A decision whether or not to impose a state of emergency in the country hangs in the balance and is expected any time, high-level sources told Daily Times. "It is now a matter of days," said a senior Muslim Leaguer close to the president. "The president's kitchen cabinet deliberated on the issue last night and his advisers pressed him to impose emergency in view of the current political situation in which certain unexpected decisions on various constitutional petitions including the one related to his uniform are expected," he added.| A significant portion of the country is in rebellion, under control of al-Qaeda and/or local Taliban, and he's considering a state of emergency because of his friggin' uniform? |
| And if you can't trust that guy, who can you trust? |
The sources said the president would consult his top aides today before issuing the proclamation of emergency order. They said the president had also taken the corps commanders into confidence on this issue in their recent meeting at the General Headquarters. Daily Times has learnt that many quarters in the PML are urging the president to impose a state of emergency and suspend parliament or extend its tenure for one year. The given reasons are two-fold: the imposition of an emergency will stop any intervention by the superior judiciary; and it will help handle the uniform issue, which is likely to create political unrest in the country.
Those in the PML supporting an emergency say this will help extend the tenure of the National Assembly and they will gain more time, and second, they think that the next six months are very important vis-?-vis the war on terror and during this period general elections would not be possible.
However, there are also some in the PML who oppose the imposition of a state of emergency because they think it would be a disaster. They argue that the decision to impose emergency will lead to confrontation with pro-democracy and human rights groups, especially lawyers and the media, and this situation will not benefit the president or the PML.
In case an emergency is imposed, fundamental rights would be the first casualty. According to Article 233, nothing contained in articles 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 24 shall restrict the power of the state as defined in Article 7 to make any law or to take any executive action.