Musharraf Declares State of Emergency in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov. 3, 2007 — -- President Pervez Musharraf claims he's declared a state of emergency toreturn stability to Pakistan. But most believe the controversial stepwill just edge this increasingly unhinged nation yet closer to thebrink.

In a televised speech, the military leader said he suspended theconstitution in order to better cope with a spreading pro-Talibaninsurgency.

"Extremism has created a dangerous challenge to the existence of ournation," he said in a late-night address. "Now it's time for us to makevery difficult and painful decisions."

Although he laid out plans to go after the extremists, Musharraf'sdecision to invoke emergency rule appears to have galvanized thecountry's moderates against him.

On Saturday evening, as police and paramilitary troops fanned out acrossIslamabad, soldiers burst into the Supreme Court and whisked away sevenjustices who refused to take an oath under the provisional constitutionalorder that Musharraf issued.

Police also rounded up opposition leaders, lawyers and pro-democracyadvocates who have been agitating for months for an end to militaryrule.

One of the first to be arrested was Aitzaz Ahsan, the president of theSupreme Court Bar Association. He's been a leading public figure callingfor Musharraf's ouster.

"One man has taken entire nation hostage," Ahsan told reporters as hewas muscled into the paddy wagon. "The time has come for Gen.Musharraf to go."

Local television networks reported similar defiance from judges atprovincial high courts around the country. The government abruptlyblocked their transmissions.

Meanwhile, lawyers, opposition leaders and pro-democracy activists vowedto step up their campaign to bring down the ruling junta.

To prevent protestors from descending on the capital, police blocked theroads leading in and out of Islamabad. Phone and Internet service wasbriefly cut.

Pakistanis saw the move as an increasingly desperate bid to hold ontopower by a leader whose approval ratings have plummeted.

Many here oppose Musharraf's support for the U.S.-led war on terror, worry abouta bloody streak of suicide bombings, and are struggling under soaringprices on basic consumer goods.

The past six months have brought unprecedented turmoil. Security forceshave clashed with religious students in the capital, and are battlingpro-Taliban militants across the northwest frontier.

"This country is already suffering crisis after crisis," said bakerSayed Sultan Hussain Kasmi, as he scooped unleavened bread from atandoor oven. "This is yet another one."

In the coming days, the Supreme Court was set to rule on Musharraf'seligibility to serve both as army chief and president. Legal experts sayPakistan's constitution clearly forbids him from holding both positionsat once.

"He did this to save his own skin because the law was against him," saidAshan Iqbal, a spokesman for the opposition faction of the PakistanMuslim League (PML-N).

In September, the PML leader Nawaz Sharif, who Musharraf ousted in acoup eight years ago, tried to return home from exile to launch acampaign for democracy. The military ruler swiftly had him re-deportedto Saudi Arabia.

Another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, was planning to sweepinto Islamabad Sunday to rally support for a return to civilian rule,according to her spokesman.

"We stand against this move and so do the people of Pakistan," said Farhatullah Babar.

Bhutto was on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, hours after the state of emergency was declared, The Associated Press reported.

After almost a decade in self-imposed exile, Bhutto initially returned to Pakistanlast month, having forged a deal to share power with Musharraf thatreportedly had Washington's blessing. It was unclear if that deal wouldsurvive.

In his address, Musharraf was vague about plans for generalelections, originally set to take place in January.

Washington, meanwhile, had warned Musharraf not to suspend theconstitution, saying Pakistan needed rule of law, not a dictatorship.

On Friday, the visiting Centcom commander, Adm. William J. Fallon,told the Pakistani leader that imposing emergency rule could jeopardizeAmerican financial support for the military. The U.S. has providedPakistan $10 billion in military and other aid since 2001.

There's concern in Washington, which calls Pakistan a key ally infighting Al Qaeda, that Musharraf has lost focus in the war on terror ashe struggles to remain in power.

Analysts say the widening insurgency demands a return to civilian rulein Pakistan, if for no other reason than the army needs a full-time commanderin chief to cope with the growing violence.

"I fear this could descend into a civil war," said Lt. Gen. TalatMassood, a former defense secretary and political analyst.

In Islamabad on Saturday evening, foreign diplomats were scrambling tomake sense of the provisional constitutional order, which could governPakistan for up to a year.

"This sounds more like martial law than a state of emergency," said awestern diplomat. "The million-dollar question is how long it willlast."

Musharraf was vague on what direction he planned to take Pakistan,saying only it was time to "take action."

But he pledged that it was not personal gain that prompted the move.

"I want to promise to the nation that whatever decision I have taken, itis for Pakistan," he said. "This will remain my guiding principle:Pakistan first."

ABC News' Habibullah Khan contributed to this report.