pakistan was thrown into yet another political chaos on November 3 when President Pervez Musharraf imposed the state of emergency, suspending the country's constitution. The decision has met with stiff opposition from civil liberties organizations in the country. The us, the uk, India and other countries have urged Musharraf to lift the emergency and return to a constitutional government.

The crackdown on dissent has caused widespread protests. Hundreds of political activists, lawyers and journalists have been detained by the police; private television channels taken off air and the functioning of the press put under official vigil.

The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Mohammad Choudhury who spearheaded judicial activism has been sacked along with many other judges. Choudhury and other opposition leaders, including former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, accuse Musharraf of sabotaging the judiciary just before the Supreme Court was to rule on a challenge to his election to a third term as president. Pakistan is supposed to elect a new president and then a new prime minister in the forthcoming months.