Musharraf says to end emergency rule

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday he would end a state of emergency next month, bowing to domestic and international pressure to restore normal government ahead of general elections in January.

"I'm fully determined that the emergency will be lifted on December 16," Musharraf said in an address to the nation on the day of his inauguration as a civilian president, for a second five-year term, a day after he stepped down as army chief.

"God willing, the election should be held under the constitution in a free and transparent manner," he said, referring to the January 8 general election.

Thousands of opposition politicians and lawyers were detained under emergency laws, independent media were shut and sporadic anti-Musharraf protests were curbed by baton-wielding police.

The United States, Pakistan's biggest ally in the West, has publicly called for an end to emergency rule, fearful that instability will undermine the fight against al Qaeda and the struggle against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan.

"We saw the report and of course our embassy officials have been in touch with the Musharraf government. We welcome this step," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said of Thursday's news.

Asked whether the date to lift emergency rule was announced due to U.S. pressure, she said: "I think you have to give President Musharraf some credit here ... Certainly, we had been in communication with him, but I think that he made this decision on his own."

Ending emergency rule will not necessarily make life easier for Musharraf. He faces widespread resentment at home and the January vote will likely install a legislature hostile enough to contemplate impeachment.

Washington will keep up the pressure on him to tackle Islamist militancy. By quitting as chief of the army, which brought him to power in a military coup in 1999, he has cut himself off from his main power base.

REACHING OUT

Musharraf earlier proffered an olive branch to old political rivals outraged by his declaration of emergency rule on November 3, welcoming their return from exile as good for political reconciliation.

Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif returned on Sunday and another old rival, Benazir Bhutto, came back last month. Musharraf deposed Sharif in 1999 in a bloodless military coup and forced the two-time premier abroad a year later.

Musharraf said Bhutto and Sharif had now been given a "level playing field" and urged them and other politicians not to boycott the election.

Sharif and Bhutto, also a former prime minister, argued the vote could not be free and fair if held under emergency powers.

Sharif said after meeting some of his opposition colleagues they had decided "in principle" to boycott the vote but they would consult Bhutto and aimed to reach a final decision at an all-party conference.