Musharraf frees thousands of opponents in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — President Gen. Pervez Musharraf freed thousands of opponents from jails Tuesday in a sign he is rolling back a wave of repression under emergency rule and flew to Saudi Arabia to talk about the future of an exiled rival, Nawaz Sharif.

Saudi officials said there were efforts to arrange a meeting between Musharraf and Sharif, who was ousted as prime minister by the general's 1999 coup. However, a Pakistani official said Musharraf's goal was to prevent Sharif from returning before parliamentary elections Jan. 8.

Back home, the political cauldron continued to boil, with dozens of journalists detained for several hours after clashing with police during a protest and newly freed opposition lawyers vowing to keep up their agitation.

But there was also some relief for Musharraf. Ex-premier Benazir Bhutto, leader of a key opposition party, deferred a decision on whether to boycott the elections, which the West hopes will produce a moderate government able to stand up to Pakistan's rising Islamic extremism.

The Interior Ministry said 3,400 people had been released from jail, among them political activists and lawyers at the forefront of protests against Musharraf before and after he decreed emergency rule Nov. 3, purging the Supreme Court and taking independent TV news off the air.

Ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said more than 2,000 others remained behind bars but would be released shortly. "The process has started. More are being released today," he said.

Many high-ranking party activists and leaders, such as former cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan and Aitzaz Ahsan, president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, remained in prison. Khan began a hunger strike Monday to protest emergency rule.

The government did not say what prompted the mass release. But it came two days after a visit by Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who issued a blunt call for Musharraf to end emergency rule.

Washington and others worry the crackdown, and the political turmoil, will raise questions about the credibility of the parliamentary elections. Musharraf critics say the vote can't be free and fair because emergency rule restrictions will prevent his foes from campaigning effectively.

The Pakistani leader flew to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday on his first foreign trip since the crisis began.