Pakistan emergency to last 2-3 weeks, says ruling party chief

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf will likely end emergency rule in two or three weeks, the president of the ruling party said in an interview with Pakistan's Dawn newspaper.

"I'm sure it will end in two to three weeks as President Pervez Musharraf is aware of the consequences of long emergency rule," Pakistan Muslim League president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is quoted as saying in the English-language paper's Wednesday edition.

"Nobody is in favour of emergency. It was promulgated reluctantly by the chief of the army staff."

Hussain, who is a member of Musharraf's inner circle, spoke to the newspaper on Tuesday.

Musharraf suspended the constitution on Saturday and declared a state of emergency rule. In the days that have followed, he ousted judges, banned protests and silenced the media.

Hussain rejected rumours Musharraf could be overthrown, saying the president has the full support of the army.

"This could be a wishful thinking of some people but I can assure you that Musharraf is not going anywhere."

Top judge urges 'sacrifice' from lawyers

Protests continued Tuesday, however, as police blocked about 1,000 lawyers from holding a rally in the city of Multan. The two sides threw rocks at each other and at least three lawyers were arrested.

Opposition groups say 3,500 people have been arrested, but government officials say it is around 2,500. Most detainees are lawyers, opposition party supporters and human rights activists.

Pakistan's deposed chief justice on Tuesday urged lawyers to defy a crackdown on rallies and continue to protest against Musharraf.

"Go to every corner of Pakistan and give the message that this is the time to sacrifice," Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who says he is under virtual house arrest in Islamabad, told lawyers by cellphone.

"Don't be afraid. God will help us and the day will come when you'll see the constitution supreme and no dictatorship for a long time."

Bhutto has no plans to meet president

Musharraf, who is also head of the army, has said emergency rule will allow him to tackle Islamic extremism, but critics see it as a last-ditch effort to cling to power. He took power in a 1999 coup.

Emergency rule came ahead of a Pakistan Supreme Court ruling on whether his October re-election was legal.

Hundreds of the people thrown in jail are members of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Bhutto recently returned to the country following eight years of self-imposed exile to hold talks on forging an alliance with Musharraf to fight extremism.

She flew into Islamabad on Tuesday, but said she has no plans to meet again with Musharraf. Instead, she said she'll talk with other opposition parties about how to revive the constitution and get Musharraf to step down as army chief.

In Wednesday's article in Dawn newspaper, Hussain said his party is willing to meet with Bhutto and her aides to discuss ways to "help improve the political climate and ensure transition to full democracy."

Pakistan has come under mounting international criticism for its authoritarian actions. A number of countries, including Canada, have condemned Musharraf's actions.

So far, however, only the Netherlands has frozen development aid to Pakistan.

Pakistan's chief donor, the U.S., said it was reviewing aid, but senior officials said it is unlikely assistance would be cut to the close ally in the so-called war on terror so as not to disrupt counterterrorism efforts. Pakistan has received about $11 billion from the U.S. since 2001.

U.S. President George W. Bush urged Musharraf to resign as army chief and hold parliamentary elections in January as originally planned.