In light of the arrest of hundreds of lawyers and activists in Pakistan and the suspension of the country’s constitution by President Pervez Musharraf last week, about fifty demonstrators protested these human rights abuses outside the Pakistan Consulate’s office in Westwood today.

“Crisis has been a daily part of life in Pakistan,” Hamid Khan, executive director of the South Asian Network told Pop + Politics. “As Pakistanis in the States, we have to realize that civic engagement isn’t just about getting your citizenship. It’s critical to have an opinion here and not be afraid to exercise it.”

Mirza Baig from Torrance, who migrated to the United States in the 1980s under Zia-ul-Haq’s reign, had a more leveled view. “The state of Pakistan is unfortunate, but you cannot realistically expect a country to be free of problems within sixty years of its independence.”

Mustafa Farooqi, a 57-year-old Boeing engineer from Diamond Bar, said he thought the state of Pakistan “was incredibly depressing.”

The demonstration, sponsored by the South Asian Network, comes at a time, when almost 2500 people have have been arrested for protesting Musharraf’s declaration of martial law, including close to 1250 lawyers and activists that are under house arrest, according to Pakistan’s leading newspaper, Dawn.

“The tragedy here is the destruction of Pakistan’s civil legal structure,” said Ali Eteraz, a Pakistani lawyer in the States and editor of Pakistanpolitics.net. “The country has become a dragnet of political society, anyone that has struck out an independent voice has been taken down or neutralized.”

All private media outlets in the country have been suspended and the sale of satellite dishes have been stalled completely. Under the Pakistani Constitution, any person who attempts to subvert the Constitution by use of force or any other unconstitutional means is considered guilty of “high treason.”

“What Musharraf has failed to allow is a natural progression that Pakistani people have toward western values,” added Eteraz. “You can’t expect democracy [to come from] suspending the Constitiution.”

Khan agrees. “We’re trying to show that Musharraf’ s schizophrenic style of ruling won’t cut it. At what point are you the Army Chief, and at what point are you the leader of Pakistan?”