lahore. Aitzaz Ahsan will lead this rally. All those wanting to attend this event send a confirmation to: info@aaa-law.net
——————————————————————————————————————————————–
Islamabad: 4:00pm

——————————————————————————————————————————————-
Karachi: 10:30 am

KARACHI: The spate of boycotts of all the courts in the five districts and observing token hunger strike in a row for the fifth day here continued.

Today is the fourth day of lawyers’ black flag week, when the members of Sindh High Court Bar, Karachi Bar and Malir Bar boycotted the courts for one hour and stayed away from the proceedings. Token hunger strike camps were also set up at the three Bars. Tomorrow Thursday, the courts will be boycotted totally and the lawyers would not appear in the courts, while a joint General Body meeting would be held at Karachi Bar. Later, the lawyers would bring out a rally from the KBA office to KPC, which would be attended by the lawyers, civil society representatives and members of political parties.

FAISALABAD: Lawyers in Faisalabad observed strike in courts on the fourth day of the black flag week on Wednesday.

Lawyers boycotted the court proceedings after 11:00 am and held a rally with black-flags that passed through major roads of the city.

President district bar Nasir Mahmood Goraya headed the rally. The participants of the rally vowed that they would continue their struggle till the freedom of the judiciary

http://blackflagweek.blogspot.com/

from the google calendar application.

Aitzaz Ahsan has given a call to observe Black Flag Week in Pakistan. Everyone is requested to show their solidarity for the restoration of the independent Judiciary in Pakistan. You can watch the message (with English subtitles) at:
The Emergency Times: http://pakistanmartiallaw.blogspot.com/
Teeth Maestro: http://www.teeth.com.pk/blog/2008/03/07/aitzaz-ahsans-call-for-black-flag-week/

Here are a couple of things you can do:

1) Record a small video of yourself wearing a black flag, black clothing or even just a black cap and post it on youtube in response to the Aitzaz’s video message. In the video you should talk about why you support the restoration of the judiciary.

To respond to the video: http://www.youtube.com/video_response_upload?v=EOzwt953sTU

If you have trouble uploading the video on youtube please email the clip to blackflagweek@gmail.com

2) Take a picture of yourself, your friends and/or your family holding a black flag or wearing black clothes and send it to blackflagweek@gmail.com. If you are uncomfortable revealing your identity you can have the picture taken from your backside or cover your face before taking the picture. You can also help us by taking pictures of your friends, family members, relatives and others who may not be able to take pictures

3) Take part in the events that observe the Black Flag Day in your cities. You can get information about the major events at: http://blackflagweek.blogspot.com/

If your event is not shown on this blog please email blackflagweek@gmail.com with details of the event and it will be updated shortly.

4) Attached is a picture that you should use as your facebook, orkut and myspace picture for till Sunday, March 16, 2008.

5) You can use many variations of a black flag. Suggestions include black armbands, headbands, stickers, caps, headscarfs, etc.

6) Please encourage your friends, family, teachers and everyone else you know to participate in the Black Flag Week. The biggest strength to the campaign would be pictures and videos.

7) Please forward this email to as many people as you know to make this campaign a success. You can also inform them of this campaign through facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=22589890270

In solidarity,
Samad

(message from emergency mailing list)