Musharraf Considers State of Emergency in Pakistan

Pakistan's embattled president, Pervez Musharraf, met with senior advisers this morning to consider imposing a state of emergency, a government spokesman said.

The stock market tumbled and ordinary Pakistanis read the morning headlines with apprehension as speculation mounted that Gen Musharraf would take what was widely viewed as a gambit to extend his rule.

The minister of state for information, Tariq Azim, said a range of "internal and external threats" had triggered the debate on imposing a state of emergency. "We hope it doesn't come to that but we are going through difficult circumstances. No option can be ruled out," he said.

Mr Azim blamed a rash of suicide bombings and attacks on government forces by Islamist militants in the tribal areas. But he also mentioned threatening statements by a number of White House officials and the Democratic hopeful Barack Obama in recent weeks. Talk of unilateral American attacks on al-Qaida targets inside Pakistan had "started alarm bells ringing and upset the Pakistani public," he said.

But critics said the security concerns were secondary to Gen Musharraf's principal concern: maintaining his grip on power against an independent-minded and newly emboldened supreme court.

Last month the supreme court damaged Gen Musharraf's authority with a momentous verdict in favour of the suspended chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. Now the court could scupper Gen Musharraf's controversial plans for re-election later this year through a number of legal challenges due to come before the court.

By declaring emergency rule Gen Musharraf could sweep away many of his problems - hobbling the courts, muzzling the press and postponing elections for another year.

But opposition leaders warned the move would only deepen the country's political crisis. Benazir Bhutto, the exiled opposition leader with whom he recently held power-sharing talks, issued a muted denunciation.

"Imposition of an emergency would not lead to stability and, therefore, I hope that such a big step would not be taken," she told Geo News.

Gen Musharraf's threats could also be linked to a court petition by his arch-rival, Nawaz Sharif.

This morning the supreme court is due to start hearing a petition from the former prime minister to allow him return home after seven years in exile.

There is much bad blood between Gen Musharraf and Mr Sharif, whose botched attempt to fire Gen Musharraf in 1999 triggered the bloodless coup that returned the military to power. A court ruling in favor of Mr Sharif today would pave the way for an immediate return.

One western diplomat said Musharraf may try to have emergency rule mandated by a vote of parliament, which was elected in a rigged vote in 2002 and is dominated by his supporters.

There was also speculation that the Sharif court case would be postponed until next week.

The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, called Gen Musharraf at 2am Pakistani time for a long conversation. The diplomat called it a "pretty important call".

Speculation about a state of emergency first surfaced today after Gen Musharraf pulled out of a long-planned peace conference in Afghanistan at the last minute, and spent the day in a series of meetings with political leaders, army generals and his legal counsel.

In Kabul more than 600 elders from both sides of the border attended the jirga, or tribal council, which was opened by the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, and the Pakistani prime minister, Shaukat Aziz. They are discussing ways to end the bloody Taliban insurgency.

But without Gen Musharraf's participation hopes for the jirga are low. Diplomats and analysts describe it as a "first step" towards peace in the region.