Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ISLAMABAD1659
2007-04-13 11:53:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Islamabad
Cable title:
ANOTHER COUNCIL MEETING, ANOTHER ROUND OF PROTESTS
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C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 001659
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2017
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: ANOTHER COUNCIL MEETING, ANOTHER ROUND OF PROTESTS
REF: ISLAMABAD 1647
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
C O N F I D E N T I A L ISLAMABAD 001659
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2017
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: ANOTHER COUNCIL MEETING, ANOTHER ROUND OF PROTESTS
REF: ISLAMABAD 1647
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (SBU) The Supreme Judicial Council met again on April 13
to continue hearings on "non-functional" Chief Justice
Iftikhar Chaudhry. Initial media reports indicate the
proceedings focused on the composition of the Supreme
Judicial Council. Media outlets reported Chaudhry's head
lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, argued three of the justices on the
Council were unfit to rule in the case. The in camera nature
of the proceedings was also discussed, but initial reporting
suggested no decision was taken on the matter. The Council
adjourned until April 18.
2. (C) Generally peaceful protests took place in major
cities throughout Pakistan. In Islamabad, reports of protest
numbers varied widely, from under 3,000 to as high as 7,000.
Post noted similar reporting on the April 3 protests proved
unreliable. Post estimated that at mid-day, between 1,500
and 3,000 political party activists and lawyers raised flags
and chanted anti-government slogans on Constitution Avenue in
Islamabad. (Note: Some protestors carried signs indicating
support for Red Mosque leadership (reftel). End Note.) In
Punjab, about 1,500 lawyers and party activists traveled from
around the province to Lahore to join peaceful protests.
Participants marched from the Lower Court to the Punjab
Assembly building; they wore black armbands and tore down
posters of Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi. In Karachi,
despite a meager showing of protestors (200-300),the day's
only widely reported violent incident took place when lawyers
reportedly beat two journalists covering the gathering.
3. (C) Although the political parties remain essentially
divided - they cannot agree on a coherent, collective course
of action regarding the Chief Justice issue - they displayed
better coordination in Islamabad during this round of
protests. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the minor but
popular Tehreek-i-Insaaf, and a coalition of religious
parties met in the capital city this past week to coordinate
routes and times, which resulted in a mid-morning convergence
on Constitution Avenue of three protest groups coming from
three different directions. The Pakistan Peoples Party
Parliamentarians remained, as it has throughout the Chief
Justice protests, less open to organizing joint protests than
the other parties.
BODDE
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/13/2017
TAGS: ASEC PGOV PREL PK
SUBJECT: ANOTHER COUNCIL MEETING, ANOTHER ROUND OF PROTESTS
REF: ISLAMABAD 1647
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Peter Bodde, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)
1. (SBU) The Supreme Judicial Council met again on April 13
to continue hearings on "non-functional" Chief Justice
Iftikhar Chaudhry. Initial media reports indicate the
proceedings focused on the composition of the Supreme
Judicial Council. Media outlets reported Chaudhry's head
lawyer, Aitzaz Ahsan, argued three of the justices on the
Council were unfit to rule in the case. The in camera nature
of the proceedings was also discussed, but initial reporting
suggested no decision was taken on the matter. The Council
adjourned until April 18.
2. (C) Generally peaceful protests took place in major
cities throughout Pakistan. In Islamabad, reports of protest
numbers varied widely, from under 3,000 to as high as 7,000.
Post noted similar reporting on the April 3 protests proved
unreliable. Post estimated that at mid-day, between 1,500
and 3,000 political party activists and lawyers raised flags
and chanted anti-government slogans on Constitution Avenue in
Islamabad. (Note: Some protestors carried signs indicating
support for Red Mosque leadership (reftel). End Note.) In
Punjab, about 1,500 lawyers and party activists traveled from
around the province to Lahore to join peaceful protests.
Participants marched from the Lower Court to the Punjab
Assembly building; they wore black armbands and tore down
posters of Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi. In Karachi,
despite a meager showing of protestors (200-300),the day's
only widely reported violent incident took place when lawyers
reportedly beat two journalists covering the gathering.
3. (C) Although the political parties remain essentially
divided - they cannot agree on a coherent, collective course
of action regarding the Chief Justice issue - they displayed
better coordination in Islamabad during this round of
protests. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the minor but
popular Tehreek-i-Insaaf, and a coalition of religious
parties met in the capital city this past week to coordinate
routes and times, which resulted in a mid-morning convergence
on Constitution Avenue of three protest groups coming from
three different directions. The Pakistan Peoples Party
Parliamentarians remained, as it has throughout the Chief
Justice protests, less open to organizing joint protests than
the other parties.
BODDE