FACTBOX: Pakistan's state of emergency
(Reuters) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday a state of emergency he imposed on November 3 would be lifted on December 16.
Here are some facts about the emergency.
WHAT MOVES HAS MUSHARRAF MADE?
-- Musharraf cited rising militancy and a hostile judiciary for his decision to impose a state of emergency on November 3.
-- He suspended the constitution and dismissed most Supreme Court justices after they refused to take an oath to abide by a provisional constitutional order.
-- He gave sweeping powers to police to arrest and detain people and suspended fundamental rights, such as freedom of speech and expression, and curtailed rights of assembly.
-- Paramilitary troops and police were deployed near parliament and the courts, reporting curbs placed on the media and more than 5,000 opposition supporters, lawyers, politicians and rights activists detained.
-- Musharraf's suspension of the constitution went beyond typical state-of-emergency provisions. He imposed the emergency rule in his capacity as army chief but he transferred emergency powers to the presidency before stepping down as army chief this week.
-- He allowed the central government, provincial governments and parliament to stay. But he barred courts from issuing orders against himself, the prime minister or any authority designated by the president.
-- Critics said Musharraf's main motive was not to stop terrorism but to ensure a new term as president by pre-empting a looming Supreme Court decision that could have ruled invalid his re-election by parliament and provincial assemblies on October 6 because he contested while still army chief.
-- The United States and other Western allies have called on Musharraf to lift the emergency and the Commonwealth of mostly former British colonies suspended Pakistan's membership.
Sources: Reuters, Government of Pakistan (www.pak.gov.pk, www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/post_12oct99/ce2_2001.ht
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(Writing by Gill Murdoch, Editing by Robert Birsel)
