Pakistani students from local universities held a protest demonstration in front of the Pakistani Embassy in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 11. About 200 people attended the rally, including members of the Pakistani expatriate community, lawyers’ associations, and academics. Many lawyers wore black suits to show their solidarity with lawyers in Pakistan.
Local reporters as well as representatives from Geo (Pakistani television station based in Dubai, UAE) and the Voice of America covered the event. Interviews of the protest organizers and other participants of the group were broadcast live in Pakistan.

The speakers at the protest highlighted the importance of independent judiciary and media for Pakistan and emphasized that elections without independent media and judiciary will not be accepted.

The purpose was to denounce the following actions of General Pervez Musharraf after the declaration of a State of Emergency on Nov. 3, 2007: his order to suspend the Constitution; illegal deposition and arrest of Chief Justice and other members of judiciary; excessively violent measures (including arrests and abuses) to suppress lawyers, human right activists and other protestors; and blockade of non-government media.

The placards and banners read, among others, “One Coup per Dictator Please,” “How much longer General?”

Gen. Musharraf’s actions have outraged many around the world. This successful protest demonstrates our solidarity with the legal, academic, and human rights communities and the democratic values that they represent.

– Ghazia Aslam and Syed Ali Hasanain

Washington, D.C.