Word: pakistans
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...pictures of Pakistan's vulnerable North-West Frontier Province...
...before dawn, two burly policemen hurled bricks at the home of Tahira Abdullah, 50, a women's rights activist. "They damaged my kitchen door - they were breaking in and entering," she said moments after her release from an Islamabad women's police station. "It is a sad day for Pakistan when the people we marched with for democracy against the dictatorships of General [Mohammed] Zia ul-Haq and General Musharraf arrest human-rights activists...
...violence in the capital, it had to act. "No elected government wants to take preventive measures like this, but it has been forced into this position as it has to provide security to its capital and citizens," Sherry Rehman, the Information Minister and a senior member of the ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP), told TIME. "The opposition has clearly asked public officials to rebel, and this cannot be allowed by even the most pacifist government...
...Aitzaz Ahsan, a leading attorney and member of the PPP who opposes Zardari's crackdown, counters that the lawyers are merely fighting for an independent judiciary that will fortify democracy in Pakistan. "We don't want military intervention; we want to strengthen parliament and the democratic system," he told TIME, also speaking by cell phone from an undisclosed location to evade arrest. "Existing examples of democratic government are testament to the fact that you can't have a stable parliament without an independent judiciary - it's a sine qua non. A democratic system will remain weak if there are timorous...
Zardari's popularity has fallen steadily since he reneged on reinstating Chaudhry. Pakistan's vocal media has taunted him with video footage of his slain wife vowing to restore the independent-minded judiciary. Zardari allies argue that Chaudhry has become "too politicized"; they also worry that the former Chief Justice could paralyze the government with judicial activism if restored to office. Critics charge that the President only wants pliant judges who won't threaten to revive corruption charges against...