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Musharraf defends emergency rule

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has defended his decision to declare emergency rule, saying he could not allow the country to commit suicide.

In a televised address he said Pakistan had reached a crisis brought about by militant violence and a judiciary which had paralysed the government.

The chief justice has been replaced and the Supreme Court surrounded by troops.

The moves came as the Supreme Court was due to rule on the legality of Gen Musharraf's October election victory.

The court was to decide whether Gen Musharraf was eligible to run for re-election last month while remaining army chief.

The BBC's Barbara Plett reports from Islamabad that fears had been growing in the government that the Supreme Court ruling could go against Gen Musharraf.

It is not clear whether the parliamentary elections due in January will go ahead. Gen Musharraf made no mention of them in his speech, but he insisted he wanted to restore democracy.

Suicide warning

Pakistan has been engulfed in political upheaval in recent months, and the security forces have suffered a series of blows from pro-Taleban militants opposed to Gen Musharraf's support for the US-led "war on terror".

In a lengthy televised speech late on Saturday, Mr Musharraf said the situation had forced him into making "some very painful decisions".

"I suspect that Pakistan's sovereignty is in danger unless timely action is taken," he said.

He insisted his decisions were made for the benefit of Pakistan.

"Extremists are roaming around freely in the country, and they are not scared of law-enforcement agencies," the president said.

As well as defending emergency rule to the Pakistani people, Gen Musharraf also appealed directly to his Western allies for patience.

"Kindly understand the criticality of the situation in Pakistan and around Pakistan. Pakistan is on the verge of destabilisation," he said.

"Inaction at this moment is suicide for Pakistan and I cannot allow this country to commit suicide."

Condemnation

Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who recently returned to the country after years of self-exile to lead her party in planned parliamentary elections, was in Dubai on a personal visit when news of the declaration broke.

However, she immediately flew back to Karachi where she condemned Gen Musharraf's decision, saying emergency rule had been imposed so elections could be avoided.

He blamed the increasing extremism in Pakistan on Gen Musharraf, saying: "When you stop all legal and constitutional ways of people challenging [the president], then the only ones who challenge him are people with a gun".

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the declaration of emergency rule was "highly regrettable" and called upon Pakistan to have free and fair elections.

UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband also expressed concern, saying it was vital Pakistan's government "abides by the commitment to hold free and fair elections on schedule".

New chief justice

Gen Musharraf's address echoed the text of the declaration of emergency rule, which opens with a reference to the "grave threat" posed by the "visible ascendancy in the activities of extremists and incidents of terrorist attacks".

It ends by saying that the constitution is in "abeyance" - which, according to our correspondent, in effect means that martial law has been imposed, although there is not a heavy security presence on the streets.

Statements that defame Gen Musharraf, the military or the government are prohibited and statements or pictures from Islamist militants are banned from broadcast or publication.

Our correspondent says it is clear from reading the emergency proclamation that the main target is the judiciary which is accused of interfering in government policy and weakening the struggle against terrorism.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and eight other judges refused to endorse the emergency order, declaring it unconstitutional, resulting in Mr Chaudhry's dismissal.

A new chief justice has been appointed, officials say. He is Supreme Court judge Abdul Hameed Dogar, a supporter of Gen Musharraf who was a member of the special tribunal appointed to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by Mr Chaudhry.

Ms Bhutto's return from self-imposed exile last month came about with the co-operation of Gen Musharraf.

Our correspondent says that in the changed circumstances she will have to decide whether she is returning to lead the opposition against the president, or should wait on the sidelines in the hopes of securing an agreement with him.

Pakistan 'to keep elections date'
Pakistan's prime minister says national elections will be held as scheduled, despite President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of emergency rule.

Elections are due by mid-January, but there were fears they might be abandoned because of the crisis.

Police have broken up street protests and hundreds of lawyers and opposition activists have been arrested.

The US said it was "deeply disturbed" by events and urged Gen Musharraf to return to civilian rule.

The Pakistani president said he had declared the emergency to stop the country "committing suicide", because the country was in a crisis caused by militant violence and an unruly judiciary.

Critics, however, believe Gen Musharraf was acting to pre-empt a judgment by the Supreme Court on whether his re-election last month was legal.

Election timetable

The government had suggested parliamentary polls could be delayed by up to a year.

But Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Monday that: "The next general elections will be held according to the schedule."

Attorney-General Malik Abdul Qayyum was more specific.

"It has been decided there will be no delay in the election and by 15 November these assemblies will be dissolved and the election will be held within the next 60 days," he told Reuters news agency.

Pakistan had come under heavy international pressure after Gen Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Saturday.

"We believe that the best path for Pakistan is to quickly return to a constitutional path and then to hold elections," US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said during a visit to the Middle East.

She urged Gen Musharraf to fulfil his pledge to step down as head of the army and return the country to civilian rule.

But on Monday, the general gave his clearest indication yet that he was unlikely to give up his military post soon, even though he had been scheduled to do so this month.

He told foreign diplomats in Islamabad that he would give up his military post "once we correct these pillars in judiciary and the executive and the parliament", according to comments broadcast on state-run television.

'Further steps'

The US has suspended defence co-operation talks with Pakistan set for this week and says it will review its multi-billion dollar aid programme.

The UK, another major donor, says it is examining whether the emergency will affect its aid to Pakistan.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the announcement that elections would go ahead was welcome, but it must be accompanied by civilian rule and political freedoms.

The Netherlands became the first country to suspend aid, and the EU said its members were considering "possible further steps".

In Lahore on Monday an estimated 2,000 lawyers congregated to stage a rally protesting at the dismissal of top judges and restrictions on the judiciary, but several were reported wounded when police waded in with tear gas and baton charges.

Lawyers chanting anti-Musharraf slogans at a demonstration in Karachi were dragged off into police vans, says the BBC's M Ilyas Khan.

Demonstrations were also broken up in Rawalpindi.

House arrest

Lawyers' associations across the country said they were calling three days of protests and boycotts of courts.

Media reports, citing police and interior ministry sources, said some 1,500 people had been arrested in the past 48 hours, while many top judges were effectively under house arrest.

The Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami was among the groups targeted.

Its leader, Qazi Hussain Ahmed, was under arrest, as were hundreds of members, the party said.

Information Minister Tariq Azim called those figures an exaggeration.

He told the BBC that it was up to protesters to remain calm, or deal with the consequences.

"If people take the law into their [own] hands, obviously, they have to be dealt with," he told the World Today.

Pakistani TV news channels, which have huge audiences, are being prevented from broadcasting within the country, and at least one newspaper press was raided by police.