Pakistan's state of emergency 'to end within month'

Pakistan will lift its state of emergency within one month, a senior government official said today.

The move comes amid sharp US criticism of President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s step back from democracy.

“The state of emergency will end within one month,” Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum said. He provided no further details and would not say when a formal announcement might come.

Police, meanwhile, said former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was free to leave her home a day after she was detained to prevent her addressing a rally.