Islamabad, December 13:

President Pervez Musharraf will lift Pakistan’s state of emergency on Saturday only after changing the constitution to ensure that he cannot be hauled before a court, a senior official said, as lawyers held more protests against the retired general.

Musharraf purged the judiciary, jailed thousands of opponents and silenced television news channels after he suspended the constitution and declared emergency rule on November 3.

The US-backed leader said he acted to prevent political chaos and give authorities a freer hand against Islamic militants, though critics accuse him of a last-ditch power grab before the previous Supreme Court could declare his continued rule illegal.

Attorney-general Malik Mohammed Qayyum said today that the president will amend the charter to protect his decisions from legal challenges.

Qayyum said government legal experts were finalising the changes and that they would be announced before Musharraf lifts the emergency on Saturday, but provided no details.

“The president will lift the emergency to restore the constitution and the fundamental rights,” he said.

Qayyum’s comments came a day after Information Minister Nisar Memon rejected claims that the government was trying to stifle the media ahead of next month’s parliamentary elections.

Yesterday, the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists accused the government of “an attempt to silence the free media” by ordering TV stations to stop airing live coverage of political debate.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority issued a letter on Tuesday, addressed to “all satellite TV channels,” saying some were still airing live coverage and taking live telephone calls which “contain baseless propaganda against Pakistan and incite people to violence.” The letter warned that the channels could be taken off the air and those responsible jailed for up to three years and fined up to $170,000.

The threat could dissuade networks from covering fiery speeches of opposition leaders like Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, two former prime ministers who recently returned

from years of living in exile. Both Bhutto and Sharif have hit the campaign trail this week after abandoning threats to boycott the January 8 elections.

The media crackdown adds to concerns over whether the elections, meant to restore democracy after eight years of military-dominated rule under Musharraf, can be free and fair, although the president has repeatedly said that he would ensure “a level playing field” for all.

At least 1,000 lawyers rallied in Lahore today, chanting slogans against Musharraf and urging a vote boycott unless the government reinstates the deposed chief justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry and other independent-minded judges. Around 800 lawyers, Islamists and rights activists held a similar rally in Multan.