ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan government insists basic rights will be fully restored for all people on Saturday when President Pervez Musharraf lifts the controversial emergency rule he imposed last month.
Musharraf will lift the order on Saturday but critics say that with only three weeks left to campaign for parliamentary elections, and dozens of those arrested still in detention, the move will make little practical difference.
His attorney general Malik Qayyum, however, insisted Friday the lifting will ensure freedom of speech and assembly are again guaranteed, and that people will again be able to appeal to the courts for violations of basic rights. “All fundamental rights of the citizens will stand restored with the lifting of emergency on Saturday,” Qayyum told AFP.
| Until Perv takes them away again. |
He stressed, however, that the decree to lift the emergency order will also include a ban on legal challenges to the emergency itself -- an apparent attempt to solidify MusharrafÂ’s position over the controversial move. |