Pakistan Army Courts May Try Civilians

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Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007 | 9:59 a.m.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan's military ruler said Sunday that parliamentary elections should be held on schedule and that his recent declaration of emergency rule was the "most difficult" decision he has ever made.

"We should have elections before the 9th of January," President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said at a press conference.

Meanwhile, Musharraf has amended a law to give army courts sweeping powers to try civilians on charges ranging from treason to inciting public unrest, officials said Sunday, as a key opposition leader prepared to stage a 185-mile protest march in defiance of a ban.

Musharraf a week ago imposed a state of emergency he said was to help fight Islamic militancy. But the main targets of his crackdown have been his most outspoken critics, including the increasingly independent judiciary and media.

The army chief - under pressure from the United States and other Western allies to return to the path of democracy - won praise for agreeing Saturday to lift the emergency within weeks.