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Musharraf's team faces test in US
The team defends emergency in the country, arguing that it was necessitated by rising militancy in some parts.
Pakistan's image repair team landed in New York and faced scathing criticism and harsh questioning by Pakistani Americans at a public meeting on Friday.
The three-member team defended imposition of emergency in the country, arguing that it was necessitated by rising militancy, particularly in the North Western Frontier Province, and a "partisan" judiciary paralysing the executive.
The team comprising Nasim Ashraf, Barrister Mohammad Asif Ali Saif, both ministers in the caretaker government in Pakistan, and Kashmala Tariq, a former member of the National Assembly, accused former chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry of being part of a conspiracy backed by former premier Nawaz Sharif to get rid of President Pervez Musharraf.
Saif said Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the Supreme Court bar association, was planning to form a 'Justice Party' to be headed by Chaudhry, who was facing charges of corruption and misconduct.
He also accused the lawyers' protest movement of being backed by certain political parties.
"Liars", "bullshit", "you are trying to defend the indefensible" were some of the vociferous accusations hurled at the team by a few Pakistani Americans in the audience at the Asia Society meeting.
Ali Ahsan, lawyer son of Aitzaz Ahsan who works for the UN, denounced the delegation for misleading the people here and said emotionally that his father was still in solitary confinement.
Ashraf, head of the visiting team, argued for the importance of Musharraf as a stabilising factor for some time more in the country, implying that he needed the US' continued support.
He defended the shutting down of the television channels - reinstated since - "because they were airing objectionable material and had refused to sign a voluntary code of conduct".
Kashmala Tariq praised the Musharraf regime for creating better ground for democracy in the country including empowering women. "There are 72 women sitting in parliament. We have done some great legislation with respect to honour killings and the Hudud law," she said.
Inviting anybody to come to Pakistan as observers to the "free and fair" Jan 8 elections, she hinted that the only reason some political parties and players like Imran Khan may boycott the polls would be because of their lack of popular support.
Concluding the discussion, moderator Nicholas Platt, President Emeritus of Asia Society and former US ambassador to Pakistan, rued the fact that the country had not thrown up new leadership.
Musharraf's damage control team will also present the government's case at meetings with US think tanks and members of the Congress in Washington.
