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Vodkapundit: “Rather than bury the lede, I’ll come right out and say it: If Pakistan isn’t already a failed state, wait a minute.”
An exclusive PJM report from Islamabad correspondent Ghaila Aymen with an insider’s look into what’s happening in the country.
Fox News: President Bush called on Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf on Monday to hold January elections and relinquish his army post “as quickly as possible.”
Fox: Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz announced Monday that parliamentary elections will be held in January, as scheduled, despite the state of emergency.
Global Dashboard has some interesting polling data on Musharraf’s popularity.
Van Der Galien Gazette: The U.S. is stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to aid to Pakistan.
Forbes: Pakistan’s government denied rumors sweeping the country that the army had placed President Pervez Musharraf under house arrest.
Reuters: “Pakistan police used teargas and batons against lawyers protesting against President Pervez Musharraf’s emergency rule on Monday and detentions mounted, prompting Washington to postpone defense cooperation talks.”
AP: Pakistani police have detained 500 activists.
The Corner: “The State Department response – calling for immediate free elections – is idiotic.”
NY Times: Musharraf has left the White House in the lurch
Informed Comment: Global Affairs: “This is Pakistan’s first post-mobile phone and post-internet coup. Musharraf may be in for a surprise.”
Michelle Malkin: “It’s deja vu all over again”
NDTV: Pakistani media slams Musharraf
Musharraf goes on television to defend his actions (Video @ Al-Jazeera)
Bill Roggio: “It is unclear what effect, if any, the declaration of a state of emergency will have on the Taliban and al Qaeda insurgency in the Northwest Frontier Province.”
CNN: Musharraf to address the nation at 1pm EDT, 10am PDT (email alert, no link)
AFP: “Bhutto back in Pakistan: London spokesman”
Hot Air: “The pretext being used is the jihadi offensive in the tribal areas. Needless to say, the real reason is Musharraf’s fear that the Court is going to bounce him as president. Condi Rice and Adm. Fallon warned him yesterday not to do it. You see what we get for our money.”
CNN/IBN, newschannel in English from India, streaming live here.
Captain’s Quarters: “The West will not find this to their liking. They had pressed Musharraf to cut a deal with Benazir Bhutto to transition back to democratic processes, hoping that the deal would give them both a stronger political position and marginalize the Islamists. The radicals have their own agenda, however, and have worked to destabilize the political situation before the alliance between Bhutto and Musharraf could have any effect.”
GyanIn: “The move throws general elections that are due in January into jeopardy. The vote, the first in five years, was seen as a key step in moving nuclear-armed Pakistan towards full civilian democracy.”
Informed Comment‘s Barnett Rubin is liveblogging: he was giving a talk in Islamabad’s Institute For Policy Studies while events were developing.
Pickled Politics: “The Chief Justice has been arrested, but an 8 member panel of the Supreme Court has ruled that the Provisional Constitutional Order which Musharraf has put in place is illegal and should be set aside … Aitzaz Ahsan, President of the Supreme Court Bar Association and an influential member of Benazir’s Pakistan People’s Party has been arrested. This seems significant as it suggests that the rumoured deal between Musharraf and Benazir has been scrapped.”
Daimnation: “In a nuclear-armed state, Musharraf is certainly preferable to Taliban-affiliated extremists. But that still doesn’t mean I trust him for a second.”
Daily Kos: “Events in Pakistan bear far more significance for the United States and global security than most of what is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan. Furthermore, the significance of events in Iraq and Afghanistan relate largely to the impact these events have on the situation in Pakistan.”
All Things Pakistan: “Indian TV channels are reporting: Cheif Justice Chaudhri has been sacked, Army has enetred Supreme court, Private tv channels are off the air, phone lines are jammed, mobile phones not working.”
Qurratulain: “It’s reported that the constitution of 1973 has also been dissolved”
The Pakistani Spectator: “Islamabad is practically sealed off by the security forces and they are present at every important and unimportant government building. All the news cable channels are off air, and many websites are blocked. We are tasting Myanmar right here in Pakistan right now.”
Africasia: “Former Pakistani premier Benazir Bhutto will not return to Pakistan from Dubai after President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency on Saturday, a spokesman for her Pakistan People’s Party”
BBC: “Gen Musharraf is awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether he was eligible to run for re-election last month while remaining army chief … fears have been growing in the government that the Supreme Court ruling could go against Gen Musharraf.”
AP: “Dozens of police blocked the road in front of the Supreme Court building in Islamabad where judges were believed to be inside.”
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