Tag: Election

  • Summary of events at 1518 PST

    10 people killed so far today. Many injured. Blatant rigging. News of “staged” voting in front of foreign election observers News of abductions (atleast 4 PML-N workers’ abduction confirmed) TV Channel’s barred from conducting their own exit polls to verify the accuracy of the compiled results and not allowed to broadcast results without being “issued”…

  • SAC Hold Mock Elections in Lahore

    Members of the Student Action Committee had planned to hold mock elections in front of the Lahore High Court, reaching there early morning the police prevented them to setup camp but they instead continued the mock elections at another location. The turnout was massive with over 812 voters. Votes Against Musharraf = 782 Votes For…

  • Election begins with rigging, violence and trouble

    Not coming as much of a surprise, election starts off rather unpleasantly. Two friends who registered to vote in Islamabad went early to the polling station to find out that their names were missing from the designated polling station. Last night PML-N candidate Ch Asif Ashraf was assassinated in Lahore. In addition an MQM candidate…

  • Media Restrictions Undermine Election: Human Rights Watch

    Human Rights Watch issues a statement on the restriction on the media, similarly Hamid Mir also shared his concerns just a day earlier in a letter to journalists of PFUJ. Threats and censorship against the independent media, bias in state television, and a widespread ban on live broadcasting are limiting the public’s right to information…

  • Jemima Inteview President Musharraf

    Published in The Independent, it is definitely worth reading. ‘Since you were so kind as to greet us in London at Downing Street last month, the President would like to return the favour,” announces Major-General Rashid Qureshi, President Pervez Musharraf’s PR man over the phone. Only in Pakistan could the government’s head of spin be…

  • Musharraf’s Understanding of Human Rights

    President Pervez Musharraf responds to a question posed by Human Rights Watch Executive Director Kenneth Roth at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos. Roth asked Musharraf whether, in the interest of free debate before the February 18, 2008 parliamentary elections, he would release the judges and lawyers who were being held…

  • Hamid Mir shares his concerns about the restricted media

    Mr. Hamid Mir, a very prominent anchor of Geo TV who was banned from appearing on any TV show after the emergency shares his feelings in this letter submitted after the press conference he had on the invitation of Pakistan Federal Union Journalists . Its a must read specially if you want to understand whats…

  • Attorney General Qayyum Aware of Massive Election-Rigging Plans as early as Nov

    In an audio recording obtained by Human Rights Watch, Pakistans Attorney General [Mr. upsnoot] Malik Qayyum stated that upcoming parliamentary elections will be “massively rigged, Human Rights Watch said that the recording was made during a phone interview with a member of the media on November 21, 2007. Qayyum, while still on the phone interview,…

  • A Response to Nighat Said Khan’s Open Letter to Fatima Bhutto

    Guest Blog by temporal from Baithak Reza Rumi in Pak Tea house has printed an Open letter to Fatima Bhutto by fellow writer Nighat Said Khan from the Friday Times. It is for Fatima Bhutto to decide how to respond to Ms. Nighat Khan. I take exception to the following quote from the open letter:…

  • Talking in percentages, the latest IRI survey

    Guest Blog by Zovc The latest IRI survey released on 11th of February indicates once again that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will clean sweep the February 18th elections. These elections are thought to be one of the most critical in Pakistani history not just because they will decide the fate of Pakistan for the next…

  • Just Think for Once and Then Vote

    Guest Blog by Amjad Malik This could be one of the most uncertain elections in Pakistan where there are hundred of doubts whether they will be held as scheduled, and if yes, will it be fair and the atmosphere is not conducive either. If people come out of fear, and went to vote on the…

  • Festival of the Oppressed

    Guest post by Umer Chaudhry Cross Posted from Red Diary February 9th, 2008, was an important day for the lawyers movement and for the people of Pakistan. It was that day when the lawyers showed their resilience in the face of State repression on the streets of Islamabad. It was that day when the lawyers…

  • Pro Musharraf Rally welcomed in Islamabad

    Funny yet ironic how the bureaucracy chooses to sugar-coat its Pro-Musharraf supporters with police protection, security gates and then finally a treat of lunch boxes. While only a few days earlier the opposition was treated with tear gas, bricks and a hose down in the chilly Islamabad winter. Free and Fair elections definitely remain an…

  • Dichotomy in Electioneering: A Pakistani Perspective

    Guest blog by temporal who blogs at Baithak The blurb informs us that Mariam Mufti is currently working on her doctoral dissertation on the party system of Pakistan at Johns Hopkins University. In the News today she offers these views and definitions: To resolve the debate on whether or not strong political parties are essential…

  • They took Oath under the PCO before – Why Should we Support them Now

    Article written by members of the People’s Resistance Originally written on Dec 26 2007, The PCO Chief Justice of Lahore High Court, Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, has since retired A Bit of History Pakistans history is chequered with instances of military taking over the state. When Ayub took over, he introduced a constitution (1962) that gave…