Pakistan's constitution has been suspended and its independent news media is under blackout orders after the country's leader, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, declared emergency rule. Musharraf made the announcement just before Pakistan's Supreme Court was to rule on his future as president.

In declaring an emergency, Musharraf also replaced the Pakistan Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, whom he had formerly attempted to remove from the bench. Musharraf's actions followed months of conflict with the Supreme Court, which was due to issue a ruling soon on the validity of Musharraf's victory in a recent presidential election.

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