Britain considering impact of Pak emergency on aid

Britain said on Sunday that it was considering whether or not Musharraf's imposition of a state of emergency would impact London's aid to the former colony.

Britain said on Sunday that it was considering whether or not Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf's imposition of a state of emergency would impact London's aid to the former colony.

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"We will consider the implications for our development and other programmes in Pakistan," a foreign ministry spokesman told AFP, declining to give further details.

The state of emergency was tightened on Sunday, as police rounded up hundreds of opponents and the government warned it could delay key elections for a year.

Musharraf on Saturday suspended the constitution, sacked the chief justice and imposed strict media curbs, accusing the judiciary and Islamic militants of destabilising the country and appealed for understanding from Western allies.

In response, Britain said it was "gravely concerned" by the decision, with Foreign Secretary David Miliband saying that Pakistan's future lay in "harnessing the power of democracy and the rule of law to achieve the goals of stability, development and countering terrorism".