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Musharraf invokes Martial Law Kamran Haider Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf imposed emergency rule on Saturday and deployed troops across the capital in a bid to reassert his flagging authority against political rivals and Islamist militants. Nuclear-armed Pakistan's internal security has deteriorated sharply in recent months with a wave of suicide attacks by al Qaeda-inspired militants, including one that killed 139 people. State-run Pakistan Television said General Musharraf, who is also chief of army staff, had suspended the constitution and declared an emergency. The move is expected to put off parliamentary elections due in January.
(Article continues below) Witnesses said paramilitary troops were deployed at Pakistan Television and radio stations ahead of the announcement, which follows weeks of speculation that U.S. ally Musharraf might impose emergency rule or martial law. Troops sealed off Constitution Avenue, the thoroughfare where the presidency building, the National Assembly and the Supreme Court are located. Television channels also said that Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, whose earlier dismissal in March marked the beginning of a slide in Musharraf's popularity, had been told that his services were "no longer required." Chaudhry had been reinstated in July. Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, was awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether he was eligible to run for re-election last month while still army chief.
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