Pakistani Leader Refuses To Limit Emergency Rule

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Musharraf said yesterday that Pakistan will stick to its January schedule for parliamentary elections, but he set no time limit on emergency rule, raising grave doubts about whether the crucial vote can be free and fair.A former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, speaking two days after she was briefly put under house arrest, said the schedule for elections was “a first positive step,” but with an emergency in place, it would be “difficult” to campaign.Other opposition parties said General Musharraf’s sweeping powers, which have already led to thousands of arrests and a ban on rallies, would make a mockery of the democratic process.The attorney general also announced yesterday that military courts could now try civilians on charges ranging from treason to inciting public unrest. A leading Pakistani rights activist, currently under house arrest, said it showed the American-backed general had imposed martial law.Secretary of State Rice welcomed General Musharraf’s pledge to hold elections by January 9 but expressed concern that he had not set a time limit for restoring citizens’ rights.“It’s not a perfect situation,” Ms. Rice said.General Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup, appeared defiant but bitter at rising criticism of his decision to suspend the constitution a week ago, a step he says was necessary to combat rising Islamic militancy that had sown “turmoil, shock and confusion” in Pakistan.“It was the most difficult decision I have ever taken in my life,” General Musharraf told his first news conference since declaring the emergency November 3.“I could have preserved myself, but then it would have damaged the nation. I found myself between a rock and a hard surface. I have no personal ego and ambitions to guard. I have the national interest foremost,” he said, sitting on a dais at the grand presidential palace in Islamabad.He voiced anger over the “aspersions” cast on his commitment to fighting Taliban and Al Qaeda militants, and his commitment to democracy.His defense is unlikely to dispel suspicions shared by many in Pakistan that the emergency — launched ahead of a Supreme Court ruling that could have nixed his plans to serve another five-year term — was motivated by his own determination to stay in power.General Musharraf justified the dismissal of the independent-minded chief justice, Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry, and many of his Supreme Court colleagues — who have emerged this year as the only real check on his power — as necessary for the government to function smoothly and fight terrorism.He also claimed the emergency, under which he has blacked out independent TV networks and suspending many civil rights, was essential for ensuring “absolutely fair and transparent elections.”He declared the current parliament would be dissolved in the coming week, and that Pakistan would invite international observers to scrutinize the vote.America and other key Western allies, who value General Musharraf’s support in fighting Taliban and Al Qaeda, have pushed him to hold the elections on time, amid concerns they could have been pushed back by one year. But they could be worried by his refusal to commit to a date for lifting the emergency.“The emergency contributes towards better law and order and a better fight against terrorism, and, therefore, all I can say is I do understand the emergency has to be lifted, but I cannot give a date for it,” General Musharraf said.That drew sharp criticism from opposition parties.“How can the elections be held in a free and fair manner when the emergency is in place?” Zafar Ali Shah asked. Mr. Shah is a senior leader of the opposition party of Nawaz Sharif, the now-exiled prime minister General Musharraf ousted in his coup eight years ago.A spokesman for a coalition of hard-line opposition parties allied to Mr. Sharif, Ameer ul-Azeem, said leaders of the alliance would meet soon to consider a boycott and would appeal to Ms. Bhutto to join them to ensure the restoration of democracy and the constitution.But Ms. Bhutto, who held months of talks with General Musharraf on hatching a possible post-election alliance to fight religious extremism, sounded surprisingly conciliatory toward the military leader — just two days after she was placed under house arrest for a day to block her from addressing a political rally.She welcomed General Musharraf’s announcement of a timeline for the vote as a “first positive step” while noting that holding it under a state of emergency would be “difficult.”She said General Musharraf was sending mixed messages by announcing an election date while also giving new powers to military courts to try civilians, which she saw as a backward step for democracy. But she added that she had “not shut the door for talks” with the president.Earlier, Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum said the Pakistan Army Act had been amended to allow military courts to try people accused of treason, sedition, or “giving statements conducive to public mischief.” That will add to concerns that the judiciary’s ability to check the power of the executive or security services has been severely compromised through General Musharraf’s purging of the top ranks of the judiciary.

Pakistani Leader Refuses To Limit Emergency Rule

Pakistani Leader Refuses To Limit Emergency Rule

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