[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 37 (Tuesday, April 9, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H1133-H1134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     GENERAL MUSHARRAF'S REFERENDUM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ferguson). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I come to the House floor this evening to 
discuss Pakistan's self-proclaimed President, General Pervez 
Musharraf's plan to hold a referendum in Pakistan on April 30 to extend 
his presidency for 5 years. Mr. Speaker, I am very disappointed by the 
steps General Musharraf is taking to extend his military rule and to 
further bar democracy in Pakistan.
  In October of 1999, General Musharraf came to power in Pakistan when 
he overthrew the elected government of former Prime Minister Sharif. In 
June of 2001, 20 months following his coup, Musharraf declared himself 
the President of Pakistan. At that time, Musharraf claimed that his 
presidential declaration was an initial step towards promoting 
democracy in traditionally dictatorial Pakistan. But, Mr. Speaker, I 
felt that based on his past actions, including the dissolving of the 
national assembly, or parliament, and four provincial assemblies, the 
reality was just the opposite.
  We are faced with a similar situation today in that Musharraf is 
simply paying lip service to democratic rule by holding this referendum 
on April 30. Besides Musharraf's continued steps towards extending 
dictatorial rule in Pakistan, there are several other aspects of 
holding this referendum that I find problematic.
  From what I understand, a referendum to extend Musharraf's rule by 5 
years is illegal and unconstitutional under Pakistan's constitution. 
Their constitution mandates that both houses of parliament must elect 
the President. In addition, after the 1999 coup, Musharraf was bound by 
the constitution to restore democracy in Pakistan by October of 2002, 
this year. But clearly these propositions were false.
  As a result of Musharraf's blatant disregard for constitutional law, 
there has been opposition to the referendum within Pakistan. The 15-
party Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy, which includes the 
country's two main parties, has been vocal about Musharraf's 
unconstitutional means to remain President. In addition, there has been 
public backlash against the referendum plan from Pakistan's leading 
newspapers, major Islamic parties, and the 54-nation Commonwealth of 
Britain and its former colonies.
  The leaders of the opposition party in Pakistan attempted to hold a 
rally against the referendum, which led to the arrest of dozens of 
their leaders by the police. The arrest of these leaders caused major 
concern because not only is Musharraf proceeding with an unlawful 
referendum, but he is also barring leaders of the opposition party to 
publicly protest. Although a ban on rallies has been in effect in 
Pakistan to quell Islamic extremist rallies, it is unacceptable that 
Musharraf is allowing the ban on rallies to apply to a rally in 
opposition to his presidential referendum.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to also discuss Pakistan's human rights 
record, which clearly exemplifies that stripping citizens of the right 
to protest

[[Page H1134]]

against an unlawful referendum is just the tip of the iceberg. A recent 
report by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan indicated that 
respect for human rights in Pakistan is afforded to few and that women 
and children in particular experience tremendous violence and 
discrimination.
  These facts provide a glimpse of the social conditions in Pakistan. 
However, other human rights violations such as limited press and 
religious freedom, torture and killings by the police and lack of free 
and fair elections are also evidenced in the report.
  Although Musharraf has been an ally to the United States in the war 
against terrorism, we cannot forget that he is the dictatorial leader 
of Pakistan and that he is not in fact the duly elected President. The 
political, social, and economic situation in Pakistan is bleak. This 
fragile country can only be improved by a democratic leader who will 
represent the interests of Pakistani citizens. It is unsettling to 
think of the negative repercussions of 5 more years of rule under 
Musharraf, given the current majority of opposition and given the 
current lack of basic human rights afforded to Pakistanis.

                          ____________________