By IANS
Islamabad : Under fire from the international community for imposing an emergency, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Monday said the draconian measure would be lifted as soon as the situation in the country normalises – but did not set a timeline.
At the same time, he said that in view of the emergency, parliament’s tenure could be extended for one year but he would ensure that elections were held as soon as possible.
He expressed these views while talking to more than 80 foreign diplomats, including from the US and Britain at the Aiwan-e-Sadr here, Online news agency reported.
Foreign Secretary Riaz M. Khan and other senior officials were also present on the occasion.
Musharraf said the emergency had been imposed to deal with terrorism and extremism and to deal with an internal crisis that is impeding the country’s development.
He said he took this step after lengthy consultations and felt that there was no other way out in dealing with the crisis.
However, the president emphasised that it would be his prerogative to lift the emergency as and when the situation normalized.