KABUL, Afghanistan - The government of President Gen. Pervez Musharraf is not ruling out imposing a state of emergency because of "external and internal threats" to Pakistan and deteriorating law and order in the volatile northwest near the Afghan border, a spokesman said Thursday.
Tariq Azim, minister of state for information, said Pakistani media reports that Musharraf would soon declare an emergency were unconfirmed, but he added that the possibility had been discussed and that "no firm decision has yet been taken."
"These are only unconfirmed reports although the possibility of imposition of emergency cannot be ruled out and has recently been talked about and discussed keeping in mind some external and internal threats and the law and order situation," he told The Associated Press.
Azim referred to recent military action against militants in northwestern border areas that he said had resulted in the deaths of many soldiers.
He also said statements coming from the United States, including from Sen. Barak Obama, D-Ill., a presidential hopeful, over the possibility of U.S. military action against al Qaeda in Pakistan "has started alarm bells ringing and has upset (the) Pakistani public."
An aide to the president, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Musharraf was due to meet with Cabinet ministers, the attorney-general and leaders from the ruling party on Thursday to discuss whether an emergency should be declared.
He did not expect a declaration of an emergency in the early hours of Thursday.
"I cannot say that it will be tonight, tomorrow or later. We hope that it does not happen," Azim said. "But we are going through difficult circumstances so the possibility of an emergency cannot be ruled out."
The comments came hours after Musharraf abruptly announced he was canceling a planned trip Thursday to Kabul to attend a U.S.-backed tribal peace council with Afghan President Hamid Karzai aimed at curtailing cross-border militancy by Taliban and al Qaeda.
Musharraf is under growing political pressure as he seeks to extend his eight-year rule by seeking another presidential term from lawmakers this fall.
His popularity has dwindled and his standing has been badly shaken by a failed bid to oust the country's chief justice -- an independent-minded judge likely to rule on expected legal challenges to the military leader's re-election bid.
The rumors of an imminent state of emergency also come on the eve of a Supreme Court hearing of a petition in which former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif -- ousted in 1999 in the coup that brought Musharraf to power -- is seeking to be allowed to return to Pakistan contest parliamentary elections due by early 2008.
