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AS
tension rises in major cities in Pakistan after
President Pervez Musharraf declared a state of
emergency, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs
(DFA) has issued a warning to some 3,000 Filipinos there
to contact the embassy and consulates and take
precautions.
DFA
spokesman Claro Cristobal said Filipinos in the capital
of Islamabad, and in Lahore and Karachi were advised to
take personal safeguards.
He said
most of the Filipinos in Pakistan are either married to
Pakistani nationals or working as professionals.
Cristobal said there are no domestic workers in Pakistan
but possibly a number of undocumented workers.
Cristobal, meanwhile, emphasized that relatives of the
more than 3,000 Filipinos in Pakistan are not ‘direct
targets’ of the Pakistani authorities in the current
crackdown.
“The
Philippine embassy is also coordinating with embassies
of member-countries of the Association of the Southeast
Asian Nations (Asean) in Pakistan on measures to assist
one another’s nationals in emergency situations. Thus
far, there have been no reported direct threats to the
safety of Filipinos in Pakistan,” said Cristobal in a
telephone interview on Monday.
Besides
the Philippine embassy in the Pakistani capital of
Islamabad, there are also two honorary consulates in
Lahore and Karachi where Filipinos could seek help.
“The
embassy should be basically guiding people as there are
specific targets [of the state of emergency],” said
Cristobal. “There may be things that the Pakistani
government is wary about, that’s why a state of
emergency is declared.”
President Musharraf declared a state of emergency on
Saturday, citing “growing threat of terrorism and
out-of-control judicial activism.” He has reportedly
jailed thousands of critics, including lawyers, and kept
justices and judges restricted to their homes. |
