New Delhi: Pakistan was spared a spell of emergency rule on Thursday after President Pervez Musharraf decided against exercising his special powers in spite of the internal turmoil dogging the country.
"There will be no Emergency in Pakistan for now," Pakistan Government sources told CNN-IBN. General Musharraf took the decision against imposing emergency rule after he met his advisors and top Army commanders. The decision apparently emerged at the meeting.
However, Pakistan Minister of State for Information Tarik Azim said that the state had not yet declared emergency, but they are keeping their options open.
Earlier in the morning, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke to Gen Musharraf and they are believed to have discussed the possible options.
Chaudhry Shujaat Khan, President of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, scotched all speculation, saying there's no chance of emergency in the country.
"There is no possibility of an emergency," Hussain told reporters at Parliament.
Private television channels and newspapers had reported earlier in the day that Gen Musharraf was poised to take a step that would probably delay elections due by the turn of the year and could result in restrictions on rights of Assembly and place curbs on the media.
An aide to the President said the measure had not been under consideration at any time over the past few days, and the leadership had been perplexed by how the story had emerged.
''The imposition of an emergency is a constitutionally available option, but it has never been under consideration in the past few
days," the aide said, speaking on condition of anonymity, after attending the meeting called at the President's Army camp office in the garrison town of Rawalpindi.
At least one senior political ally had earlier told Reuters that the measure was indeed under discussion and a decision would be taken imminently.
Another member of Musharraf's inner circle had suggested that the government wanted to gauge the possible reaction if it took this step.
A government spokesman had suggested the government could justify emergency rule by citing mounting insecurity after a spate of attacks — many of them suicide bombings — by Islamist militants allied to the Taliban and al-Qaeda over the past month.
Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan said the measure could be warranted by the deteriorating security situation in tribal areas and North West Frontier Province and suggestions by US politicians that America should be prepared to strike inside Pakistani territory if it possessed actionable intelligence on al-Qaeda or Taliban targets.
But analysts and Opposition leaders feared General Musharraf might resort to an Emergency because of constitutional difficulties he faces getting re-elected by the sitting Assemblies while still Army Chief, and to stave off parliamentary elections due by the turn of the year.
(With agency inputs)
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