ISLAMABAD, 11 August 2007 — President Pervez Musharraf received no respite from political woes yesterday after backing away from emergency rule, with Washington intensifying pressure to deliver results on fighting militants and home front rivals demanding more democracy.
Musharraf, battered by a series of stumbles in his bid for a new five-year presidential term, was urged by some advisers to declare a state of emergency that would have drastically curtailed freedoms.
He decided against it on Thursday after strong opposition from inside and outside his government, and a late night phone call from US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The idea that Musharraf, a key US ally in fighting terrorism, was even considering a state of emergency was seen as a sign of weakness rather than muscle-flexing, and opposition parties yesterday characterized his decision against the move as a defeat for the military leader.
“Shortly after the media reported that Musharraf’s government had taken a decision to declare emergency in Pakistan, civil society — including politicians and lawyers — revolted and a subsequent public opinion coup forced the government to reverse it’s decision,” said Ahsan Iqbal, spokesman for the Pakistan Muslim League-N party.
Ameerul Azeem, a spokesman for Pakistan’s largest religious party, Jamaat-e-Islami, said Musharraf had hoped to hobble expected legal challenges to his bid for another presidential term and plans by exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to return to Pakistan and run in legislative elections due by early next year.
“Musharraf is scared of the judiciary, and he wanted to curtail its powers by imposing emergency,” Azeem said, adding the president is “perturbed and panicked” by his falling political fortunes.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz confirmed Thursday he and Musharraf had discussed a state of emergency but they had decided “at the time being, we do not see the need for such action.”
Musharraf is struggling to deal with a combination of political and security problems. His popularity has ebbed since his bungled attempt to remove Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry in March drew thousands of protesters into the streets and raised calls for democracy.
In a Thursday news conference in Washington, US President George W. Bush said he had seen no evidence that Musharraf had decided to make an emergency declaration, then listed some expectations he had of the Pakistani president.
Rice called Musharraf early Thursday, State Department officials said. “Rice also referred to the media reports about imposition of emergency. She was told that there was no such plan and media reports were speculative,” the statement said.
Benazir Bhutto, another exiled former prime minister and opposition leader, said she was worried that a state of emergency might lead to the legislative elections being deferred.
“My fear is that if elections are postponed or democracy is not restored, it will simply play into the hands of the extremist forces,” Benazir told NBC Nightly News.
Benazir, who recently held talks with Musharraf about a possible power-sharing deal but is insisting he quit the army first, suggested Musharraf might take drastic action if he feels trapped.
“I feel the military — Gen. Musharraf’s regime — should not be pushed into a corner,” she said, without elaborating.
