PAKISTAN: Police crack down on protesters - a first person account

[Update: Kyla Pasha was interviewed on NPR's Morning Edition after producers read this piece. You can hear the segment here: "Pakistanis Turn to Web to Spread News"]

Pakistan's constitutional crisis is 3 days old and as the world watches one of the key questions is whether opposition forces will sustain their dissent of martial law, and if so, the extent to which the Musharraf government will crack down on them. Today, the big news is the series of demonstrations by lawyers across the country. As the New York Times reports, police in Lahore descended on thousands of protesters with batons and tear gas. Blogger and educator (and previous SAJAforum contributor) Kyla Pasha was at that protest and provided us with this dramatic account of being tear gassed and rounded up with others...
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At around 8 a.m. today, November 5, 2007, lawyers and civil society gathered in the central courtyard of the Lahore High Court to protest the imposition of martial law, the oath-taking by certain judges of the superior courts under the new Provisional Constitutional Order and the arrests of at least 500 lawyers and citizens since the new coup began on November 3.

I’m not a lawyer, but I know lawyers who teach law at universities and so we went along as a contingent of “civilians.” Anyone not wearing a black coat - the lawyer’s uniform - was a civilian in this case. Since March of 2007, the lawyers have been involved in a movement to protect and preserve the independence of the judiciary from an all-powerful executive. Their protests matter.

When we got there, there were about 100 odd people, mostly lawyers making a racket in the courtyard and talking – it was almost a social outing.

The slogans shouted were the usual sorts, easy to adapt from one protest to the next: Musharraf kutta haye haye – Musharraf is a dog; PCO murdabad – death to the PCO, the Provisional Constitution Order that suspended all articles of the constitution granting fundamental human rights; aaeen key dushman murdabad – death to enemies of the constitution. Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, recently sacked for a second time, was lauded as the hero of the moment. Former president of the Supreme Court bar council Aitizaz Ahsan as well.

Then at around noon we went out towards the gates of the High Court to find them locked from the outside and an army of riot police on the other side of them. After a few minutes of banter across the gates, where the protesters attempted to leave the High Court building to take to the streets, apparently the police started hitting with sticks whoever moved forward. We were very far back, right outside the buildings of the compound so when we saw them run like hell from the gates, we had time enough to turn and run like hell ourselves. My friend Sarah, a law student, grabbed my hand and we stayed like that until they let us out some three and half hours later. My friend Sadaf, a law professor, rallied all the LUMS folks around her - a bunch of students had decided to come to the protest as well - and we stayed together. They lobbed tear gas but we were prepared, thanks to the veteran protesters among us. We had our wet towels over our mouths and noses as we ran back into the courtyard, from room to room of the building, stopping only to catch our breath in one of the closed rooms that hadn’t been flooded with tear gas.

We heard bangs. Earlier, as we were going out, Pervez Hassan, an eminent lawyer, had told us what he’d heard of the storming of the Karachi High Court: that they hadn’t used rubber bullets. The implication was that those bullets had been real. But we soon realized no one was getting shot here. This was merely to make sure that no one got out onto the streets in the first place.

After being herded from place to place, we ended up in a common room with doors on either side of it. But, within seconds, we were pushed, Hajj-stampede style, out the other door, chased by riot police. A man ahead of me went almost bodily through a window, breaking the glass. I believe he was okay; the only injuries we heard of were minor.

We did a lot of running. And a lot of weeping from the eyes because the tear gas was intense, and everywhere. Soon the police entered the main courtyard and we shoved ourselves into the rooms off the side of the courtyard.

There we stayed for about 15 or 20 minutes. One woman lawyer, thin as a rail, was shaking and crying, scared out of her mind. The male lawyers were trying to offer her salt to eat (apparently it lessens the effect of tear gas) and water to wash out her eyes, not realizing that she was basically scared senseless. Another woman standing right next to her was so cool, so business-like that I really wish I’d asked her name and number, got to know her a bit. Although she’s probably in jail in Mianwali right now.

About 25 people packed in a small room, we waited until there was no more waiting. We’d been separated from our crew, so people were calling other people and making sure everyone was fine - they were. And then they forced the doors open and told us, “Jo araam sey aaye ga, usko ko kuch nahi hoga - Whoever comes peacefully won’t be harmed.” Since there was no way out now, we went peacefully, a Students Plus Profs contingent and many came out along with us.

First we were convinced we were under arrest. As we walked out slowly, five or six cameras clicked in all our faces. People were asking us, “Aap kiss tanzeem sey hain, aap yahan kyun hain? – what organization are you from, why are you here?” We were the oddities: at a lawyers’ protest without black coats – non-lawyers? But why? Sadaf got fairly miffed by about the third time someone asked this question and said, “Lawyers aren’t protesting for their bread and butter, they’re protecting an institution - the judiciary. The institution is there to safeguard our rights. We’re protesting for the same reason they are: to safeguard the institution that protects our rights.”

After taking us to the gate, someone yelled to the officers in front that we weren’t to be put in vans. They told us, amidst a mass of lady police, to stand at one side quietly. So they herded us into a group, marked us “student” and that was that for a while. I made phone calls. We had no idea if we were getting arrested or not.

In a while, Sadaf went up to find out if we were the only ones being protected like this or if others were also being rounded up. Somewhere in there, they decided to take us to the vans again and so we went. One man, a high-ish ranking officer said, “You wanted to go, now you’re going to Mianwali,” where there is a jail. A student said, “My village is Mianwali.” The officer said, “Well, then you’ll be very comfortable there, sir.”

But again we were taken back. This time the SSP, the Senior Superintendent Police, refused to let us get on the bus (or was it the SP? not sure). He looked at me and said, “Do you want to get on the bus?” We told them, no, that they were sending us. A confusion of yelling ensued, the result of which was that we went again to our corner, this time with the S/SP saying behind us, “Constitutional order apni jaga lekin mein students ko arrest nahi kar raha – The Constitutional order be as it may be, but I can’t be arresting students.” I wanted to turn around and bless his future generations, though I don’t know if he was acting on his own or if they simply did not anticipate anyone besides lawyers showing up to a lawyer protest, and had no orders.

And that was mostly that. His decision was final. Within 10 minutes, a path was cleared for us, all subordinates were told we were to be let go and a massive number of policemen and women escorted us out of the main gates, on to Mall Road and past the first barricade.

We heard rumours within half an hour that they’d arrested 700 people out of 2000 protesting. BBC Urdu puts the arrested at around 400. They have been taken to Mianwali prison, a few hours away; and 70-odd civil society leaders who were arrested yesterday from a meeting at the headquarters of the Human Right Commission of Pakistan have now been taken to Kot Lakhpat, a prison in Lahore where political dissidents are held. On the Internet, there’s news of arrests all over the country, but the only thing on the air is state-run news, proclaiming the president’s strength. That, and Indian channels showing Bollywood films.

--Kyla Pasha

Elsewhere: 

• Associated Press: "A Look at Rights Suspended in Pakistan"
• Voice of America: "Musharraf imposes Tough Curbs on Pakistani Media"
• Pakistaniat.com: "Media Gagged in Pakistan: Geo TV Audio Here"

Earlier on SAJAforum:

• "PAKISTAN EMERGENCY: The World Reacts"
• "PAKISTAN: State of Emergency Declared"

Comments

[panditjugalkisoreshastri]

kyla pasha:

this is how indian government has kept the protests down.....by keeping protestors busy with bollywood. I told you every circumstance, however grim, has a built-in silver lining. enjoy bollywood while protests last. And thanks for a blow by blow of a protest assembly that saw more anticicpation than action. bollywood is the great pacifier of an angst-riden nation in the midst of intense aggravation.

be safe.

[Srinivasa Raghavan]

If only there were more Shyam Benegals , Mani Ratnams, and Girish Karnads.

[Jaya Kamlani]

Thousands face down Pakistani police
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071105/ap_on_re_as/pakistan (full story)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Police fired tear gas and clubbed thousands of lawyers protesting President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's decision to impose emergency rule, as Western allies threatened to review aid to the troubled Muslim nation. Opposition groups put the number of arrests at 3,500, although the government reported half that.

Also: Pakistani police smash protests amid global anger
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071105/wl_sthasia_afp/pakistanpolitics_071105175947;_ylt=Al38D9x0jQpcy2ao_9PVfgP9xg8F

Jaya Kamlani

[Nuzhat Aziz]

The crackdown in Lahore was actually quite brutal. But I have never been more proud of the Pakistanis.... they always resist..no matter how dark the hour.

[Ashok Row Kavi]

Kyle,
That was a very touching report and I'm very glad you're safe. And as for Bollywood, it's been used for many such transquilising interludes in history -- like during our Emergency.
I suppose the people of Pakistan now need to keep their spirits going. And so do you.
So keep the flag of freedom flying high...

[Basim]

Hey, great write up Kyla. Gave a squeeze to Madame Suhail for me.

We should meet up and coordinate with some other journalist friends. You have my email address, the blogs in your court.

(Hyuck!)