On Saturday November 3 President Pervez
Musharraf declared virtual martial law, imposing a state of emergency
throughout Pakistan,
suspending the Constitution and replacing superior courts. This amounts to his
second coup d’etat after he seized power in October 12, 1999. It is a desperate
move that underlines the extremely unstable nature of the regime, which is
losing support by the day.
The Indian Hindustan Times published an interview with Lal Khan in its
Sunday edition of 21st October. In this newspaper, which claims to be
the largest in the world with a circulation of 35 million, Lal Khan
openly defends the ideas of socialist revolution.
The multi-million reception for Benzir
Bhutto last week, and the subsequent terrorist bomb attack, revealed more
clearly in one day all the deep contradictions of Pakistani society than
anything else could have. The hopes and aspirations of the masses have been
aroused, and they want solutions to their problems. No matter what happens in
the days, weeks, and months to come, revolutionary storms loom large on the
horizon.