The Pakistan government on Tuesday discussed all issues related to the holding of the general election, including the possibility of delaying the polls. But a top minister said that no decision has been taken in this regard.
Railway Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed indicated that all issues related to the election were discussed at a meeting of the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz but no decision was made.
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told the cabinet that the imposition of emergency by President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday was "neither intended to delay the election nor to slow down the democratic process."
A section of the ruling PML-Q is keen on having the election deferred by up to three to six months, and this issue was taken up at the meeting. The cabinet meeting was held after conflicting signals emerged from the government about the holding of the polls.
Prime Minister Aziz on Monday said that the polls would be held according to schedule and Attorney General Malik Qayyum on Tuesday said that the election would be held within 60 days of the national and provincial assemblies completing their term on November 15. But other top officials said the polls could be postponed by almost a year.
Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday from Karach to hold discussions with opposition party leaders about steps to oppose the emergency, claimed the government had already decided to delay the polls by a year.
She urged Musharraf to appear on television to tell the country that the elections would go ahead as planned and that he would give up his military uniform.
The cabinet meeting also endorsed Musharraf's decision to declare the emergency and issue the Provisional Constitutional Order to suspend key fundamental rights.
It stated, "The move would put the democratic process on track and facilitate the holding of general elections and early transition to full democracy." The cabinet also supported Musharraf's re-election in the October 6 presidential poll that was boycotted by the Opposition.
Earlier in the day, Musharraf chaired a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Pakistan following the imposition of emergency. The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Aziz, Information Minister Muhammad Ali Durrani, Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao and the vice chief of the army, Gen Ashfaq Pervaiz Kiyani.
Sherpao gave an overview of the security situation and Musharraf directed the interior minister to provide all resources and assistance to law enforcement agencies so that they "can operate unhindered and reach the masterminds behind the militants, extremists and terrorists".
Musharraf also asked Durrani to ensure the release of six journalists arrested during protests in Sindh and Punjab. Kiyani briefed the meeting about the deployment of military troops in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and along the Afghanistan border.