Milenko Kindl

 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - President Gen. Pervez Musharraf suspended
Pakistan's constitution and deployed troops in the capital Saturday,
declaring that rising Islamic extremism had forced him to take
emergency measures. He also replaced the chief justice and blacked out
the independent media that refused to support him.

Authorities began rounding up opposition politicians, cut phone lines
in Islamabad and took all but state television off air, defying calls
from Washington and other Western allies not to take authoritarian
measures.

On Sunday, police arrested Javed Hashmi, the acting president of
exiled former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's party. Hashmi was arrested
along with 10 aides when he stepped outside his house in the central
city of Multan. Police also arrested six lawyers, including the
secretary of the Multan High Court Bar Association.

The U.S. said it was disappointed and called for Musharraf to restore
democracy. However, the Pentagon said the emergency declaration does
not affect U.S. military support for Pakistan and its efforts in the
war on terrorism. Britain said it was deeply concerned.

Musharraf's leadership is threatened by an increasingly defiant
Supreme Court, the reemergence of political rival and former prime
minister Benazir Bhutto and an Islamic movement that has spread to the
capital. The Supreme Court was expected to rule soon on the validity
of Musharraf's contentious re-election last month.

Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum denied claims in the media and
from Bhutto, that Musharraf had imposed martial law - direct rule by
the army - without announcing it. He said this was not the case as the
prime minister and parliament were still in place.

Analysts said the emergency measures may only postpone Musharraf's
political demise.

In a televised address late Saturday night, Musharraf looked somber
and composed, wearing a black tunic rather than his usual military
fatigues. He said Pakistan was at a "dangerous" juncture.

"The extremism has even spread to Islamabad, and the extremists are
taking the writ of the government in their own hands, and even worse
they are imposing their obsolete ideas on moderates," he said.

Musharraf's order allows courts to function but suspends some
fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution, including freedom
of speech. It also allows authorities to detain people without
informing them of the charges.

He replaced chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry - who had emerged
as the main check on his power. Musharraf's popularity plunged after
he tried and failed to fire Chaudhry this spring, sparking popular
protests against military rule.