Pakistan 'facing emergency rule'

Reports from Pakistan say the country's president, Pervez Musharraf, is considering imposing emergency rule.

Pakistani Information Minister Tariq Azeem said the issue was being discussed, given external and internal threats to the country.
However the head of Mr Musharraf's Pakistan Muslim League later said there was "no possibility" of such a move.
The reports came after Gen Musharraf abruptly called off plans to attend a tribal peace conference in Afghanistan.
Emergency rule would limit the role of the courts, restrict civil liberties and curb freedom of expression.
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says opposition and media figures believe such a drastic step would be related more to domestic politics, particularly Gen Musharraf's desire to be re-elected for another term as both president and head of the army.
This would almost certainly trigger legal challenges, she says.

'Difficult circumstances'

Gen Musharraf faces a volatile political and security situation after a siege at a radical Islamabad mosque and protests by lawyers angry at the suspension of the country's chief justice, who was later reinstated.

The possibility of an emergency cannot be ruled out Tariq Azeem, Pakistan Information Ministe

"The possibility of the enforcement of emergency, like other possibilities, is under discussion," Mr Azeem said, although he stressed that the measure might not be necessary.

"I cannot say that it will be tonight, tomorrow or later. We hope that it does not happen.

"But we are going through difficult circumstances so the possibility of an emergency cannot be ruled out," the Associated Press news agency quoted him as saying.
He said US threats to launch an operation in the tribal areas and the recent targeting of Chinese nationals by Islamic militants had played a role in the issue being discussed.
"In addition, the situation on the borders and the suicide attacks are also a concern," Mr Azeem added.
But speaking to reporters, Pakistan Muslim League President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain dampened speculation, saying: "There is no possibility of an emergency", Reuters news agency reported.
A meeting of senior government officials headed by President Musharraf is expected to be held on Thursday to decide the issue.