A key opposition group vowed yesterday to try to undo amendments President Pervez Musharraf made to the constitution before lifting emergency rule.
Raja Zafarul Haq, chairman of the Pakistan Muslim League-N party repeated claims that January 8 elections for a new Parliament will be "rigged" but said his party will use the new legislature to remove Musharraf's amendments to the constitution.
Several leading newspapers yesterday hailed Musharraf's order a day earlier that lifted the emergency but criticized him for amending the constitution.
Musharraf on Friday removed a condition from the constitution stating that civil servants - including army officers - had to wait two years after their retirement before running for elected office, Attorney-General Malik Mohammed Qayyum said.
Musharraf stepped down as army chief only last month. Removing the provision in question eliminated one of the grounds on which his October re-election by the parliament had been challenged.
Musharraf said in a nationally televized speech on Saturday the emergency helped slow the spread of Islamic militancy but the country still faces a "grave situation" with the approach of the elections that will determine who will form the next government.
He said unnamed conspirators had hatched a plot with members of the judiciary to derail the country's transition to democracy, and he warned political parties to avoid stirring up trouble.
"Against my will, as a last resort, I had to impose the emergency in order to save Pakistan," Musharraf said. "I cannot tell how much pain the nation and I suffered due to this conspiracy."
The response was muted from the US, which has walked a fine line between criticizing the emergency rule by Musharraf and supporting a key ally against Islamic militancy.
"It's a good step for the Pakistani people," said Jeanie Mamo, a spokeswoman for President George W. Bush.
Musharraf has previously said he imposed the state of emergency to halt a conspiracy by top judges to end his eight-year rule, and to ward off political chaos that would hobble Pakistan's efforts against Islamic extremism. He has also insisted the Supreme Court, which had been poised to rule on the legality of his October re-election, was acting beyond the constitution.
Musharraf said on Saturday his personal interest was not involved in imposing emergency rule and it had been critical to maintaining stability. He vowed the January 8 balloting "will be absolutely fair and transparent."
Musharraf's leading opponents, former prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, have warned of mass protests if they think the vote has been rigged.
Bhutto dismissed Musharraf's claim that opposition parties are raising complaints about cheating as an excuse in case they fare poorly in the elections.
Source:China Daily/Agencies
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