Musharraf promises end to emergency rule

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – President Pervez Musharraf announced Thursday he intends to lift emergency rule and restore the constitution by Dec. 16, saying he had fulfilled his promise to bring democracy to Pakistan and calling on political parties to participate in January elections.

But Musharraf, who was sworn in as the civilian president one day after stepping down as chief of Pakistan’s army, did not say he would reinstate the senior judges he fired this month – a key demand of several major political parties as well as the country’s legal advocates and journalists.

Late Thursday, in an immediate rebuff to Musharraf, a major opposition coalition announced it planned to boycott the Jan. 8 elections, saying the president had not gone far enough to restore democratic rights. The coalition includes the party headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

Sharif said he would ask his main rival, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, to join the boycott. But Bhutto was quoted on Pakistani television as saying a boycott would “accomplish nothing.”

Plans for a boycott could set up a confrontation with Musharraf and threaten to suspend or discredit the election. In his speech, Musharraf said he would not tolerate “destabilizing” activities, hinting that such problems could lead to a new crackdown.

Musharraf, who took the oath as president wearing a formal black civilian tunic, told his guests at the presidential palace, and later the national TV audience, that he was proud of his efforts to bring democracy, economic stability and social progress to Pakistan.

“I have fulfilled my promise to bring democracy,” he said in his TV address. “I left the position of army chief. I took the oath as a civilian president. I announced elections for Jan. 8.”