Pakistan Lifts Emergency Rule But Media Curbs Remain

President Pervez Musharraf yesterday lifted emergency rule in Pakistan but otherwise gave few signs of further concessions towards restoring democracy in the nuclear-armed country ahead of the 8 January election.

In a televised address last night, Musharraf said his objective of 'saving Pakistan from destabilization' had been achieved.

After six weeks of emergency rule which have seen hundreds of lawyers, judges and opposition activists deposed and imprisoned, many, including Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, remained under house arrest and the purged judiciary continued in place. Some curbs will go on being imposed on the media, with a ban on live broadcasts.

Citing militant violence and a meddling judiciary, Musharraf imposed the emergency on 3 November, suspended the constitution and purged the Supreme Court to fend off challenges to his re-election, which the new hand-picked judges later rubber-stamped. He faced international condemnation for his actions, with the US and European countries worried that he would further polarize Pakistan and leave a vacuum that Islamic militants could fill.

Two soldiers and three civilians were killed near a Pakistani army camp by a suicide bomber on a bicycle yesterday, underscoring a growing number of insurgent attacks this year in which hundreds of people have been killed.

The President said his commitment 'to the world' was that the elections would be transparent and appealed to political parties to 'keep the peace during the campaign' while Pakistan went through 'a sensitive stage'. This weekend electioneering got under way with Benazir Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's party, and Nawaz Sharif, president of one faction of the Pakistan Muslim League, holding rallies.

Bhutto said lifting the emergency was 'an important step forward' but said more needed to be done for the 'restoration of democracy'. 'I know the people are with us and international security is supporting democracy,' the former Prime Minister told The Observer

Campaigners said the restoration was a sham. 'Musharraf has gone from being a military ruler to being a military-backed ruler,' said Ali Hasan, of Human Rights Watch. 'All this tampering with the constitution is to keep him and an unaccountable military in power.'