Islamabad, 2007 Nov 6, Al-Manar
 
Pakistan rejected an international outcry over President Pervez Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule as it scrambled Tuesday to deflect mounting pressure to hold elections in January. US President George W. Bush called on Musharraf, a key ally in the battle against Islamic extremism, to end the state of emergency declared on Saturday, quit as army chief and restore democratic rule.

With images of police firing tear gas and beating protesters going around the world, Musharraf also faced the threat of a suspension in the foreign aid that props up his regime. But Pakistan's foreign office said it was an "internal" matter and appealed to the international community to show understanding to its ally in the fight against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

"We understand that many of our friends have commented on the proclamation of emergency in the country, which is first and foremost an internal matter of Pakistan," foreign office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said. "The president has stated that our friends should show understanding of the ground conditions and the serious challenges we face in the shape of extremism and terrorism," Sadiq added.

Separately, the government said there was no decision yet on the plan for general elections scheduled for the start of 2008, seen as a key step in the nuclear-armed nation's move to full, civilian democracy. "There is an emergency in the country at the moment, the constitution is held in abeyance and there has been no decision on the schedule of the elections yet," Deputy Information Minister Tariq Azeem said.

His comments came after state media quoted Premier Shaukat Aziz as saying the elections would be held "according to the schedule" and a spokesman quoted Musharraf as saying they would be "as close as possible to the schedule". There are fears that the government could seek to delay the elections by up to one year.

Meanwhile, cellphones went dead in the Pakistani capital on Tuesday as the country's sacked Chief Justice addressed a meeting of lawyers by telephone, witnesses said.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was ousted by President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday after the declaration of a state of emergency, called on lawyers to hold protests in a speech also broadcast on private television.

Pakistan's streets were quiet Tuesday, a day after dozens of lawyers were wounded and hundreds arrested in the first major show of public dissent since Musharraf suspended the constitution and said he would rule by decree. Officials said 1,600 people had been arrested since then, 100 of them were captured Tuesday.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon was "greatly concerned" at the situation and has urged Musharraf to free detainees immediately and restore democracy, his spokeswoman said.

In Washington, Bush said that "we expect there to be elections as soon as possible and that the president should remove his military uniform." "Our hope is that he will restore democracy as quickly as possible." The White House said Washington's aid to Pakistan was "under review," but strongly suggested there would be no reduction. However, the European Union warned of "possible further steps" to be taken against Islamabad while Britain said it was "considering the implications" of emergency rule for development and other aid programs.