People are with Bhutto, says Bishop

As the tensions mount in the stand off in Pakistan, Catholic Bishop Lobo gives his assessment. When asked how the Catholic community is coping with the extreme conditions, Bishop Lobo said, "We are not the targets; it is a battle between the democrats and the autocrats."

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (Zenit) - Although Pakistan's Supreme Court dismissed challenges to President Pervez Musharraf's re-election, the bishop of Islamabad says the masses are with opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.
On Monday a bench of 10 new judges, hand-picked by Musharraf in recent days, struck down five challenges to the president's re-election, and will rule Thursday on a sixth and final petition.

Addressing the crisis and asked whether he thinks there remains any hope of restoring an independent voice within the court, Bishop Anthony Theodore Lobo said "the new judges are subservient so their judgment is a foregone conclusion; they'll support everything the government wants."

He added that "the old Supreme Court judges were independent -- but they have been removed."

Opposition

The Supreme Court decision comes a day after Musharraf announced he would ask for a parliamentary election for Jan. 8.

Bhutto, the opposition leader and former prime minister, announced that she is not yet sure whether to participate in the polls as she doubts the election will be fair. She added that she will no longer participate in negotiations with Musharraf due to a complete lack of trust.
In retaliation, Musharraf criticized the former prime minister and said she fears the polls because she is corrupt and unpopular.

Bishop Lobo disagreed; he noted that "Benazir has come to the forefront -- all the headlines in the newspapers are [...] showing Benazir."

Asked to elaborate about Bhutto's role in the general opposition to Musharraf's rule, Bishop Lobo said, "The masses are with Bhutto."

Unrest

Musharraf declared emergency rule on Nov. 3 and promptly purged the Supreme Court of judges he feared would ultimately annul his re-election.

Although he has since vowed to quit as army chief and become a civilian president, Musharraf remains under fire from Western allies for having set back democracy in the country.

As civil society activists today kept up their calls for a return to democracy and for the constitution to be reinstated, ongoing sectarian violence across the country continued to claim lives -- with over 80 people dying in a single clash near the Afghan border.

In the face of the emergency, Bishop Lobo explained that all sides believe by imposing their will they are doing what's best for the good of the nation.

However some analysts are arguing that ethnic nationalist and religious divisions are growing to the point where the country may soon fracture.

When asked how the Catholic community is coping with the extreme conditions, Bishop Lobo said, "We are not the targets; it is a battle between the democrats and the autocrats."

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