Milenko Kindl

 ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Police fired tear gas and clubbed thousands of
lawyers protesting President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's decision to
impose emergency rule, as Western allies threatened to review aid to
the troubled Muslim nation. Opposition groups put the number of
arrests at 3,500, although the government reported half that.

Musharraf, who took power in a 1999 coup and is also head of
Pakistan's army, suspended the constitution on Saturday ahead of a
Supreme Court ruling on whether his recent re-election as president
was legal. He ousted independent-minded judges, put a stranglehold on
independent media and granted sweeping powers to authorities to crush
dissent.

The attorney general called Monday for the polls to be held on time,
but Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz left open the possibility for a delay.

Under intense pressure from the United States and other Western allies
to hold elections as scheduled in January, Musharraf said Monday he
would relinquish control of the military and return the country to
"the same track as we were moving" but he gave no indication when the
vote would take place.

"I am determined to remove my uniform once we correct these pillars -
the judiciary, the executive, and the parliament," Musharraf was
quoted by state-run Pakistan Television as telling foreign ambassadors
Monday.

"I can assure you there will be harmony ... confidence will come back
into the government, into law enforcement agencies and Pakistan will
start moving again on the same track as we were moving."

Public anger was mounting in the nation of 160 million people, which
has been under military rule for much of its 60-year history, but
demonstrations so far have been limited largely to activists, rights
workers and lawyers - angered by his attacks on the judiciary. All
have been quickly and sometimes brutally stamped out.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Washington was reviewing its
assistance to Pakistan, which has received billions of dollars in aid
since Musharraf threw his support behind the U.S.-led war on terror
after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

At a news conference in the West Bank on Monday, she urged the army
chief to follow through on past promises to "take off his uniform."

"I want to be very clear," she said, as a team of U.S. defense
officials postponed plans to travel to Islamabad for talks Tuesday
because of the crisis. "We believe that the best path for Pakistan is
to quickly return to a constitutional path and then to hold
elections."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates suggested that military aid may not be
affected because the Bush administration does not want to disrupt its
partnership with Pakistan in fighting al-Qaida and other militants.
The country has been hit by a string of suicide bombings in recent
weeks blamed on extremists.

Britain said it had no current plans to change the $493 million it has
budgeted in aid to Pakistan over three years. However, "the whole
world will be watching to see how the transition to democracy that is
so important for our own security ... and the security and stability
of Pakistan itself is re-established," said Foreign Secretary David
Milliband.

The Dutch government suspended development assistance, becoming the
first country to do so.

Aziz left open the possibility that the vote would not be held in
January, telling journalists "the next general elections will be held
according to the schedule or a program that will be finalized after
consultation with all the stakeholders."

Critics say Musharraf imposed emergency rule in a last-ditch attempt
to cling to power.

His leadership is threatened by the Islamic militant movement that has
spread from border regions to the capital, the reemergence of
political rival and former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, and an
increasingly defiant Supreme Court, which has been virtually decimated
in the last two days.

Since late Saturday, between 1,500 and 1,800 people have been detained
nationwide, an Interior Ministry official said on condition of
anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.