KARACHI: Lawyers and Opposition leaders accused the Sindh provincial government, in which the Muttahida Qaumi Movement is a partner, of encouraging lawlessness and creating conditions with a view to imposing emergency.

"The entire responsibility lies with the government," said Makhdoom Amin Fahim, a senior leader of the Pakistan People's Party.

"This is a shame. There is no writ of the government. The Chief Minister [of Sindh], Chief Secretary, the Governor, they are helpless to stop the violence, or they are doing it themselves with some motives," Mr. Fahim told The Hindu .

Benazir's charge

PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto was more direct. She expressed the concern that "coalition members of the regime were creating civil war conditions to impose emergency to strengthen dictatorship and prolong the unrepresentative anti-people forces that emerged from the rugged elections of 2002."

The MQM said that several of its activists were among the dead and injured in Saturday's violence. Its London-based leader Altaf Hussain, addressed a huge rally of party workers late in the afternoon by telephone.

He accused Chief Justice Chaudhary of causing the deaths of innocents by insisting on coming to Karachi when he knew that the MQM would hold a rally on the same day.

The MQM has announced a day of mourning on Sunday.

Emergency ruled out

Reuters, AFP report from Islamabad:

Addressing a massive rally in Islamabad on Saturday, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf ruled out declaring a state of emergency.

``There is talk that emergency is being imposed ... the people, this crowd of tens of thousands is with me, then where does the need for emergency come? People are with me ... there is no emergency,'' he said.

He vowed to defeat anyone politicising his suspension of Pakistan's top judge.

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