Faced with the volatile situation in Pakistan, we felt it was important to publish this story on the emergency written by a PEARL reporter. However, the name of the reporter, and the last names and school names of the youth interviewed for this story, are being withheld to protect their identities.

Pakistan -- On Nov. 3, Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf declared a State of Emergency, suspending the Constitution, framed in 1973, and issuing a new Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO). The basic rights of Pakistani citizens -- freedom of speech, assembly and press -- stood suspended.

With the political situation changing every day, Pakistani youth are putting across their concerns over the developments affecting their homeland. Many are not pleased with the emergency.

"It is so distressing that a man put the future of a whole country at risk just to strengthen his rule," said Usama, an 18-year-old student. "I want to see Pakistan as the most prosperous country in the world, but these situations are big hurdles," added Ibrar, 18. "I wish things like this did not need to happen."

On Oct. 6, presidential elections were held in Pakistan and General Musharraf won 57 per cent of the vote, defeating his rival by an overwhelming majority. The results were announced the same day, but the official notification was held back on orders of the Supreme Court.

General Musharraf is also Pakistan's army chief. Legal experts say that the Constitution does not allow a person who is employed in the armed forces to run for president. So legal challenges followed General Musharraf's election victory and a verdict was expected in a few days from the Supreme Court. But before the verdict could be known, General Musharraf, as army chief, imposed emergency rule.

"The rulers had feared that the Supreme Court would [go] contrary to their wishes so they imposed emergency in the country," said Iftikhar Chaudhry on GEO TV, a private news channel. Chaudhry was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He was sacked when the emergency was declared.

Like him, several top judges were removed, while others took oath under the new PCO. This happened not just with the Supreme Court judges but also all other higher courts. The government also banned private TV news channels. According to the GEO TV website, police raided many press offices.

Speaking on the sanctity of the rule of law, Asif, a 27-year-old MBA student, said, "The Constitution is there to follow, not to be withheld whenever you feel like it is not according to your wishes." He said the Constitution should be restored immediately.

Addressing the nation on state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) News after the imposition of emergency rule, General Musharraf said the emergency was necessary because the judiciary had been crossing its boundary of power: it had freed many terrorists, many of whom were involved in violent activities. This necessitated the taking of an extra-constitutional step, he said.

In his GEO TV interview, former Chief Justice Chaudhry said, "The charges framed by President Musharraf against the Supreme Court are baseless and unfounded." Another former senior judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Rana Bhagwandas, told GEO TV that the government should have provided evidence to convince the court that the people the court had freed were terrorists.

There was some support for General Musharraf. High-school senior Riaz, 18, said, "He is a good leader. He must have taken this step out of sincerity toward Pakistan."

Despite the political storm, daily life for teenagers in Pakistan continues to be mostly normal. "It has not changed much of the daily time-table," said 17-year-old Aima, adding, "But, yes, discussions among my friends are largely about the emergency."

Most Pakistanis do not support the president's move, but every Pakistani hopes that the situation will be back to normal soon.