Amendments Give Immunity to Army and PresidentLifting the state of emergency will not restore real constitutional rule in Pakistan unless President Pervez Musharraf also withdraws changes he made to the constitution and reinstates the judiciary, Human Rights Watch said today.
Musharraf imposed a state of emergency and suspended constitutional rule on November 3, 2007 on the pretext of fighting terrorism.The Pakistani government has announced that Musharraf will lift the state of emergency and restore the constitution on December 15. However, since November 3 he has illegally fired and detained senior judges, including the chief justice of the Supreme Court, arbitrarily changed laws and amended the constitution.
These amendments serve the purpose of institutionalizing impunity for the military’s human rights abuses and muzzling lawyers and the media, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch also noted that Musharraf has made arbitrary changes to Pakistani laws that impose serious restrictions on individual rights and will fuel human rights abuses. The changes are permanent, and will not be lifted when the constitution is restored. For example, under an amendment to the 1952 Army Act, the military can now try civilians for a wide range of offenses previously under the country’s judiciary, including charges as vague as causing “public mischief.” Hearings before special military courts to try civilians will not be public, investigations will be conducted by military officers, and the standard rules of evidence and procedures for criminal trials will not apply. The law takes effect retroactively from January 2003, in effect giving the army immunity for detaining and “disappearing” people and allowing the military to arrest opponents with impunity.
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