Not so surprisingly, given recent events... Pervez Musharraf throws on the
geo-political brakes.
-- ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in Pakistan on Saturday, state TV said, ahead of a crucial Supreme Court decision on whether to overturn his recent election win.
The report gave no reason for the emergency but it follows weeks of speculation that the president — who is also chief of the army — could take the step, amid rising political turmoil and Islamic militant violence.
There are any number of issues that could have triggered this action... legal challenges, rising violence or even an aborted coup... no one seems to be giving specifics as yet.
“The chief of army staff has proclaimed a state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order,” a newscaster on Pakistan TV said.
The U.S. and other Western allies this week urged him not to take steps that would jeopardize the country's transition to democracy. Gen. Musharraf took power in a 1999 coup.
