Musharraf blames extremists for state of emergency

Pakistan's military ruler Pervez Musharraf sent troops into the streets and imposed emergency rule tonight, suspending the constitution before a crucial Supreme Court ruling on his future as president.

The move plunged Pakistan deeper into political turmoil as it struggles to contain spreading Islamic violence.

The government blocked transmissions of all but state-run TV and cut telephone services in Islamabad, where paramilitary soldiers swarmed around the court and Parliament. There were reports of aerial gunfire in the southern city of Karachi, but the capital was quiet.

State Pakistan Television reported that the country's top judge, who had emerged as the main check on Musharraf's dominance, was replaced.

The US and Britain, Pakistan's main Western allies, expressed deep concern about the emergency, while Pakistani opposition leaders issued scathing condemnations. Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif demanded the military leader to step down and urged Pakistanis to rise up against him.

Another former premier, Benazir Bhutto, returned immediately from Dubai to Karachi, where police escorted her from the airport. She escaped an assassination bid in the city last month that killed more than 140 people.

"I agree with him that we are facing a political crisis, but believe the problem is dictatorship, I don't believe the solution is dictatorship," she told Sky News television by telephone on her arrival.

The state of emergency follows weeks of speculation that Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup and later made Pakistan a US ally in its war on terror, could take the step. The country has been beset by rising Islamic violence since the summer, including a surge of suicide bombings that have killed hundreds.

In a televised address, Musharraf said Pakistan was at a "dangerous" juncture and Islamic extremists had directly challenged the government's authority.

"The extremism has even spread to Islamabad, and the extremists are taking the writ of the government in their own hands, and even worse they are imposing their obsolete ideas on moderates," he said.

He also criticised the Supreme Court, saying it had punished of government officers, including police, leaving the government system "semi-paralysed".

He said he hoped democracy would be restored following parliamentary elections - due by January and meant to pave the way for civilian rule.

The US and European governments had this week urged Musharraf against declaring an emergency, fearing it would jeopardise the country's transition to democracy. But elements in Pakistan's ruling party had been pushing for it in case the Supreme Court disqualifies Musharraf's October 6 presidential victory because he contested the vote while still army chief, diplomats say.

A copy of the emergency order obtained by The Associated Press justified the declaration on the grounds that "some members of the judiciary are working at cross purposes with the executive" and "weakening the government's resolve" to fight terrorism.

The provisional constitution order allows courts to function but suspends some fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution, including freedom of speech. It also allows authorities to detain people without informing them of the charges.

In Turkey, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was "highly regrettable" that Musharraf declared a state of emergency. She urged restraint on all sides and a swift return to democracy.

The US "does not support extraconstitutional measures," Rice said. Britain, and nuclear rival India also expressed concern.

"I am gravely concerned by the measures adopted today," British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said.

PTV reported that a new chief justice had been appointed to replace Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, whom Musharraf tried and failed to oust this spring, sparking a popular movement against military rule. Judge Abdul Hameed Dogar was sworn in by Musharraf in his place.

Military vehicles patrolled and troops blocked roads in the administrative heart of the capital. Paramilitary troops with automatic weapons and standing behind rolled barbed wire blocked access to an official compound housing lawmakers. Women and child relatives of lawmakers and even a ruling party senator were barred from crossing.

"It's not a good thing. It's not good for the country, especially the chief justice being arrested," said 18-year-old Mohammad Qasim, who works at a kebab restaurant in the nearby city of Rawalpindi. "God knows what's going to happen to our country now."

In Karachi, about 100 police and paramilitary troops were deployed outside Bhutto's house, apparently as a protective cordon, witnesses said. A bomb disposal squad also searched the house.

There were reports of gunfire in several districts of the city, but it appeared to be aerial firing, police said.

The emergency was expected to be followed by arrests of lawyers and other perceived opponents of the government, including civil society activists and possibly even members of the judiciary itself, a ruling party lawmaker said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Independent Geo TV reported that the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Aitzaz Ahsan, had been arrested. He was a lawyer for Chaudhry in the case that led to his reinstatement in July.

As telephone lines were cut, it was not possible to contact government spokesmen for confirmation.

Chaudhry and other judges drove out of the Supreme Court building in a convoy of black cars under police escort over two hours after the emergency was declared. They were being shifted to their official residences nearby. Officers stopped reporters from approaching.

Most analysts thought Musharraf had been on shaky legal ground in his re-election by lawmakers last month - a vote that was boycotted by most of the opposition - but they still expected the court to rule in his favour to prevent further destabilising Pakistan.

However in recent days some judges had made defiant comments that they would not be swayed by threats from senior officials that an emergency might be declared if the court ruled against the general.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the emergency and said Musharraf should resign.

"Pervez Musharraf should step down immediately. He should hand over power to someone else according to the constitution and pave the way for elections," Sharif told Geo TV from Saudi Arabia, where he was deported in September after attempting to return from exile.

Sharif also urged the people of Pakistan to rise against Musharraf.

"If you don't do it today, it will be too late then," he said.

Seven of 17 Supreme Court judges rejected the declaration of emergency and ordered top officials, including the prime minister, and military officers not to comply with it.

"We feel that government has not ground/reason to take extra constitutional steps, particularly for the reasons being published in the newspapers that a high profile case is pending and is not likely to be decided in favour of the government," the judges said in a two-page ruling.

At least seven trucks brought armed police and paramilitary ranger troops to Constitution Avenue that passes in front of the court, Parliament and the official residences of the president and prime minister.

The government blocked transmissions of independent news channels in the capital and other cities.

The drama in Islamabad came as pro-Taliban militants demonstrated their growing control in the volatile north-west, hoisting jihadist flags over a police station in Swat district, where officials say fighting with security forces has killed about 180 people since last week.

Pakistan has also been rocked by a string of suicide bombings blamed on Islamic militants, the deadliest targeting opposition leader Bhutto's homecoming parade following eight years in exile. More than 140 people died in the October 18 blast.

Later it was reported that former cricket star turned politician Imran Khan had been put under house arrest.

Omar Cheema, a spokesman for Khan, said police had informed Khan that he was now under arrest at his house in the eastern city of Lahore.

Police were also rounding up supporters of Sharif and Khan's parties in Punjab province, a senior police official in Lahore said.