World News: Pakistan almost declares a State of Emergency

Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf rejected declaring a state of emergency for Pakistan. It was reported earlier on today that the Pakistani president was going to declare a 'State of Emergency' because of 'external and internal' threats.
Although there was pressure on Musharraf to declare a state of emergency, his spokesman said he had stepped back from the move because he was 'commited to democracy'.

"No state of emergency is being imposed in Pakistan. There was pressure on the president to impose emergency due to the situation in the country, but he is commited to furthering democracy and will not take any such step" - Federal minister for information Mohammad Ali Durrani

Had Musharraf declared a state of emergency, emergency rule would have limited the role of courts, restricted civil liberties and curbed freedom of expression. Musharraf would've also been able to stop all elections, which could've enabled him to continue in his role of commander-in-chief of the Pakistani military.

Pakistan's worsening state is due to the lawlessness in the tribal areas on the Afghan/Pakistani border. The US and Afghanistan have asked Pakistan to allow their troops in to take control over the terrorist elements in the tribal areas if there is 'actual evidence' of terrorist activity. Pakistan have strongly refused such a move. Speaking on CNN the Pakistani ambassador to the US said that they had stationed 85,000 troops in the tribal areas, and if the US got involved it would only make the situation worse, causing public outcry especially in the middle east.
Things got worse when last month Pakistani troops laid seige to the Red Mosque in Islamabad, which caused more than 100 deaths. Also as a serious blow to the Pakistani government, the Pakistani supreme court reinstated the cheif justice Iftikhar Chaudry who was suspended by Musharraf due to claims of corruption. Also Pakistani opposition leader Javed Hashmi, a fierce critic of Musharraf who was jailed on charges of sedition, was freed from prison on Saturday after the supreme court ordered his release on bail.

Additional Info: Musharraf pulled out of the three days talk with Afghanistan on combating the taliban for 'unrevealable commitments' in Islamabad. PM Shaukat Aziz is taking his place.
700 tribal elders, clerics and leaders of both countries are invited to the council starting on Thursday which will discuss terrorism. The Taleban have not been invited and are calling for a boycott of the event

Peter Self
Penang, Malaysia