PAKISTAN:Pakistan was on course for what may well be troubled elections yesterday after President Pervez Musharraf promised polls by early January but said they may be held under emergency rule.
In his first press conference since he suspended the constitution and assumed sweeping powers, Gen Musharraf said a general election would take place by January 9th. He refused to give a date for lifting emergency rule, under which thousands of opponents have been detained and some beaten. Moreover, he suggested it would remain in place until polling day.
"It will ensure absolutely fair and transparent elections," he said. However with basic freedoms suspended, media curbs in place and the courts in disarray, critics argued that the opposite was the case.
"It will be no more than a farce and a joke," said former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, speaking from exile in Saudi Arabia. "This is a conspiracy being hatched by Mr Musharraf and his cronies to get victory for his king's party in elections."
Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto gave a more guarded response, saying she welcomed the prospect of early elections but they would be "difficult" under emergency conditions.
Musharraf used the press conference to deliver a lengthy defence of his decision to impose emergency rule, which he termed "the most difficult of my life".
"I did it to save the nation," he said. "I found myself between a rock and a hard surface. I have no personal egos and ambitions to guard. I have the national interest foremost."
He also described the wave of international criticism as "aspersions, allegations, lack of understanding on the ground".
Human Rights Watch called Gen Musharraf's announcement "a cynical sop to the international community meant to deflect attention from his ongoing power grab".
Over the weekend the president used the new powers to introduce a law that allows civilians to be tried by court martial. The tide of diplomatic outrage, though, particularly from Washington, is slowly ebbing.
On Saturday, President George Bush praised the "positive steps" Gen Musharraf has taken; yesterday US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice guardedly welcomed the election date but urged that emergency rule be lifted.
Gen Musharraf felt he was winning the argument. "A lot of leaders have rung me up," he said. "They do show concern but each of them has shown understanding."
Western diplomats in Islamabad were privately more critical. "It's just a little morsel," said one. "It's good a date has been set but how can you have free and fair elections when there's a state of emergency?"
Gen Musharraf reiterated a promise to step down as army chief once a supreme court challenge to his election last month is decided. His chances of winning increased dramatically last week when he fired the chief justice, Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhry, and replaced his bench with government loyalists.
A tirade by the general against Mr Chaudhry, who remains under house arrest along with other senior judges, underscored the animosity between the two men.
Gen Musharraf accused Mr Chaudhry's supreme court, which called to account intelligence officials and civil servants, of "semi-paralysing" the government. Mr Chaudhry was guilty of "personal corruption" and "illegal interference", he said. "He was trying to gain cheap popularity."
Mr Chaudhry's plight could define the political crisis in the coming days. On Saturday Ms Bhutto delivered a speech before a wall of policemen guarding his house, calling him the head of the "real supreme court".
Gen Musharraf said there was "no question" of reinstating his rival. "Those who have not taken oath have gone. They are no longer judges," he said.
He also defended media repression, including taking independent television stations off air and issuing a law that prohibits stories that bring the government or army "into disrepute or ridicule".
Thousands of jailed opposition supporters and lawyers would be released soon - but the threat of rearrest would hang over them during the election campaign. - (Guardian service)