Musharraf lifts emergency rule

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - President Pervez Musharraf lifted emergency rule in Pakistan and restored the constitution on Saturday, in a move Western nations hope will stabilize the nuclear-armed state as Islamic militant violence spirals.

Musharraf immediately pledged a fair election on January 8.

But critics say curbs on the media and a purged judiciary will remain in place and they say he can still engineer an election victory for his parliamentary allies and secure a power base despite his unpopularity.

"It's my commitment to the entire nation of Pakistan and to its people and to the world that the elections on January 8 will be on time and will be absolutely fair and transparent," Musharraf said in a televised address shortly after lifting the emergency.

Citing militant violence and a meddling judiciary, Musharraf imposed the emergency on November 3, suspended the constitution and purged the Supreme Court to fend off challenges to his re-election, which new hand-picked judges later rubber-stamped.

But he faced international condemnation for his actions, with Western countries worried he would only further polarize Pakistan and leave a vacuum that Islamic militants fighting an insurgency near the border with Afghanistan could fill.

Two soldiers and three civilians were killed near a Pakistani army camp by a suicide bomber on a bicycle on Saturday, underscoring a growing number of insurgent attacks this year in which hundreds of people have been killed.

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