yeah..no more emergency..herez another article..
Musharraf decides against emergency
EMBATTLED President Pervez Musharraf decided overnight not to impose a state of emergency in Pakistan, ignoring the advice of aides who wanted strong action to prevent more instability in the troubled nation.
The military ruler, facing the greatest challenge to his leadership since he seized power in a 1999 coup, opted against the move, which would have postponed elections, Information Minister Mohammad Ali Durrani said.
"President Musharraf has decided not to impose the state of emergency in the country as suggested by some political parties and others," Mr Durrani said.
"The decision was taken because the priority of the president and present government is to have free, fair and impartial elections in line with the constitutional requirements."
Gen Musharraf had been locked in consultations with key officials the previous night amid reports that he was ready to declare a state of emergency.
The Pakistani president has been facing public anger over his suspension, since overturned in court, of the country's chief justice - which critics saw as an attempt to remove any legal obstacles to keeping the dual positions of president and head of the military.
Mass protests over the attempted suspension, mounting criticism of his government's handling of militants along the Afghan border and efforts by rivals to come back from exile to contest the election have put him under fire.
US President George W. Bush delivered a strong reminder to Gen Musharraf overnight that he expected full cooperation from Pakistan against extremists and that he was "hopeful" the military ruler would hold "a free and fair election".
"I have made it clear to him that I expect that there be full cooperation in sharing intelligence" and "swift action" against extremists inside Pakistan if he gets solid intelligence about their whereabouts, Mr Bush said.
Mr Bush was also careful to express respect for Pakistan's sovereignty, following Islamabad's public anger over calls for unilateral US action to target Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda on Pakistani soil.
The president paid tribute to Gen Musharraf's cooperation with the United States in battling terrorism.
"We spend a lot of time with the leadership in Pakistan talking about what we will do with actionable intelligence," he said.
The Pakistan polls, due by early 2008, will be the first since late 2002.
Gen Musharraf has been angered by accusations from Washington that Pakistan has become a safe haven for al-Qaeda and a regrouped Taliban, and that its actions against militant bases are inadequate.
The military launched an operation against suspected militants in the restive North Waziristan tribal area, on the Afghan border, overnight, killing at least 10 fighters, chief spokesman Major General Waheed Arshad said.
The operation came in response to several attacks on military targets by pro-Taliban militants earlier in the day.
A new poll released overnight by a Washington think-tank, the International Republican Institute, showed a majority of Pakistanis want Gen Musharraf to step down as head of the army.
It found that 62 per cent of Pakistanis thought he should resign as army chief, while 59 per cent said elections held while he continues to wear his military uniform were unlikely to be free and fair.
Imposing emergency rule would have automatically extended the tenure of the current parliament for another 12 months, meaning a delay in elections.
But following the upheaval over his move against the chief justice, and the bloodshed surrounding a siege of a radical mosque in the capital Islamabad several weeks ago that left dozens dead, some wanted him to clamp down.
Aides had argued that Pakistan could not afford further instability.
By rejecting their advice, Gen Musharraf may have denied ammunition to political rivals such as exiled former prime ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, who have signalled their intention to return home to contest the elections.
Mr Sharif still officially heads his faction of the conservative Pakistan Muslim League party, while Ms Bhutto, who lives in self-imposed exile, is the leader of the centrist Pakistan People's Party.
The rumblings about emergency rule coincided with Gen Musharraf's decision yesterday to pull out of a key three-day tribal council in Kabul which began overnight, aimed at ending support for Taliban and al-Qaeda sponsored terrorism.
Elections are the president's priority 
comment:
p_commentcount