III 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 372 

Expressing the sense of the Senate on the declaration of a state of emergency 

in Pakistan. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 8, 2007 

Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. BIDEN, Mr. OBAMA, Mr. CASEY, and Mr. DURBIN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate on the declaration of 

a state of emergency in Pakistan. 

Whereas a democratic, stable, and prosperous Pakistan that 

is a full and reliable partner in the struggle against Al 

Qaeda and the Taliban and a responsible steward of its 

nuclear weapons and technology is a vital national security interest of the United States and essential to combating international terrorism; 

Whereas General Pervez Musharraf became the President of 

Pakistan following a military coup in October 1999; 

Whereas President Musharraf dismissed Pakistan’s Chief 

Justice of the Supreme Court, Iftikhar Chaudhry, on 

March 9, 2007, resulting in massive street protests and 

a unanimous decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan 


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•SRES 372 IS 

to clear him of any wrongdoing and reinstate him on July 

20, 2007; 

Whereas the Government of Pakistan announced on September 18, 2007, that, if re-elected President of Pakistan, General Musharraf would resign his position as 

Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan by November 15, 2007; 

Whereas the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shaukat Aziz, 

called this announcement ‘‘a clear reflection of President 

Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s firm belief in democracy’’; 

Whereas an amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan allowing President Musharraf to hold the Government of 

Pakistan’s top civilian and military leadership positions 

expires on December 31, 2007; 

Whereas President Musharraf and former Prime Minister of 

Pakistan Benazir Bhutto conducted extensive negotiations on a power-sharing arrangement that would allow 

Ms. Bhutto to return to Pakistan and lead the Pakistan 

People’s Party in parliamentary elections in Pakistan 

scheduled for January 15, 2008; 

Whereas President Musharraf was elected to another term by 

the lame-duck parliament and provincial assemblies of 

Pakistan on October 6, 2007; 

Whereas the Supreme Court of Pakistan has been reviewing 

the constitutionality of this election and intended to issue 

a ruling in November 2007; 

Whereas former Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan on September 10, 2007, and was immediately forced to leave the country in contradiction of 

a ruling by the Supreme Court of Pakistan; 

Whereas former Prime Minister Bhutto returned to Pakistan 

on October 18, 2007, after more than 8 years in exile, 


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•SRES 372 IS 

and was immediately targeted in a suicide bombing by 

extremists in Karachi, Pakistan, that left at least 140 

people dead and more than 500 injured; 

Whereas on August 10, 2007, Secretary of State Condoleezza 

Rice personally requested that President Musharraf refrain from suspending the Constitution of Pakistan, and 

on November 1, 2007, again reiterated to President 

Musharraf United States opposition to any ‘‘extra-constitutional’’ measures; 

Whereas over the past 6 years, the United States has provided approximately $10,000,000,000 in aid to Pakistan, 

of which about 60 percent was Coalition Support Funds 

designed to reimburse Pakistan for counter-terrorism efforts, 15 percent was for security assistance to the military, 15 percent was for debt relief and general budget 

support, and approximately 10 percent was for humanitarian assistance; 

Whereas Admiral William Fallon, the senior United States 

military commander in the Middle East and Southwest 

Asia, advised General Musharraf on November 2, 2007, 

that emergency rule might place military aid at risk; 

Whereas on November 3, 2007, General Musharraf, in his 

role as Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan, declared a state 

of emergency, suspended the Constitution of Pakistan, 

dismissed Chief Justice Chaudhry, and initiated a nationwide crackdown on political opposition, the media, and 

the courts of Pakistan that resulted in the arrest of more 

than 1,000 political opponents; 

Whereas the Administration declared that imposition of emergency rule was ‘‘deeply disturbing’’, and Secretary of 

State Rice said that the United States would ‘‘have to reVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:44 Nov 09, 2007 Jkt 038715 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR372.IS SR372

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•SRES 372 IS 

view the situation with aid’’ in light of these developments; 

Whereas on November 7, 2007, President George W. Bush 

spoke with President Musharraf and conveyed the message that ‘‘we believe strongly in elections, and that you 

ought to have elections soon, and you need to take off 

your uniform’’; and 

Whereas on November 8, 2007, the Government of Pakistan 

announced that parliamentary elections in Pakistan 

would be held by February 15, 2008, and that President 

Musharraf would relinquish his position as Chief of Army 

Staff of Pakistan prior to being sworn in as President of 

Pakistan: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate— 

2 (1) to condemn the decision by President 

3 Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan to declare a state of 

4 emergency in Pakistan, suspend the Constitution of 

5 Pakistan, dismiss the Supreme Court Justices refus6 ing to take a loyalty oath, and initiate a nation-wide 

7 crackdown on political opposition, the media, and 

8 the courts in Pakistan; 

9 (2) to call on President Musharraf to revoke 

10 the state of emergency, respect the rule of law and 

11 immediately release political detainees, restore the 

12 Constitution of Pakistan, restore freedom of the 

13 press and judicial independence in Pakistan, and re14 instate all dismissed members of the Supreme Court 

15 of Pakistan; 


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1 (3) to call upon President Musharraf to honor 

2 his commitment to relinquish his position as Chief of 

3 Army Staff of Pakistan, allow free and fair par4 liamentary elections in Pakistan in accordance with 

5 the schedule mandated by the Constitution of Paki6 stan, establish an independent commission to guar7 antee that such elections are free and fair, and per8 mit full and unfettered independent monitoring of 

9 such elections; 

10 (4) that the Government of the United States 

11 should provide whatever assistance is necessary to 

12 facilitate such free and fair elections, including by 

13 supporting independent election monitoring organi14 zations and efforts; 

15 (5) to call upon the Government of Pakistan to 

16 conduct a full investigation into the attempted assas17 sination of former Prime Minister of Pakistan 

18 Benazir Bhutto and provide her and other political 

19 leaders with all necessary security to ensure their 

20 personal safety; and 

21 (6) that United States military assistance to 

22 Pakistan should be subjected to careful review, and 

23 that assistance for the purchase of certain weapons 

24 systems not directly related to the fight against Al 

25 Qaeda and the Taliban should be suspended if PresiVerDate Aug 31 2005 05:44 Nov 09, 2007 Jkt 038715 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR372.IS SR372

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1 dent Musharraf does not revoke the state of emer2 gency and restore the Constitution of Pakistan, re3 linquish his position as Chief of Army Staff of Paki4 stan, and allow for free and fair elections to be held 

5 in Pakistan in accordance with the announced time6 frame. 

Æ 


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