Pakistan has suspended powers that critics said "muzzled" television coverage of a political crisis that threatens stability in the country.
President Pervez Musharraf is facing the biggest challenge to his authority since he took power in a coup eight years ago after suspending the country's top judge on March 9th.
Opposition parties calling for democracy and the reinstatement of chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry held peaceful protests in several cities despite the detention of hundreds of activists by authorities trying to thwart rallies.
About 40 people were killed in clashes in Karachi last month.
Authorities, struggling to contain the anti-government campaign, have curbed the media, particularly television.
But information minister Mohammad Ali Durrani said today the government had suspended an ordinance introduced this week giving broad powers to shut broadcasters, pending a review.
The Reporters Without Borders group hailed the government's rethink on a decree that US-based Human Rights Watch said muzzled broadcasters.
The European Union had also welcomed the decision while raising concern about other "setbacks" to media freedom.
Although Gen Musharraf's political support base has been weakened in an election year, his backing from the army and the United States has been firm.
The United States is nervous of any instability in a nuclear-armed ally where al-Qaeda leaders are believed to be hiding. Pakistan's help is also seen as crucial in the fight against the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan.