Musharraf’s emergency order suspended the 1973 constitution. Seven of the 17 Supreme Court judges immediately rejected the order, and only five agreed to take the oath of office under the new provisional constitution.

Musharraf issued two ordinances toughening media laws, including a ban on live broadcasts of “incidents of violence and conflict.” Also, TV operators who “ridicule” the president, armed forces, and other powerful state bodies face up to three years in jail.

Don’t demand your level of democracy, he tells the West

Defending Emergency, Musharraf quotes Abraham Lincoln, justification for 1864 martial law: “Life cannot be put to risk for a limb and sometimes a limb has to be amputated to save life”

• To West, he says “please do not expect or demand your level of democracy which you have learnt over four centuries... please give us time... do not expect the same level of civil liberties and human rights... we are also learning”

• “Understand the criticality of the situation... Pakistan is on the verge of destabilization”