Coordinates	50°53′″N20°37′″N
Official name	Luton
Settlement type	Borough
Blank emblem type	Luton Town Coat of Arms
Map caption	Luton shown within Bedfordshire
Dot x	|dot_y
Coordinates region	GB
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name	United Kingdom
Subdivision type1	Constituent area
Subdivision name1	England
Subdivision type2	Region
Subdivision name2	East of England
Subdivision type3	Ceremonial county
Subdivision name3	Bedfordshire
Subdivision type4	Borough
Subdivision name4	Luton
Government footnotes
Government type	Borough
Leader title	Governing body
Leader name	Luton Borough Council
Leader title1	Executive:
Leader name1	Labour
Leader title2	Mayor
Leader name2	Tom Shaw
Leader title3	MPs
Leader name3	Kelvin Hopkins (L)Gavin Shuker (L)
Unit pref	Imperial
Area total km2	43.35
Population total	240,000
Population blank1 title	ethnicity
Population blank1	66.9% White19.8% S.Asian8.2% Black2.8% Mixed Race2.3% E.Asian and Other
Timezone	GMT
Timezone dst	British Summer Time
Postal code type	Postcode Area
Postal code	LU
Area code	(01582)
Blank name	ONS code
Blank info	00KA
Blank1 name	Demonym
Blank1 info	Lutonians
Website	www.luton.gov.uk
Footnotes	}}

Luton ( or ) is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles (51 kilometres) north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of over 240,000.

Luton is home to Blue Square Premier team Luton Town Football Club, whose history includes several spells in the top flight of the English league as well as a Football League Cup triumph in 1988. They play at Kenilworth Road stadium, which has been their home since 1905.

London Luton Airport, opened in 1938, is one of England's major airports. During the Second World War it doubled as an RAF base.

The University of Bedfordshire is based in the town.

The Luton Carnival, held on the late May bank holiday, is the largest one-day carnival in Europe.

The town was for many years famous for hat-making and was also home to a large Vauxhall Motors factory; the head office of Vauxhall Motors is still situated in the town. Car production at the plant began in 1905 and continued until 2002, but commercial vehicle production remains.

History

Early history

The earliest settlements in the Luton area were at Round Green and Mixes Hill, where Paleolithic encampments (about 250,000 years old) have been found. Settlements re-appeared after the ice had retreated in the Mesolithic period around 8000 BC. Traces of these settlements have been found in the Leagrave area of the modern town. Remains from the Neolithic period (4500-2500 BC in this area) are much more common. A particular concentration of Neolithic burials has been found at Galley Hill. The most prominent Neolithic structure is Waulud's Bank - a henge dating from around 3000 BC. From the Neolithic onwards, the area seems to have been populated, but without any single large settlement.

The first urban settlement nearby was the small Roman town of ''Durocobrivis'' at Dunstable, but Roman remains in Luton itself consist only of scattered farmsteads.

The foundation of Luton is usually dated to the 6th century when a Saxon outpost was founded on the River Lea, Lea tun. Luton is recorded in the Domesday Book as ''Loitone'' and also as ''Lintone''. Agriculture dominated the local economy at that time, and the town's population was around 700-800.

In 1121 Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester started work on St Mary's Church in the centre of the town. The work was completed by 1137. A motte and bailey type castle which gives its name to the modern Castle Street was built in 1139. The castle was demolished in 1154 and the site is now home to a Matalan store. During the Middle Ages Luton is recorded as being home to six watermills. Mill Street, in the town centre, takes its name from one of them.

King John (1166–1216) had hired a mercenary soldier, Falkes de Breauté, to act on his behalf. (Breauté is a small town near Le Havre in France.) When he married, Falkes de Breauté acquired his wife's house which came to be known as "Fawkes Hall", subsequently corrupted over the years to "Foxhall", then "Vauxhall". In return for his services, King John granted Falkes the manor of Luton, where he built a castle alongside St Mary's Church. He was also granted the right to bear his own coat of arms and chose the mythical griffin as his heraldic emblem. The griffin thus became associated with both Vauxhall and Luton in the early 13th century.

By 1240 the town is recorded as Leueton. The town had a market for surrounding villages in August each year, and with the growth of the town a second fair was granted each October from 1338.

In 1336, much of Luton was destroyed by a great fire, however the town was soon rebuilt.

The agriculture base of the town changed in the 16th century with a brick making industry developing around Luton, many of the older wooden houses were rebuilt in brick.

17th century

During the English Civil War of the 17th century, in 1645, royalists entered the town and demanded money and goods. Parliamentary forces arrived and during the fighting four royalist soldiers were killed and a further twenty-two were captured. A second skirmish occurred three years later in 1648 when a royalist army passed through Luton. A number of royalists were attacked by parliamentary soldiers at an inn on the corner of the current Bridge Street. Most of the royalists escaped but nine were killed.

18th century

The hat making industry began in the 17th century and became synonymous with the town. By the 18th century the industry dominated the town. Hats are still produced in the town but on a much smaller scale.

The first Luton Workhouse was constructed in the town in 1722.

Luton Hoo, a nearby large country house was built in 1767 and substantially rebuilt after a fire in 1843. It is now a luxury hotel.

19th century

The town grew strongly in the 19th century. In 1801 the population was 3,095. By 1850 it was over 10,000 and by 1901 it was almost 39,000. Such rapid growth demanded a railway connection but the town had to wait a long time for one. The London and Birmingham Railway (L&BR;) had been built through Tring in 1838, and the Great Northern Railway was built through Hitchin in 1852, both bypassing Luton, the largest town in the area. A branch line connecting with the L&BR; at Leighton Buzzard was proposed, but because of objections to release of land, construction terminated at Dunstable in 1848. It was another ten years before the branch was extended to Bute Street Station, and the first train to Dunstable ran on 3 May 1858. The line was later extended to Welwyn and from 1860 direct trains to King's Cross ran. The Midland Railway was extended from Bedford to St Pancras through Leagrave and Midland Road station and opened on 9 September 1867.

Luton received a gas supply in 1834. Gas street lights were erected and the first town hall was opened in 1847.

Newspaper printing arrived in the town in 1854. The first public cemetery was opened in the same year. Following a cholera epidemic in 1848 Luton formed a water company and had a complete water and sewerage system by the late 1860s. The first covered market was built (the Plait Halls - now demolished) in 1869. Luton was made a borough in 1876. A professional football club - the first in the South of England - was founded in 1885 following a resolution at the town hall that a 'Luton Town Club be formed'.

The crest also includes a hand holding a bunch of wheat, either taken as a symbol of the straw-plaiting industry, or from the arms of John Whethamsteade, Abbott of St Albans, who rebuilt the chancel of St Mary's Church in the 15th century.

20th century

In the 20th century, the hat trade severely declined and was replaced by other industries. In 1905, Vauxhall Motors opened the largest car plant in the United Kingdom in Luton. Electrolux built a household appliances plant around the same time and this was followed by other light engineering businesses.

In 1904 councillors Asher Hucklesby and Edwin Oakley purchased the estate at Wardown Park and donated it to the people of Luton. Hucklesby went on to become Mayor of Luton. The main house in the park became Wardown Park Museum.

The town had a tram system from 1908 until 1932 and the first cinema was opened in 1909. By 1914 the population had reached 50,000.

The original town hall was destroyed in 1919 during Peace Day celebrations at the end of World War I. Local people including many ex-servicemen were unhappy with unemployment and had been refused the use of a local park to hold celebratory events. They stormed the town hall setting it alight (''see Luton Town Hall''). A replacement building was completed in 1936. Luton Airport opened in 1938, owned and operated by the council. In World War II, the Vauxhall Factory built Churchill tanks as part of the war effort. Despite heavy camouflage, the factory made Luton a target for the Luftwaffe and the town suffered a number of air raids. 107 died and there was extensive damage to the town (over 1,500 homes were damaged or destroyed). Other industry in the town, such as SKF which produced ball bearings, made a vital contribution to the war effort. Although a bomb landed at the SKF Factory no major damage was caused.

The pre-war years, even at the turn of the 1930s when a Great Depression saw unemployment reach record levels nationally, were something of an economic boom for Luton, as new industries grew and prospered. New private and council housing was built in the 1920s and 1930s, with Luton growing as a town to incorporate nearby villages Leagrave, Limbury and Stopsley between 1928 and 1933.

Post-war, the slum clearance continued and a number of substantial estates of council housing were built, notably at Farley Hill, Stopsley, Limbury, Marsh Farm and Leagrave (Hockwell Ring). The M1 motorway passed just to the west of the town, opening in 1959 and giving it a direct motorway link with London and - eventually - the Midlands and the North. In 1962 a new library (to replace the cramped Carnegie Library) was opened by the Queen in the corner of St George's Square.

In the late 1960s a large part of the town centre was cleared to build a large covered shopping centre, the Arndale Centre, which was opened in 1972. It was refurbished and given a glass roof in the 1990s. In 2000, Vauxhall announced the end of car production in Luton; the plant closed in March 2002. At its peak it had employed in excess of 30,000 people. Vauxhall's headquarters remain in the town, as does its van and light commercial vehicle factory.

21st century

A major regeneration programme for the town centre is underway, which will include upgrades to the town's bus and railway stations as well as improvements to the town's urban environment. St George's Square has been rebuilt and reopened in 2007. The new design won a Gold Standard Award for the Town Centre Environment from the annual British Council of Shopping Centres awards.

Work was completed on an extension to the Mall Shopping Centre facing St George's Square, the largest of the new units to was taken by TK Maxx. Planning applications for a much larger extension to the Mall Arndale Shopping Centre (In the Northern Gateway area - Bute Street, Silver Street and Guildford Street) and also for a new centre in Power Court (close to St Mary's Church) have been submitted. On the edge of Luton at Putteridge Bury a high-technology office park, Butterfield Green, is under construction. The former Vauxhall site is also to be re-developed as a mixed use site called Napier Park. It will feature housing, retail and entertainment use, including a new casino.

An application for Luton to receive city status was made in 2011 and a decision is due in 2012.

Governance

The town is situated within the historic county of Bedfordshire, but since 1997 Luton has been an administratively independent unitary authority. The town remains part of Bedfordshire for ceremonial purposes.

Luton Borough Council made a decision on 21 June 2010 to seek city status at the upcoming awards at the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. Their Love Luton city status bid is well underway. The town previously applied at the Millennium in 2000 and again in 2002 (Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II) but failed. (see City status in the United Kingdom)

Parliamentary representation

Luton is represented by two Members of Parliament. The constituency of Luton North has been held by Kelvin Hopkins (Labour) since 1997. Luton South has been held by Gavin Shuker (Labour) since 2010. Luton is within the East of England (European Parliament constituency).

Local council

Lutonians are governed by Luton Borough Council. The town is split into 19 wards, represented by 48 councillors. Elections are held for all seats every four years, with the most recent local elections held in May 2011 and the next due in May 2015. The Council is controlled by the Labour group, who have 36 Local Councillors (a majority of 24). The next largest party is the Liberal Democrats with 8 seats, followed by the Conservative Party with 4 seats. {| width=99% class="wikitable" ! width=15% | Position ! width=85% | Current Representatives |- |align="center"|Members of Parliament||align="center"|Kelvin Hopkins, Labour, elected 1997Gavin Shuker, Labour, elected 2010 |}

Town coat of arms

In 1876 the town was granted its own coat of arms. The wheatsheaf was used on the crest to represent agriculture and the supply of straw used in the local hatting industry (the straw-plaiting industry was brought to Luton by a group of Scots under the protection of Sir John Napier of Luton Hoo). The bee is traditionally the emblem of industry and the hive represents the straw-plaiting industry for which Luton was famous. The rose is from the arms of the Napier family, whereas the thistle is a symbol for Scotland. An alternative suggestion is that the rose was a national emblem, and the thistle represents the Marquess of Bute, who formerly owned the Manor of Luton Hoo.

Geography

Luton is located in a break in the Eastern part of the Chiltern Hills. The Chilterns are a mixture of chalk from the Cretaceous period (about 65-146 million years ago) and deposits laid at the southernmost points of the ice sheet during the last ice age (the Warden Hills area can be seen from much of the town).

Bedfordshire had a reputation for brick making but the industry is now significantly reduced. The brickworks at Stopsley took advantage of the clay deposits in the east of the town.

The source of the River Lea, part of the Thames Valley drainage basin, is in the Leagrave area of the town. The Great Bramingham Wood surrounds this area. It is classified as ancient woodland; records mention the wood at least 400 years ago.

There are few routes through the hilly area for some miles, this has led to several major roads (including the M1 and the A6) and a major rail-link being constructed through the town.

Climate

Luton has a temperate marine climate, like much of the British Isles, with generally light precipitation throughout the year. The weather is very changeable from day to day and the warming influence of the Gulf Stream makes the region mild for its latitude. The average total annual rainfall is with rain falling on 117 days of the year.

The local climate around Luton is differentiated somewhat from much of South East England due to its position in the Chiltern Hills, meaning it tends to be 1-2 degrees Celsius cooler than the surrounding towns - often flights at Luton airport, lying 160 m above sea level, will be suspended when marginal snow events occur, while airports at lower elevations, such as Heathrow, at 25 m above sea level, continue to function. An example of this is shown in the photograph to the right, the snowline being about 100 m above sea level. Absolute temperature extremes recorded at Rothamsted Research Station, south south east of Luton town centre and at a similar elevation range from in December 1981 and in January 1963 to in August 2003 and in August 1990 and July 2006. Records for Rothamsted date back to 1901.

Areas

The Victorian expansion of Luton focused on areas close to the existing town centre and railways. In the 1920s and 1930s growth typically was though absorbing neighbouring villages and hamlets and infill construction between them and Luton. After the Second World War there were several estates and developments constructed both by the local authority such as Farley Hill or Marsh Farm, or privately such as Bushmead.

{| |

1. Barnfield
2. Biscot
3. Bramingham
4. Challney
5. Crawley
6. Dallow
7. Farley Hill
8. High Town
9. Icknield
10. Leagrave

| |

11. Lewsey
12. Limbury-cum-Biscot
13. Northwell
14. Round Green
15. Saints
16. South ward
17. Stopsley
18. Sundon Park
19. Wigmore

|- |}

''More about Places within Luton ''

Demography

The United Kingdom Census 2001 showed that Luton had a population of 184,371, a 5.8% increase from the last census meaning that Luton is the 27th largest settlement in the UK. Of this, 43,324 were under 15, 131,660 were between 16 and 74 and 9387 were over 74. The Office for National Statistics mid-year estimate of the 2009 population is 194,300. However, the Luton Borough Council Research and Intelligence Team criticise this figure as understating the recent immigration from Eastern Europe, and they estimate the true figure to be in the region of 205,000.

!Year	1801	1851	1901	1911	1921	1931	1941	1951	1961	1971	1981	1991	2001
!Population Luton	2,985	11,067	31,981	49,315	57,378	66,762	84,516	106,999	132,017	162,928	163,208	174,567	184,390

Local inhabitants are known as ''Lutonians''.

Ethnicity

Luton has seen several waves of immigration. In the early part of the 20th century Irish and Scottish people arrived in the town - these were followed by Afro-Caribbean and Asian immigrants. More recently immigrants from Eastern Europe have made Luton their home. As a result of this Luton has a diverse ethnic mix, with a significant population of Asian descent, mainly Pakistani (9.8%), Bangladeshi (4.3%) and Indian (4.2%). The 2005 Office of National Statistics figures revealed that town had a white population of 68% (of which white British amounted to 61.3%).

!	! Luton %	! East of England %	! England %
White	68.0	92.8	89.1
Mixed	2.8	1.4	1.6
Asian or Asian British	19.3	3.1	5.3
Black or Black British	7.9	1.6	2.7
Chinese or Other Ethnic Group	2.0	1.1	1.3
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0

Religion

According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, 60% of the inhabitants in Luton are Christian and 15% are Muslim.

The full statistics are as follows:

! Religion	! Luton %	! National %
Christian	59.6%	71.7%
Muslim	14.6%	3.0%
Hindu	2.7%	1.1%
Sikh	0.8%	0.6%
Jewish	0.3%	0.5%
Buddhist	0.2%	0.3%
Other	0.3%	0.3%
No religion	14.1%	14.8%
Religion not stated	7.2%	7.7%

Economic activity

Of the town's working population (classified 16–74 years of age by the Office for National Statistics), 63% are employed. This figure includes students, the self-employed and those who are in part-time employment. 11% are retired, 8% look after the family or take care of the home and 5% are unemployed.

Economy

Luton's economy has, traditionally been focused on several different areas of industry including Car Manufacture, engineering and millinery. However, today, Luton is moving towards a service based economy mainly in the retail and the airport sectors, although there is still a focus on light industry in the town.

Notable firms with headquarters in Luton include: EasyJet - head office (originally EasyLand, later moved into Hangar 89) and main base at London Luton Airport Monarch Airlines - headquarters, at Luton Airport (Prospect House) Thomson UK (Thomson Holidays and Thomson Airways) - travel Vauxhall Motors - headquarters (Griffin House)

Notable firms with offices in Luton include: Anritsu - electronics AstraZeneca - pharmaceuticals Selex Galileo - aerospace Ernst & Young - accountants Experian - data and analytics Mazars - accountants Siemens AG - electronics Whitbread - hospitality

Shopping

The main shopping area in Luton is centred around The Mall Luton. Built in the 1960s/1970s and opened as an Arndale Centre, construction of the shopping centre led to the demolition of a number of the older buildings in the town centre including the Plait Halls (a Victorian covered market building with an iron and glass roof). Shops and businesses in the remaining streets, particularly in the roads around Cheapside and in High Town, have been in decline ever since. George Street, on the south side of the Arndale, was pedestrianised in the 1990s.

Contained within the main shopping centre is the Market, which contains butchers, fishmongers, fruit and veg, hairdressers, tattoo parlours, ice cream, flower stall and T-shirt printing as well as eating places.

Another major shopping area is Bury Park where there are shops catering to Luton's ethnic minorities.

Food and drink

Luton has a diverse selection of restaurants - English, Italian, Chinese, Indian, Caribbean, Thai and Malaysian to name a few. No area of the town is specifically restaurant-orientated, but in some areas (such as Bury Park) there is a concentration of Asian restaurants.

There are pubs and clubs in the town centre. A number of these cater for the town's student population; however, there are still a number of traditional pubs in the town.

Transport

Luton has excellent transport links and is situated less than 30 miles north of the centre of London, giving it good links with the City and other parts of the country via the motorway network and the National Rail system. Luton is also home to London Luton Airport, one of the major feeder airports for London and the southeast. Luton is also served by a bus service run by Arriva and a large taxi network. As a Unitary Authority, Luton Borough Council is responsible for the local highways and public transport in the Borough and licensing of Taxis.

Education

Luton is one of the main locations of the University of Bedfordshire. A large campus of the university is in Luton town centre, with a smaller campus based on the edge of town in Putteridge Bury, an old Victorian manor house. The other main campus of the university is located in Bedford.

The town is home to Luton Sixth Form College and Barnfield College. Both have been awarded Learning & Skills Beacon Status by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.

Luton's schools and colleges have also been earmarked for major investment in the government scheme Building Schools for the Future programme, which intends to renew and refit buildings in institutes across the country. Luton is in the 3rd wave of this long term programme with work intending to start in 2009.

There are 98 educational institutes in Luton - seven Nurseries, 70 Primary schools (9 Voluntary-Aided, 2 Special Requirements), 13 Secondary Schools (1 Voluntary-Aided, 1 Special Requirements), four Further Educational Institutes and four other Educational Institutes.

Culture and leisure

Sport

Luton is the home town of Luton Town Football Club who have recently been relegated from the football league, one below the 4th flight of the English league structure. Their nickname, "The Hatters", dates back to when Luton had a substantial millinery industry. Luton are currently in the Blue Square Bet Premier after failing to win automatic promotion to Football League Two during the 2009-10 season. Luton were beaten 2-0 on aggregate by York City in the semi finals of the playoffs, and therefore failed to progress to the final at Wembley. York went on to lose in the final. Speedway racing was staged in Luton in the mid 1930s.

The town has three rugby union clubs - Luton Rugby Club who play in National 3 Midlands, Vauxhall Motors RFC who play in Midlands 4 SE and Stockwood Park who also play in Midlands 2 SE.

Wardown Park

Wardown Park is situated on the River Lea in Luton. The park has sporting facilities, is home to the Wardown Park Museum and contains formal gardens. The park is located between ''Old Bedford Road'' and the A6, ''New Bedford Road'' and is within walking distance of the town centre.

Stockwood Park

Stockwood Park is a large municipal park near Junction 10 of the M1. Located in the park is Stockwood Discovery Centre a free museum that houses the Mossman Collection and Luton local social history, archaeology and geology. There is an athletics track, an 18-hole golf course, several rugby pitches and areas of open space.

The park was originally the estate and grounds to Stockwood house, which was demolished in 1964.

Carnival

Luton Carnival is the largest one-day carnival in Europe. It usually takes place on the late May Bank Holiday. Crowds can reach 150,000 on each occasion.

The procession starts at Wardown Park and makes its way down New Bedford Road, around the Town Centre via St George's Square, back down New Bedford Road and finishes back at Wardown Park. There are music stages and stalls around the town centre and at Wardown Park.

St. Patrick's Day

The festival celebrating the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick, is held on the weekend nearest to March 17. In its 12th year in 2011, the festival includes a parade, market stalls and music stands as well as Irish themed events.

Theatre

Luton is home to the Library Theatre, a 238 seat theatre located on the 3rd floor of the town's Central Library. The Theatre's programme consists of local amateur dramatic societies, pantomime, children's theatre (on Saturday mornings) and one night shows of touring theatre companies.

Luton is also home to The Hat Factory, originally as its name suggests, this Arts Centre was in fact a real Hat Factory. The Hat Factory is a combined arts venue in the centre of Luton. It opened in 2003 and since then has been the area’s main provider of contemporary theatre, dance and music. The venue provides live music, club nights, theatre, dance, films, children's activities, workshops, classes and gallery exhibitions. www.thehatfactory.org.

Museums

Luton Museum

Wardown Park Museum previously known as Luton Museum and Art Gallery, is housed in a large Victorian mansion in Wardown Park on the outskirts of the town centre. The museum collection focusses on the traditional crafts and industry of Luton and Bedfordshire, notably lace-making and hat-making. There are samples of local lace from as early as the 17th century.

Stockwood Craft Museum

Based in Stockwood Park, Luton, the collection of rural crafts and trades held at Stockwood Park Museum was amassed by Thomas Wyatt Bagshawe, who was a notable local historian and a leading authority on folk life. Bagshawe was born in Dunstable in 1901 and became a director of the family engineering firm. The collection only contains examples from Bedfordshire and the borders of neighbouring counties, giving the collection a very strong regional identity.

Mossman Collection

The Mossman Carriage collection is held at Stockwood Park, Luton and is the largest and most significant vehicle collection of its kind in the country, including originals from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

The Mossman collection of horse drawn vehicles was given to Luton Museum Service in 1991. It illustrates the development of horse-drawn road transportation in Britain from Roman times up until the 1930s.

Local attractions

{| | valign="top" |

Image:Museum icon (red).png Galley and Warden Hills Nature Reserve

|}

Twin towns

Luton participates in international town twinning; its partners are:

>

	Country		Place		County / District / Region / State	Date

Media

Newspapers

Three weekly newspapers are delivered free to all the houses in Luton. They are: ''Luton & Dunstable Express'', delivered free to Luton and Dunstable households on Wednesdays.

''Luton on Sunday'', delivered free to Luton and Dunstable households on Sunday.

''Herald and Post'', delivered free to all Luton households on Thursdays.

There are also two other newspapers in circulation around Luton: ''Luton News'', the ''Herald & Post'' sister paper which is published every Wednesday. ''Lutonline'', a monthly newspaper produced by the local council. Usually delivered with the ''Luton & Dunstable Express''.

Radio

BBC Three Counties Radio, the local BBC station, broadcasts from its office in Hastings Street, Luton to Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

Heart 97.6 is the local independent station and broadcasts from Chiltern Road in Dunstable.

Diverse FM began broadcasts in April 2007 having been awarded a community radio license from Ofcom.

Luton FM, the university's radio station, runs for 28 days during May. In addition, Ramadan FM broadcasts during the month of Ramadan.

Television

Local-News TV is a local news channel for Bedfordshire and Luton. The channel is broadcast solely over the internet with content available on-demand.

Anglia Television the ITV franchise holder for the East Anglia franchise region, which Luton is a part of.

Days Like These, the British re-make of the popular American sitcom That '70s Show, was set in Luton.

Media references

In the TV series ''One Foot in the Grave'' there are often references to places within Luton. The script-writer David Renwick was brought up in the town.

The town was mentioned several times in the seminal sketch show ''Monty Python's Flying Circus''. In one sketch a rather half-hearted hijacker demands that a plane headed for Cuba be diverted to Luton. Luton is one of the constituencies returning a "Silly Party" victory in the famous sketch ''Election Night Special''. In the Piranha Brothers sketch Spiny Norman lived in a hangar at Luton Airport. A 1976 episode of the sci-fi series ''"Space: 1999"'' was called The Rules of Luton, inspired by the town name.

Notable Lutonians

People who were born in Luton or are associated with the town.

By birth

{|width=90% |

Mick Abrahams, guitarist for Jethro Tull

David Arnold, composer

John Badham, film director

Clive Barker, sculptor and artist

Jonathan Barnbrook, graphic designer, typographer

Leon Barnett, footballer

Kevin Blackwell, goalkeeper, football manager

Dean Brill, footballer

Clive Bunker, drummer for Jethro Tull

Danny Cannon, screenwriter, director and producer

Ian Cashmore, actor

Steve Dillon, comic artist

Kerry Dixon, footballer

|

Stacey Dooley, journalist and television presenter

Kevin Foley, footballer

Sean Gallagher, actor

Liam George, footballer

John Gosling, musician

John Hagan, 8th master chief petty officer, U.S. Navy

Arthur Hailey, novelist

Neil Halstead, musician

Neil Jackson, Actor

Ronnie Lee, Founder of the Animal Liberation Front

Monty Panesar, cricketer

John Payne, musician

|

Phil Read, motorcycle racer

David Renwick, scriptwriter

Stu Riddle, footballer

Vaughan Savidge, announcer

Billy Schwer, boxer

Andy Selway, drummer

Will Smith, cricketer

Gavin Shuker, Labour party politician

David Stoten, artist

Mark Titchner, artist

UK Decay, band

Paul Young, singer

|}

By association

{|width=90% |

Taimour Abdulwahab al-Abdaly, Swedish Muslim suicide bomber

Stefan Bailey, footballer

Charles Bronson, prisoner

Combat 786, Luton based crime family

Diana Dors, actress

Ian Dury, singer

Danny Dyer, actor

John Hegley, poet

Hilda Hewlett, UK's first female pilot

|

Sir Alec Jeffreys, geneticist

Sarfraz Manzoor, columnist, ''The Guardian''

Eric Morecambe, entertainer

Lee Ross, actor

Colin Salmon, actor

Edward Tudor-Pole, singer and actor

Christopher Walken, actor

Kenneth Williams, actor

Richard Wiseman, psychologist

|}

References

External links

Luton Borough Council YouTube channel

Luton Live

Luton has come to embody the failures of multiculturalism

Category:Towns in Bedfordshire Category:Places in Bedfordshire listed in the Domesday Book Category:Local government in Bedfordshire Category:Unitary authorities of England Category:Hat making Category:Local government districts of the East of England

ar:لوتون zh-min-nan:Luton ca:Luton da:Luton de:Luton es:Luton eo:Luton fr:Luton id:Luton it:Luton sw:Luton lb:Luton (borough) lt:Lutonas nl:Luton no:Luton nn:Luton pl:Luton pt:Luton ro:Luton qu:Luton ru:Лутон sco:Luton sk:Luton fi:Luton sv:Luton vi:Luton vo:Luton war:Luton zh:卢顿

Coordinates	50°53′″N20°37′″N
playername	Andre Gray
fullname	Andre Gray
dateofbirth	June 26, 1991
cityofbirth	Wolverhampton
countryofbirth	England
currentclub	Hinckley United
position	Striker
youthyears1	–2009
youthclubs1	Shrewsbury Town
years1	2009–2010
years2	2009
years3	2010
years4	2010–
clubs1	Shrewsbury Town
clubs2	→ AFC Telford United (loan)
clubs3	→ Hinckley United (loan)
clubs4	Hinckley United
caps1	4
caps2	5
caps3	4
caps4	46
goals1	0
goals2	1
goals3	0
goals4	21
pcupdate	08:00, 30 August 2011 (UTC) }}

Andre Gray (born 27 October 1990) is an English footballer who plays as a Striker for Conference North side Hinckley United.

Playing career

Andre Signed a First-Year Professional conract at the beginning of the 2009/10 season. He made his debut on the opening day of the 2009-10 season, coming on as a substitute in the Shrews' 3-1 win over Burton Albion. He made his second appearance when he came on as a substitute at 55 minutes when Shrewsbury were chasing the game at 4-0 down. During the 2009-2010 season Gray was loaned to Conference North sides AFC Telford United and Hinckley United.

He was released by Shrewsbury on 14 May 2010 and signed a 1 year contract with Hinckley United, where he made four appearances on loan the previous season. During the 2010-11 season for Hinckley, Gray scored 16 goals in 39 appearances.

References

Category:1991 births Category:Living people Category:English footballers Category:The Football League players Category:Shrewsbury Town F.C. players Category:Hinckley United F.C. players Category:Association football forwards

Coordinates	50°53′″N20°37′″N
Name	Pervez Musharrafپرویز مشرّف
Office	10th President of Pakistan
Primeminister	Zafarullah Khan JamaliChaudhry Shujaat HussainShaukat AzizMuhammad Mian SoomroYousaf Raza Gillani
Term start	20 June 2001
Term end	18 August 2008
Predecessor	Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
Successor	Asif Ali Zardari
Office2	Chief Executive of Pakistan
President2	Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
Term start2	12 October 1999
Term end2	21 November 2002
Office3	Chief of Army Staff
Term start3	6 October 1998
Term end3	28 November 2007
Predecessor3	Jehangir Karamat
Successor3	Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
Office4	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee
Term start4	8 October 1998
Term end4	7 October 2001
Predecessor4	General Jehangir Karamat
Successor4	General Azia Khan
Birth date	August 11, 1943
Birth place	Delhi, British Indian Empire
Party	PML-QAPML
Spouse	Sehba Musharraf
Alma mater	Pakistan Military AcademyCommand and Staff College
Religion	Islam
Branch	Pakistan Army
Serviceyears	1964–2007
Rank	General
Battles	Indo-Pakistani War of 1971Indo-Pakistani War of 1971Indo-Pakistan Siachen warKargil WarWar in North-West Pakistan
Awards	}}

Pervez Musharraf (}}, born 11 August 1943), is a retired four star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and 10th President of Pakistan as well as 10th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled Pakistan as Chief Executive from 1999–2001 and as President from 2001-08. In the face of impeachment, he resigned on 18 August 2008.

After years of military service, he rose to prominence when Prime Minister Navaz Sharif appointed him Chief of Army Staff in October 1998 when he super headed three most senior generals, notable General Ali Kuli Khan. Sharif appointed him as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, despite he was unqualified for the post as of the merit. This appointment of Sharif forced Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Fasih Bokhari to resign from the Navy who was rightfully deserving officer for this assignment. Musharraf was the strategic mastermind behind the Kargil infiltration and the provided a vital support to unannounced Pakistan war in Afghanistan where he sent thousands of Pakistan Army's young soldiers and paramilitary staff to participate in the war against the Northern Alliance. After months of contentious relations, he took power through a bloodless military coup on Sharif's democratically elected government, and placed in under house-arrest later shifted him Adiala Jail.

As Pakistan's head of state, he was a U.S. ally in the War on Terror. He was credited with the development of Pakistan's economy during the early years of his rule. His limited popularity suffered after his suspension of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and the Lal Masjid siege. His attempt to institute emergency rule failed as calls for his impeachment escalated. The return of Benazir Bhutto and Navaz Sharif from exile fast-tracked the nation towards parliamentary democracy ending Musharraf's reign.

In February 2011, a Pakistani court issued an arrest warrant for him because of his alleged involvement in assassination of Benazir Bhutto. As of June 2011, he lives in self-exile in London but has vowed to return for the next election. He has announced to return to Pakistan on 23 March, 2012.

Early life

India

He was born on 11 August 1943 in Delhi of Uttar Pradesh, British India. He is the son of Syed and Zarin Musharraf. Syed graduated from Aligarh Muslim University and was a civil servant for the British. Zarin was born in the early 1920s.

His home was called ''neharwali haveli'', literally "mansion by the canal". The home is so large that it housed eight different families in 2001. The home was located in the epicenter of India's ruling Mughal elite. Syed Ahmed Khan's family lived adjacent to the home. The home's title deeds were written entirely in Urdu except for his father's English signature.

Pakistan and Turkey

He and his family left for Pakistan on one of the last safe trains in 1947 a few days before the partition of India. His father worked for Pakistani government and eventually joined the Foreign Ministry. In his autobiography ''Line of Fire'', he elaborates on his first experience with death was after falling off a mango tree.

His family moved to Ankara after his father's diplomatic deputation was sent by Pakistan to Turkey in 1949. He learned to speak Turkish. He had a dog named Whiskey that gave him a "lifelong love for dogs". He often played sports in his youth. He left Turkey in 1956.

He returned to Pakistan in 1957. He attended Saint Patrick's School in Karachi and Forman Christian College in Lahore.

Initial military career

name	Pervez Musharraf
birth date
death date
placeofburial coordinates
nickname	''Cowboy''
birth name	Pervez Musharraf
allegiance
branch
serviceyears	1964-2007
rank
unit	Pakistan Army Artillery Corps
commands	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff CommitteeChief of Army StaffDirector-General Military OperationsI ''Strike'' CorpsSpecial Services Group40th Army Infantry Division
battles	War in West-Pakistan2001 Indo-Pakistan standoffCoup d'état of 1999Pakistan war in AfghanistanIndo-Pakistani War of 1999Indo-Pakistan Siachen warIndo-Pakistani War of 1971Indo-Pakistani War of 1965
awards	Nishan-e-ImtiazImtiazi Sanad''Tamgha-e-Basalat''
signature	}}

In 1961, he entered the Pakistan Military Academy at Kakul. He joined the Pakistan Army in 1964 and was placed in an artillery regiment.

Indo-Pakistani conflicts (1965-1971)

His first battlefield experience was with his artillery regiment in the intense fighting for Khemkaran sector in the Second Kashmir War. He also participated in the Lahore and Sialkot war zones during the conflict. During the war, Musharraf developed a reputation for sticking to his post under shellfire. He received the Imtiazi Sanad medal for gallantry.

Shortly after the end of the War of 1965, he joined the elite Special Service Group (SSG). He served in the SSG from 1966-1972. He was promoted to captain and to major during this period. During the War of 1971, he led an infantry division and a strikes corps. During the war, he also was a company commander of a commando battalion.

Various military posts (1972-1990)

Musharraf was a lieutenant colonel in 1974 and a colonel in 1978. As staff officer in the 1980s, he studied and taught at Command and Staff College and National Defense College. He did not play any significant role in Pakistan's proxy war in the 1979-89 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In 1987, he became a brigade commander of a new division of the SSG near Siachen Glacier. In September 1987, he launched an assault at Bilafond La before being pushed back. In 1990, he studied at the Royal College of Defense Studies in Britain. While in the Army, he earned the nickname "Cowboy" for his westernized ways.

Director-General (1991-1995)

In 1991, he became major general and worked closely with the Army Chief of Staff as Director-General of Military Operations. Musharraf proposed a Kargil infiltration to Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto but she rebuffed the plan. After the collapse of the fractious Afghan government, Musharraf assisted General Babar and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in devising a policy of supporting the newly-formed Taliban in the Afghan civil war against the Northern Alliance government.

His last military field posting was at the Mangla border region in 1995 as a lieutenant-general commander.

Chief of Army Staff

Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff

In October 1998, Jayhangeer Caramatt was forced to resign as Chief of Army of Staff for advocating the creation of a National Security Council with an active military role. Prime minister Sharif saw this suggestion as General Caramatt's involvement in politics, therefore Sharif forced General Carammat to resigned. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif personally promoted as Musharraf as four star general to replace Karamat. Musharraf superseded Lieutenant General Khalid Nawaz Khan and Lieutenant-General Ali Kuli Khan who were much senior, in merit, to General Musharraf. General Ali Kuli Khan was a highly competent officer who held most of the prestigious assignments in the Army, and belonged to respected Muhajir family. Later, Sharif promoted General Musharraf to another and most prestigious 4-star assignment in the Pakistan Armed Forces, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee when Musharraf insisted Sharif. Admiral Fasih Bokhari, who was much senior to Musharraf on both merit and experience, resigned in protest when General Musharraf superseded the Admiral. According to Abdul Qadeer Khan, Sharif's promotion awarded to Musharraf was illegal as he was unqualified and incompetent and it was the biggest blunder and unforgettable mistake made by Navaz Sharif.

Kargil Conflict

The Pakistan Army originally conceived the Kargil plan after the Siachen conflict but the plan was rebuffed repeatedly by senior civilian and military officials. Musharraf was a leading strategist behind the Kargil Conflict. From March–May 1999, he ordered the secret infiltration of Kashmiri forces in the Kargil district. After India discovered the infiltration, a fierce Indian offensive nearly lead to a full-scale war. However, Sharif withdrew support of the insurgents in the border conflict in July because of heightened international pressure. Sharif's decision antagonized the Pakistan Army and rumors of a possible coup began emerging soon afterward. Sharif and Musharraf dispute on who was responsible for the Kargil conflict and Pakistan's withdrawal.

Chief Executive

1999 coup

Military officials from Musharraf's Joint Chief of Staff met with regional corps commanders three times in late September in anticipation of a possible coup. To quiet rumors of a fallout between Musharraf and Sharif, Sharif officially certified Musharraf's remaining two years of his term on September 30.

Musharraf had left for a weekend trip to take part in Sri Lanka's Army's 50th-anniversary celebrations. After hearing news of his possible sacking, Musharraf rushed on Pakistan International Airlines flight from Colombo to Karachi on October 12. The military had already begun to mobilize troops towards Islamabad from nearby Rawalpindi. Sharif formally declared Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director Khwaja Ziauddin to replace Musharraf as Army Chief on national television at the Aiwan-e-Sadr presidential palace. The military placed Sharif under house arrest, but in a last ditch effort Sharif privately ordered Karachi air traffic controllers to redirect Musharraf's flight to Nawabshah where Sharif's own security team were ready to put Musharraf in custody. The plan failed after soldiers in Karachi surrounded the airport control tower. At 2:50 AM on October 13, Musharraf addressed the nation with a pre-recorded message.

Musharraf met with President Rafiq Tarar on October 13 to deliberate on legitimizing the coup. On October 15, Musharraf ended emerging hopes of a quick transition to democracy after he declared state of emergency, suspended the Constitution, and assumed power as Chief Executive. He also quickly purged the government of political enemies, notably Ziauddin and national airline chief Shahid Khaqan Abbassi. On October 17, he gave his second national address and established a seven-member military-civilian council to govern the country. He named three retired military officers and a judge as provincial administrators on October 21.

There were no organized protests within the country to the coup. The coup was widely criticized by the international community. Consequently, Pakistan was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations. Sharif was put under house arrest and later exiled to Saudi Arabia.

First days

Musharraf's first foreign visit was to Saudi Arabia on October 26 where he met with King Fahd. After meeting senior Saudi royals, the next day he went to Medina and performed Umrah in Mecca. On October 28, he went to United Arab Emirates before returning home.

By the end of October, Musharraf appointed many technocrats and bureaucrats in his Cabinet, including former Citibank executive Shaukat Aziz as Finance Minister and Abdul Sattar as Foreign Minister. In early November, he released details of his assets to the public.

In late December 1999, Musharraf's dealt with his first international crisis when India accused Pakistan's involvement in the Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking. Though United States President Bill Clinton pressured Musharraf to ban the alleged group behind the hijacking — Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Pakistani officials refused because of fears of reprisal from political parties such as Jamaat-e-Islami.

In March 2000, Musharraf banned political rallies.

Sharif trial and exile

The army held Sharif under house arrest at a government guesthouse and opened his Lahore home to the public in late October 1999. He was formally indicted in November on charges of hijacking, kidnapping, attempted murder, and treason for preventing Musharraf's flight from landing at Karachi airport on the day of the coup. His trial began in early March 2000 in an anti-terrorism court, which are designed for speedy trials. He testified Musharraf began preparations of a coup after the Kargil conflict. Sharif was placed in Adiala Jail, infamous for hosting Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's trial, and his leading defense lawyer, Iqbal Raad, was shot dead in Karachi in mid-March. Sharif's defense team blamed the military for intentionally providing their lawyers with inadequate protection. The court proceedings were widely accused of being a show trial. Sources from Pakistan claimed that Musharraf and his military government's officers were in full mood to exercise tough conditions on Sharif, was intended to sent Navaz Sharif to gallows to face similar fate as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1979. It was the pressure on Musharraf exerted by Saudia Arabia and the United States to exile Sharif after it became authenticated that the court is near to place her verdict on Navaz Sharif on his charges, and the court will sentenced Sharif to death. Sharif signed an agreement with Musharraf and his military government and his family was exiled to Saudi Arabia in December 2000.

Constitutional changes

Shortly after Musharraf's takeover, he issued The Oath of Judges Order 2000, which required judges to take a fresh oath of office swearing allegiance to military. On 12 May 2000, the Supreme Court asked Musharraf to hold national elections by 12 October 2002. The residing President Rafiq Tarar remained in office until June 2001. Musharraf formally appointed himself President on 20 June 2001. In August 2002, he issued the Legal Framework Order, which added numerous amendments to the 1973 Constitution. In October 2002, Pakistan held elections which the pro-Musharraf PML-Q won wide margins. The PML-Q and MQM formed a coalition and legitimized Musharraf's rule.

Presidency

Support for the War on Terror

Musharraf allied with the United States against the Taliban government in Afghanistan after the September 11 attacks. He claims in his 2006 memoirs he was given an ultimatum after military threats "to go back to the Stone Age" by U.S. President George W. Bush through Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Bush and Armitage denied it. Musharraf agreed to give the United States the use of three airbases for Operation Enduring Freedom. In return for his support on the War on Terror Musharraf was among the 194 candidates nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

A few months after the September 11 attacks, Musharraf gave a speech against Islamic extremism. He instituted prohibitions on foreign students' access to studying Islam within Pakistan, an effort which began as an outright ban but was later reduced to restrictions on obtaining visas. On 18 September 2005, Musharraf made a speech before a broad based audience of Jewish leadership, sponsored by the American Jewish Congress's Council for World Jewry, in New York City. In the speech, he denounced terrorism and opened the door to relationships between Pakistan and Israel. He was widely criticized by Middle Eastern leaders, but was met with some praise among Jewish leadership.

Relations with India

After the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, Musharraf expressed his sympathies to Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and sent a plane load of relief supplies to India.

In the mid-2004, Musharraf began a series of talks with India to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

Relations with Saudi Arabia

In 2006, King Abdullah visited Pakistan for the first time as King. Musharraf honored King Abdullah with the ''Nishan-e-Pakistan''. Musharraf received the King Abdul-Aziz Medallion in 2007.

Nuclear scandals

In 2001, as part of Musharraf's de-extremism policies, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) apprehended Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, a nuclear engineer, and dr. Chaudhry Abdul Majeed, a nuclear chemist, in suspicion of having contacts and connections to Taliban. During this sting operation, it was revealed that Mahmood had a meeting with Asama bin Laden to built a radiological weapon. But, Mahmood was incompetent to developed the weapon as he was an expert in nuclear power technology. Therefore, Al-Qaeda was unable to gain any knowledge from these scientists, the ISI and CIA later reported. Musharraf, during this time was Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, decided to militarily debriefed the scientists. Mahmood and dr. Majeed was taken under custody of Judge Advocate General Branch (JAG) where the debriefings continued until the early 2005. After the debriefings were completed, both scientists were put out of public eye and were prevented to attend any science seminar held in the country.

As President, General Musharraf had promoted Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan to the most prestigious post, the Science Advisor to the President. Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan's open-promotion of nuclear weapons and ballistics missiles brought an international embarrassment for Pakistan. According to Zahid Malik, after the government received potential and solid evidence against Khan from the United States, General Musharraf and the military establishment was in full mood to exercise rough actions against Khan. Khan's debriefing was necessary for General Musharraf to prove the loyalty of Pakistan to United States and Western world.

One of the most widely-reported controversies during Musharraf's administration arose as a consequence of the disclosure of nuclear proliferation by Dr. A.Q. Khan, a national hero and one of the most decorated scientist. Initially General Musharraf denied knowledge of or participation by Pakistan or the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force and even the Pakistan Navy, despite Khan urged that Musharraf was the leader of the proliferation ring. On January of 2004, General Musharraf dismissed dr. A.Q. Khan as his Science Adviser. A formal military debriefing of Khan was taken place which continued until next three years.

Musharraf faced bitter domestic criticism for singularly attempting to vilify Khan. Musharraf's long standing ally MQM gave cold shoulder and gave bitter and acrimonious criticism to Musharraf over his handling of Khan. MQM tapped an anti-Musharraf movement for the release of Khan which initially shocked Musharraf and the United States. MQM and her leaders threatened Musharraf to leave his government if Khan persecuted or even jailed. Feared his regime would be topple if MQM continued to tapped this wave, Khan has been pardoned in exchange for cooperation in the investigation by Musharraf, but was put under house arrest where he was forced to attend various debriefings which would continued for hours. After Musharraf's resignation, Dr. Khan was finally released from house arrest by the executive order of Supreme Court of Pakistan. After Musharraf departed from the country, then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Tärikue Majid ended further debriefings of dr. Khan.

Corruption issues

When Musharraf came to power in 1999, he claimed that the corruption in the government bureaucracy would be cleaned up. According to a survey conducted by Transparency International Pakistan ranked in 2001 as the world's 11th most corrupt nation. In 2007, Pakistan ranked as the 41st most corrupt nation.

Domestic politics

In December 2003, Musharraf made a deal with Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, a six-member coalition of Islamic parties, agreeing to leave the army by 31 December 2004. With that party's support, pro-Musharraf legislators were able to muster the two-thirds supermajority required to pass the Seventeenth Amendment, which retroactively legalized Musharraf's 1999 coup and many of his decrees. In late 2004, Musharraf went back on his agreement with the MMA and pro-Musharraf legislators in the Parliament passed a bill allowing Musharraf to keep both offices. Constitution Article 63 clause (1) paragraph (d), read with proviso to Article 41 clause (7) paragraph (b), allows the President to hold dual office.

On 1 January 2004, Musharraf had won a confidence vote in the Electoral College of Pakistan, consisting of both houses of Parliament and the four provincial assemblies. Musharraf received 658 out of 1170 votes, a 56% majority, but many opposition and Islamic members of parliament walked out to protest the vote. As a result of this vote, his term was extended to 2007.

Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigned on 26 June 2004, after losing the support of the PML(Q). His resignation was at least partially due to his public differences with the party chairman, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. This was rumored to have happened at Musharraf's command. Jamali had been appointed with the support of Musharraf's and the pro-Musharraf PML(Q). Most PML(Q) parliamentarians formerly belonged to the Pakistan Muslim League party led by Sharif, and most ministers of the cabinet were formerly senior members of other parties, joining the PML(Q) after the elections upon being offered positions. Musharraf nominated Shaukat Aziz, the minister for finance and a former employee of Citibank and head of ''Citibank Private Banking'' as the new prime minister.

Women's rights

The National Assembly voted in favor of the “Women's Protection Bill” on 15 November 2006 and the Senate approved it on 23 November 2006. President General Pervez Musharraf signed into law the “Women's Protection Bill”, on 1 December 2006. The bill places rape laws under the penal code and allegedly does away with harsh conditions that previously required victims to produce four male witnesses and exposed the victims to prosecution for adultery, if they were unable to prove the crime. However, the Women's Protection bill has been criticized heavily by many for paying continued lip service and failing to address the actual problem by its roots: repealing the Hudood Ordinance. In this context, Musharraf has also been criticized by women and human rights activists for not following up his words by action. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) said that "The so-called Women's Protection Bill is a farcical attempt at making Hudood Ordinances palatable" outlining the issues of the bill and the continued impact on women.

His government increased reserved seats for women in assemblies, to increase women's representation and make their presence more effective. Compared with 1988 seats in the National Assembly were increased from 20 to 60. In provincial assemblies 128 seats were reserved for women. This situation has brought out increase participation of women for 1988 and 2008 elections.

In March 2005, a couple of months after the rape of a Pakistani physician, Dr. Shazia Khalid, working on a government gas plant in the remote Baluchistan province, Musharraf was criticized for pronouncing, Captain Hammad, a fellow military man and the accused in the case, innocent before the judicial inquiry was complete. Following the rape, riots erupted in the local Bugti clan of the province, where the rape took place. They saw a rape in their heartland as being a breach of their code of honour and attacked the gas plant. In an uncomprimising response Musharraf sent tanks, helicopters and an extra 4,500 soldiers to guard the installation. If the tribesmen failed to stop shooting, he warned on television, "they will not know what hit them". Shazia was later forced and threatened by the government to leave the country.

In an interview to the Washington Post in September 2005 Musharraf said that Pakistani women, who were the victims of rape, treated rape as a "moneymaking concern" and were only interested in the publicity in order to make money and get a Canadian visa. He subsequently denied making these comments, but the Washington Post made available an audio recording of the interview, in which Musharraf could be heard making the quoted remarks. Musharraf also denied Mukhtaran Mai, a Pakistani rape victim, the right to travel abroad, until pressured by US State Department. The remarks made by Musharraf sparked outrage and protests both internationally and in Pakistan by various groups i.e. women groups, activists. In a rally, held close to the presidential palace and Pakistan's parliament, hundreds of women demonstrated in Pakistan demanding Musharraf apologize for the controversial remarks about female rape victims.

Assassination attempts

In 2000 Kamran Atif, an alleged member of Harkat-ul Mujahideen al-Alami, tried to assassinate Musharraf. Atif was sentenced to death in 2006 by an Anti Terrorism Court. On 14 December 2003, Musharraf survived an assassination attempt when a powerful bomb went off minutes after his highly-guarded convoy crossed a bridge in Rawalpindi. It was the third such attempt during his four-year rule. On 25 December 2003, two suicide bombers tried to assassinate Musharraf, but their car bombs failed to kill him; 16 others died instead. Musharraf escaped with only a cracked windshield on his car. Amjad Farooqi was an alleged mastermind behind these attempts, and was killed by Pakistani forces in 2004 after an extensive manhunt.

On 6 July 2007, there was another attempted assassination, when an unknown group fired a 7.62 submachine gun at Musharraf's plane as it took off from a runway in Rawalpindi. Security also recovered 2 anti-aircraft guns, from which no shots had been fired. On 17 July 2007, Pakistani police detained 39 people in relation to the attempted assassination of Musharraf. The suspects were detained at an undisclosed location by a joint team of Punjab Police, the Federal Investigation Agency and other Pakistani intelligence agencies.

On 8 October 2007, a military helicopter escorting President Musharraf, on his visit to the earthquake-affected areas on its second anniversary, crashed near Muzaffarabad, killing four people, including a brigadier. The Puma helicopter crashed at Majohi near Garhi Dupatta in Azad Kashmir at 11:15 am due to technical fault. Those killed included Brigadier Zahoor Ahmed, Naik Ajmal, Sepoy Rashid and PTV cameraman Muhammad Farooq, while President’s Media Advisor Maj Gen (R) Rashid Qureshi sustained injuries. Twelve people were on board the helicopter.

Fall from Presidency

By August 2007, polls showed 64 percent of Pakistanis did not want another Musharraf term.

Suspension and reinstatement of the Chief Justice

On 9 March 2007, Musharraf suspended Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and pressed corruption charges against him. He replaced him with ally Acting Chief Justice Javed Iqbal.

Musharraf's moves sparked protests among Pakistani lawyers. On 12 March 2007, lawyers started a campaign called Judicial Activism across Pakistan and began boycotting all court procedures in protest against the suspension. In Islamabad, as well as other cities such as Lahore, Karachi, and Quetta hundreds of lawyers dressed in black suits attended rallies, condemning the suspension as unconstitutional. Slowly the expressions of support for the ousted Chief Justice gathered momentum and by May, protesters and opposition parties took out huge rallies against Musharraf and his tenure as army chief was also challenged in the courts.

Lal Masjid siege

Lal Masjid had a religious school for women and the Jamia Hafsa madrassa, which was attached to the mosque. A male madrassa was only a few minutes drive away. The mosque often attended by prominent politicians including prime ministers, army chiefs, and presidents.

The Lal Masjid administration had been in an escalating conflict with government authorities since January 2007. Government officials accused the mosque leadership of organizing a vigilante "vice-squad" which conducted raids against brothels, kidnappings of corrupt police officers, and suspected prostitutes. In April 2007, the mosque administration set up its own Islamic court in violation of government sanctions. In July 2007, a confrontation occurred when government authorities sent officers for demolition of the mosque under the pretense that it was created illegally.

This development led to a standoff between police forces and students (mostly female). Mosque leaders and students refused to leave the mosque and the children's library. They remained within the mosque to prevent the demolition. The situation was only defused after the authorities backed down and offered talks.

But government forces did not back down. Pakistani troops stormed the building which led to a bloody siege that ended with the deaths of more than 100 people.

Return of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif

Also on 8 August 2007, Benazir Bhutto spoke about her secret meeting with Musharraf on 27 July, in an interview on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

On 14 September 2007, Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim stated that Bhutto won't be deported, but must face corruption suits against her. He clarified Sharif's and Bhutto's right to return to Pakistan. Bhutto returned from eight years exile on 18 October. On 17 September 2007, Bhutto accused Musharraf's allies of pushing Pakistan to crisis by refusal to restore democracy and share power. Musharraf called for a three day mourning period after Bhutto's assassination on 27 December 2007.

Sharif returned to Pakistan in September 2007, and was immediately arrested and taken into custody at the airport. He was sent back to Saudi Arabia. Saudi intelligence chief Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and Lebanese politician Saad Hariri arrived separately in Islamabad on 8 September 2007, the former with a message from Saudi King Abdullah and the latter after a meeting with Nawaz Sharif in London. After meeting President General Pervez Musharraf for two-and-a-half hours discussing Nawaz Sharif's possible return. On arrival in Saudi Arabia, Nawaz Sharif was received by Prince Muqrin bin Abdul-Aziz, the Saudi intelligence chief, who had met Musharraf in Islamabad the previous day. That meeting had been followed by a rare press conference, at which he had warned that Sharif should not violate the terms of King Abdullah's agreement of staying out of politics for 10 years.

Resignation from the Army

On 2 October 2007, Musharraf named Lt. Gen. Ashfaq Kayani as vice chief of the army starting 8 October. When Musharraf resigned from military on 28 November 2007, Kayani became Chief of Army Staff.

2007 Elections

In a March 2007 interview, Musharraf said that he intended to stay in the office for another five years.

A nine-member panel of Supreme Court judges deliberated on six petitions (including Jamaat-e-Islami's, Pakistan's largest Islamic group) for disqualification of Musharraf as presidential candidate. Bhutto stated that her party may join other opposition groups, including Sharif's.

On 28 September 2007, in a 6–3 vote, Judge Rana Bhagwandas's court removed obstacles to Musharraf's election bid.

Emergency rule

On 3 November 2007 Musharraf declared emergency rule across Pakistan. He suspended the Constitution, imposed State of Emergency, and fired the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court again. In Islamabad, troops entered the Supreme Court building, arrested the judges and kept them under detention in their homes. Troops were deployed inside state-run TV and radio stations, while independent channels went off air. Public protests mounted against Musharraf.

2008 Elections

On 23 March 2008, President Musharraf said an "era of democracy" has begun in Pakistan. He has put the country "on the track of development and progress." On 22 March, the Pakistan Peoples Party named former parliament speaker Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani as its candidate for the country's next prime minister, to lead a coalition government united against him.

Impeachment movement and resignation

On 7 August 2008, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) agreed to force Musharraf to step down and begin his impeachment. Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif announced sending a formal request or joint charge sheet that he step down, and impeach him through parliamentary process upon refusal. Musharraf refused to step down. A charge-sheet had been drafted, and was to be presented to parliament. It included Mr Musharraf’s first seizure of power in 1999—at the expense of Nawaz Sharif, the PML(N)’s leader, whom Mr Musharraf imprisoned and exiled—and his second last November, when he declared an emergency as a means to get re-elected president. The charge-sheet also listed some of Mr Musharraf’s contributions to the “war on terror”.

Musharraf delayed his departure for the Beijing Olympics, by a day. On 11 August, the government summoned the national assembly.

On 18 August 2008, Musharraf resigned. On 19 August, he defended his nine-year rule in an hour-long speech.

Exile

After his resignation, Musharraf went for a pilgrimage to Mecca. He then went on a lucrative speaking tour through the Middle East, Europe, and United States. Chicago-based Embark LLC was one of the international public-relations firms trying to land Musharraf as a highly paid keynote speaker. According to Embark President David B. Wheeler, the speaking fee for Musharraf would be in the $150,000–200,000 range for a day plus jet and other V.I.P. arrangements on the ground.

Return to politics

Since quitting politics in 2008, Musharraf has been in London in self-imposed exile. Musharraf launched his own political party, the All Pakistan Muslim League, in June 2010.

On 1 October 2010, Musharraf officially launched his political party as a President of the party, All Pakistan Muslim League.

Since the start of 2011, news has been circulating that Musharraf will return to Pakistan before the next national elections. He himself has vowed this in several interviews. On Piers Morgan Tonight, Musharraf announced his plans to return to Pakistan on March 23, 2012 in order to seek the Presidency in 2013.

Views

Regarding the Lahore attack on Sri Lankan players, Musharraf criticized the police commandos' inability to kill any of the gunmen, saying "If this was the elite force I would expect them to have shot down those people who attacked them, the reaction, their training should be on a level that if anyone shoots toward the company they are guarding, in less than three seconds they should shoot the man down."

Regarding Blasphemy law in Pakistan, Musharraf cited that Pakistani nation is sensitive to religious issues and the Blasphemy law should stay.

He also warned of a new military coup and said the military must play a bigger role in order to gain stability in Pakistan.

Legal problems

The PML-N has tried to get Pervez Musharraf to stand trial in an article 6 trial for treason in relation to the emergency on November 3, 2007. The Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gilani has said a consensus resolution is required in national assembly for an article 6 trial of Pervez Musharraf “I have no love lost for Musharraf ... if parliament decides to try him, I will be with parliament. Article 6 cannot be applied to one individual ... those who supported him are today in my cabinet and some of them have also joined the PML-N ... the MMA, the MQM and the PML-Q supported him ... this is why I have said that it is not doable,” said the Prime Minister while informally talking to editors and also replying to questions by journalists at an Iftar-dinner he had hosted for them. Meanwhile, Proclamation of Emergency and Revocation is the constitutional right of the President of Pakistan, according to the constitution of Pakistan, Article 232 and Article 236. On 15 February 2008, the Supreme Court has delivered detailed judgement to validate the Proclamation of Emergency on 3 November 2007, the Provisional Constitution Order No 1 of 2007 and the Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007. Saudi Arabia has agreements in place to stop any article 6 trial in Pakistan in relation to Pervez Musharraf due to Saudi Arabia's long standing friendship with all of the political parties in Pakistan. Sharif is under tremendous pressure from Saudi Arabia to shun his demand for Musharraf’s trial under the Article Six of the Constitution

Abbottabad's district and sessions judge in a missing person's case passed judgment asking the authorities to declare Pervez Musharraf a proclaimed offender. On February 11, 2011 the Anti Terrorism Court, issued an arrest warrant for Musharraf and charged him with conspiracy to commit murder of Benazir Bhutto. On 8 March 2011, the Sindh High Court registered treason charges against him.

Personal life

Musharraf is the second son with two brothers — Javed and Naved. Javed became a high-ranking foreign service officer in the Pakistan Army. Naved is an anesthesiologist who has lived in Chicago since his medical residency at Cook County Hospital in 1956. Naved is married to an American wife - Linda - and has two children.

He married Sehba on 28 December 1968. Sehba is from Okara. They have a daughter, Ayla, and a son, Bilal. He named Bilal after a close friend that died in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Bilal is an actuary in Boston for the state government of Massachusetts. Bilal is married. Ayla is an architect married to a musician and they have a daughter Mariam.

He published his autobiography — In the Line of Fire: A Memoir — in 2006.

As President, he had two Pekingese pet dogs.

See also

Enlightened Moderation

Line of succession to President of Pakistan

List of national leaders

Politics of Pakistan

Self-coup

Notes

Books

Pervez Musharraf, ''In the Line of Fire: A Memoir'' (2006)

External links

;Official

General Pervez Musharraf, official Pakistan Army profile

Pervez Musharraf Foundation

;Interviews and statements

Address by Pervez Musharraf to U.S. Institute of Peace (text, audio & video available) June 2003

Plea for Enlightened Moderation, Pervez Musharraf, ''The Washington Post'', 13 May 2004

;Media coverage

Profile: Pervez Musharraf, ''BBC News'', 16 June 2009

Timeline: Pakistan, a chronology of key events, ''BBC News''

Was Kargil A Conspiracy Against Pakistan?, e-zine.pk, 14 May 2011, conspiracy theory involving Musharraf, the U.S. and India

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