The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Islamabad

Pakistan's military ruler has amended a law to give sweeping powers to army courts to try civilians on charges such as treason and inciting public unrest, officials said Sunday as a key opposition leader prepared to stage a massive, 185-mile protest march in defiance of a ban.

The moves came one week after President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said he was imposing a state of emergency to help fight Islamic militancy. But the main targets of his crackdown so far have been his most outspoken critics, including the increasingly independent judiciary and media. Musharraf was to hold a press conference with international journalists later Sunday.

Pakistan eased the crackdown Saturday, releasing opposition leader Benazir Bhutto from house arrest. Musharraf - under pressure by the United States and other Western allies to return to the path of democracy - won praise for agreeing to lift the emergency within weeks and hold elections by Feb. 15, just one month later than originally scheduled.

President Bush called the promises "positive steps," throwing U.S. support firmly behind the Pakistani leader in the fight against Islamic militants.

But a decision to amend the Pakistan Army Act - confirmed by Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum on Sunday - is likely to raise fresh concerns. It would allow military courts to try people accused of treason, sedition, or "giving statements conducive to public mischief."

In theory, that could include Bhutto, who said she would defy Musharraf's ban on public gatherings and lead supporters on a march from the eastern city of Lahore to the capital Islamabad on Tuesday.