Pakistan has begun releasing more than 5,000 lawyers, opposition and rights activists detained under emergency powers invoked by President Pervez Musharraf two weeks ago.
General Musharraf has been under pressure from the opposition, the United States and Western governments to roll back the emergency he announced on November 3rd and ensure elections in January are held under free and fair conditions.
Around 3,400 detainees were released today and some 2,000 more would be released soon, an Interior Ministry spokesman told a news conference.
"While peaceful protests are a part of democratic process, the federal and provincial governments shall not brook any attempt to create disturbances in the run-up to elections," the spokesman said.
How far this relaxation goes will be clear if the authorities start rearresting people for holding election campaign rallies that could turn into anti-Musharraf protests, analysts said.
Increasingly isolated at home, Gen Musharraf flew to Saudi Arabia today leaving a trail of speculation that he would reach out to arch foe Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister he deposed in a 1999 coup, who is now living in exile in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
Western governments fear that stifling democracy any longer could play into the hands of Islamist militants who are already a dangerous influence in nuclear-armed Pakistan.
But the West has stopped well short of threatening any measures that could destabilise a moderate Muslim leader who has been crucial to fighting al-Qaeda.
The Election Commission announced today that parliamentary polls would be held on January 8th, the date chosen by Gen Musharraf, but the unpopular military leader has been warned the election will lack credibility if the emergency remains in place.
yesterday, the Supreme Court, packed with government-friendly judges, struck down five challenges to Gen Musharraf's re-election last month. The last one will be heard on Thursday.
Once the court clears the way, Gen Musharraf has promised to step down as army chief and take the oath as a civilian president.
Gen Musharraf is widely believed to have declared the emergency in order to purge the court of judges who might have annulled his re-election. One of Mr Sharif's key demands is restoration of the judiciary.
Mr Sharif said yesterday he would not meet Gen Musharraf unless the emergency was rolled back, and he had rebuffed approaches for a meeting in the last few months.