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Pakistan Leader Declares State of Emergency

Alistair Barr, MarketWatch

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In an address to nation on state-run television, Musharraf cited the threat of Islamist terrorism for the move and said he had acted with Pakistan's interest at heart.

He blamed "extremists" traveling across the country, who he said are not afraid of the country's security forces.

Troops were deployed at state-run Pakistan Television -- one of the few stations left running -- and at radio stations, and most phone lines in the capital Islamabad were reportedly down. Other troops sealed off the area around the presidential building, the National Assembly and the Supreme Court, news reports from the country said.

At the same time, Pakistan opposition leader, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, flew back to the country from Dubai, and dozens of paramilitary troops were reported to have surrounded her house.

Musharraf clashed with Pakistan's judiciary earlier this year as he sought reelection as president. He succeeded in winning another term last month -- which under Pakistani law involved securing a majority vote in the legislature. But the Supreme Court was still due to rule on the legality of Musharraf's victory, specifically whether he was eligible to run for president while remaining head of the army.

Musharraf's current presidential term expires in mid-November and fears had been growing within Pakistan's government that the Supreme Court may rule against Musharraf.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, who condemned Musharraf's moves on Saturday, has now been replaced and is being confined to the Supreme Court with 10 other judges, according to a BBC report.

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf ousted in a bloodless 1999 coup, also condemned the move.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told CNN that the declaration of emergency rule in Pakistan was "highly regrettable" and urged restraint and a quick return to democracy.

Pakistan has been rocked by a series of terrorist attacks this year. A suicide bombing in Karachi killed 139 people on Oct. 19 when Bhutto first returned to Pakistan after an eight-year exile.

Alistair Barr is a reporter for MarketWatch in San Francisco.

www.marketwatch.com/news/story/pakistans-musharraf-declares-emergency-suspends/story.aspx