Click to play videoNew Delhi: Telephone networks went down for hours, news channels went off the air, but news that Pakistan had been plunged into Emergency rule swept Karachi before communications shutdown.
Within hours of imposing an Emergency, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has promulgated two ordinances prohibiting the print and electronic media from publishing or broadcasting "statements that abet terrorist activities or terrorism".
The ordinances to amend the Press, Newspapers, News Agencies and Books Registration Ordinance of 2002 and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance 2002, came into force immediately after Emergency was declared.
The ordinance also prohibits the live coverage of incidents of violence and directs channels to install time-delay equipment to prevent such a violation.
Violators shall be punished with imprisonment for a term of up to three years or a fine of up to Rs 10 million or both.
Meanwhile, CNN-IBN spoke to Attorney General of Pakistan Malik Mohammed Qayyum soon after the Emergency was imposed. Qayyum is thought to be the architect of the Provincial Constitutional Order passed by Musharraf on Saturday.
Qayyum said, “The Emergency is for a short period of time. To my knowledge not more than one month. I think after November 15, once the Supreme Court's notification over his re-election comes, President Musharraf will take oath and Emergency will be removed.”
“Mainly he was upset with judiciary as it was interfering in everything. I told the President many times that Emergency should have been imposed long back, but he always delayed the decision. The army will stand by Musharraf. As far as Benazir Bhutto is concerned, she has nothing to fear as she is a citizen of this country,” Qayyum added.
Imran Khan under house arrest
Pakistan police placed leading opposition figure and former cricket star Imran Khan under house arrest early on Sunday, hours Musharraf imposed Emergency rule citing militancy and a hostile judiciary.
Khan, who captained his cricket-mad country to victory in the 1992 World Cup, had earlier urged Pakistanis to take to the streets to protest against Musharraf's action.
"Imran Khan has been put under house arrest while (opposition lawyers) Munir A Malik and Aitzaz Ahsan were arrested under a one-month detention order," Khan's close aide and senior lawyer Hamid Khan told Reuters.
Khan's political party has little support, but he is a high profile and respected opposition figure. Educated at England's elite Oxford University, his sporting past makes him a high profile figure internationally.
"I ask people to come out on the streets. We will ask lawyers, political parties to come out on the streets," Imran Khan had told Geo News.
Khan, speaking after his house arrest, told CNN that Musharraf was squarely to blame for Pakistan's problems and said Emergency rule would not help.
"He never said how is he through the Emergency going to do things that are any different. He was the absolute ruler, he had absolute control so what was the impediment in his way to fight militancy and terrorism,” Khan said.
The former cricketer is believed to be in Lahore where he has a residence. His main home is just outside Islamabad.
PAK IN LAST 24 HOURS | |
|  Why Mush imposed Emergency |
| Benazir on her way to Pak | |
| Mush terrorising Pak: Sharif | |
| Mush blames judiciary, terrorists | |
| India regrets 'difficult times' in Pak | |
(With agency inputs)
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