Yearbook 2000
Pakistan. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sentenced in April to life imprisonment for hijacking and terrorism. According to prosecutors, Sharif had ordered that the aircraft on which it had just departed Commander General Pervez Musharraf be traveling would be prevented from landing in Karachi on October 12, 1999, the same day that Musharraf deposed Sharif in a coup. In a separate trial, Sharif was later sentenced to 14 years in prison for corruption. He was also prohibited from holding political office for the next 21 years.
The terrorist trial in Karachi was rife with controversy. A judge refused to participate in the process in protest against civilian-clad intelligence personnel sitting among the audience. Sharif’s defender refused for a couple of weeks to attend court after the media “out of concern for the security of the country” were banned from reproducing Sharif’s testimony. One of Sharif’s lawyers was murdered in his office.
In January, the government dismissed several members of the Supreme Court who refused to accept a constitutional amendment granting the military regime impunity for all decisions and measures. The new HD judges then approved the coup as “justified” and authorized the junta to change selected parts of the constitution. At the same time, HD said that general elections must be held within three years from the day of the coup. General Musharraf said he accepted the time frame and ruled that he would leave power earlier.
- ABBREVIATIONFINDER: Offers three letter and two letter abbreviations for the country of Pakistan. Also covers country profile such as geography, society and economy.
In April, the government announced that “honor killings” on women will henceforth be handled legally like all other murders. At the same time, measures were announced to prevent abuse of the mock law, which has often been used in an arbitrary and discriminatory way against religious minority groups. At that point, however, the government quickly backed down after protests from Islamic fundamentalists.
In late December, the first phase of local elections was conducted in 18 of 106 districts. Acc. the government’s own information reached the turnout only 43.5%, while according to the. the opposition was down to 20%. Although the election was formally conducted without the participation of political parties, most candidates were affiliated with one of the major parties. Observers pointed out that there was a political shift from the established (banned) parties to local feudal clans.
In March, the second phase of local elections was conducted in 20 districts, and the pressure went to the head of government to establish a timetable for return to democracy in October 2002. At the same time, police detained 2000 activists from the Alliance for Return to Democracy and 22 of its leaders who planned a demonstration.
Musharraf appointed head of state and president on June 20, 2001. He continued as head of government and chief of the armed forces. At the same time as the US invasion of Afghanistan, on October 6, he extended his post of chief of staff indefinitely. An item he otherwise according to. the constitution should leave after 3 years.
Following the terrorist attack in New York on September 11, 2001, the United States removed the economic and military sanctions it had imposed on India and Pakistan following their 1998 nuclear test. Laden. Otherwise, the Taliban regime in Kabul had been supported militarily, economically and ideologically by Pakistan. The Taliban regime’s victory in Afghanistan was considered by the Pakistani military to be Pakistan’s first military victory.
The US war on Afghanistan triggered widespread protests among Muslims and Islamists in Pakistan, and shortly before the North American invasion, Musharraf dismissed a number of pro-Islamist generals from strategic positions.
When US Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Islamabad in October, Musharraf asked for US support in the Kashmir conflict as well as financial aid to offset the flow of refugees now entering the Afghanistan border. In total, Iran and Pakistan received about $ 3 million. Afghan refugees sent on the run from the US war.
Following a suicide attack in the Indian Parliament in New Delhi on December 13, India gave Pakistan responsibility for the attack. Musharraf condemned the action and denied any connection from his government to the terrorists. On December 26, India increased its military readiness along the Pakistan border and tensions in Kashmir increased. While there were gunfire across the Pakistani-Indian border, on December 30, Pakistani authorities arrested Mohamed Saeed – one of the leaders of the Islamic groups responsible for the attack on the Indian parliament.
On March 18, 2002, a Protestant church in Islamabad was attacked with grenades. 5 were killed and over 45 injured. No group claimed responsibility for the action, but the government accused Islamic militants of responding to the hunt for terrorists Musharraf had launched following international pressure. In January, the North American journalist Daniel Pearl had been abducted by an Islamic group and he was executed 4 months later.
In April, Musharraf launched a campaign to convince the people that it should elect him for president for a 5-year term in a referendum. Acc. Otherwise, the Constitution of Pakistan is the president-elect and the dissolved parliament should be elected in October 2002. The opposition strongly objected to the dictator’s political maneuver, but he got support from the Supreme Court and carried out his referendum on April 30. Officially, 97% voted for him as president, but both human rights organizations and local and international election observers characterized the election as a farce.
Population 2000
According to COUNTRYAAH, the population of Pakistan in 2000 was 142,343,467, ranking number 7 in the world. The population growth rate was 2.840% yearly, and the population density was 184.6508 people per km2.
