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Thursday, Nov 08, 2007
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Emergency condemned

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The South Asian Free Media Association (SAFMA) and the Bar Association of India on Wednesday condemned the declaration of Emergency in Pakistan and the attacks on members of their fraternity.

In a joint statement, the presidents of SAFMA chapters in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka expressed shock at the “sudden and illegal detention” of SAFMA founding secretary-general Imtiaz Alam in Lahore on Monday.

They condemned the manner in which Mr. Alam was detained for over 36 hours without any charge and access to his lawyer. Expressing concern over the adverse conditions vis-À-vis the media, SAFMA urged the Pakistan government to refrain from attempting to muzzle or otherwise constrain the media and thereby deprive the citizens of their due right to information.

In its statement, the Bar Association expressed “deep alarm” at the manner in which the Emergency had led to a “fierce and highly repugnant attack on Pakistan’s judges, the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession.”

Also, the violent measures taken to suppress lawyers as they “properly protest” this threat to the rule of law were a matter of concern to the international legal community, the Association said.

Condemning Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s action against the legal community, it said such a blatant attack on the independence of the judiciary was unacceptable in any civilised country.

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