Will emergency rule prevent elections in Pakistan? by Corina Ciubotaru

The emergency rule still goes on in Pakistan even though Gen. Musharraf promised he would end it, and so does the military regime. His opponent Benazir Bhutto has been placed under house arrest again and measures have been taken to ensure she does not lead a march against the current government in the following days. She also refuses to be Prime Minister under Pervez Musharraf, who instituted emergency rule a few days ago and thus put the Western spotlight on his country. 600 police have surrounded the house in Lahore where Bhutto is arrested and walls with barbed wire have been erected around it, allegedly to protect her from the murder attempts that have been carried out or announced since her return. The protest was intended to last for three days and involve thousands of supporters, in an attempt to persuade Musharraf to give up his military status and restore democracy to the country. She was arrested on Friday but was allowed to pray at the tomb of Pakistan's national poet on Monday, under surveillance of guards. The end of the emergency rule is believed to come after the supreme court admits the last election of Musharraf has been done legally; he has replaced its leading judge, a man who could probably rule his election was a fraud and prevent him from extending his eight-year rule. Still, he will allow the parliamentary elections to be held as planned, but his opponents question the idea that these elections could be fair if the country is under emergency rule.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071112/ap_on_re_as/pakistan;_ylt=AhOnQhoQVBtXN4lMrRS0O3ys0NUE

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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