Emergency to end in weeks

Islamabad: President Pervez Musharraf on Thursday announced his decision to lift emergency rule in Pakistan by December 16 and restore constitution ahead of general elections in January.

Musharraf, who earlier in the day took oath as a civilian president, said elections would be held under the constitution.

"I have full resolve to lift the emergency and withdraw the provisional constitutional order on December 16," he said. "The elections, God willing, will be held free and transparent under the constitution," he said.

The concession is likely to blunt a threat from opposition parties to boycott the crucial vote.

Musharraf imposed emergency rule on November 3, casting Pakistan into a deep crisis that raised Western fears for the stability of a nuclear-armed country struggling to turn a rising tide of militancy.

On Tuesday, Musharraf stood down as military chief, the post which enabled him to topple former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a 1999 coup and hold on to power for nine years.

In his TV address, he appealed directly to Sharif and another former premier recently returned from exile to drop their threats to boycott the January 8 parliamentary elections.

"Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have come back, and a level playing field has been given to [their parties]. Now it is the responsibility of these and other parties to prepare for the elections, and participate fully," Musharraf said.

However, he struck an uncompromising tone when insisting that the elections would go on without them, if necessary. "No one will be allowed to destabilise this democratic process or to create hurdles in its way," he said.

Musharraf's address coincided with a meeting of the opposition All Parties Democratic Movement at the residence of Sharif in Lahore on whether or not to boycott the elections.

Referring to ongoing military operations in Swat valley in North West Frontier Province, he said the army faced a serious threat from the terrorists.

However, Musharraf said, now the operation was meeting success and hoped that peace in this area would be established soon.