Pakistani students cover protests on campus, continued…

Report by Team Observers

President Pervez Musharraf announced on Thursday that the legislative elections will take place before 15 February. But the state of emergency stays in place and access to non-state television channels is still blocked. However, an online protest movement is gaining speed as increasing numbers of local internet users get involved. The Observers Team has compiled some of the material produced by these citizen journalists.

Contributors

Photos of the protests taken by a student in Lahore

Rehman is covering the demonstrations by taking photos with his digital camera and posting them on Flickr. To protect the identity of the participants, he blurs the face of each demonstrator.

Rehman Chughtai

Pakistan
Student

Video published on the blog 'Pakistan Martial Law'

This video was put online by a student at the FAST University of Lahore.

The police barricaded the students into their campus.

Groups on Facebook

Shan Rais has created a group on Facebook called Student protests for a free Pakistan. The members discuss events and share the latest posts and videos on the subject.

There are now numerous groups like this one. 'We Oppose Emergency in Pakistan' is another example.

Shan Rais

Pakistan
Student

“A sentiment of helplessness…”

“The implementation of state of rule has created resentment and frustration that every Pakistani is talking about. Obviously these are complex feelings, born out of a complex political situation. But among the public there exists a strong desire to ‘do something’, while they are also aware that they are completely helpless.”

Adil Najam

United States
University Professor

The final solution to getting around censorship: buy a satellite aerial

Private TV channels are blocked through cable, but they’re still accessible by satellite. According to a blogger on Islamabad Pakistan, people are rushing out to buy satellite aerials.