Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has declared a state of emergency amid mounting political upheaval and a wave of Islamist violence.
General Musharraf blamed a wave of Islamic militancy and "interference" by Pakistan's judiciary for the imposition of emergency rule, according to a copy of the order.
The declaration came as General Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, awaited a Supreme Court decision that could have overturned his victory in an October 6 presidential election.
General Musharraf has also suspended the country's constitution, news channels said.
Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and eight other judges refused to endorse the provisional constitutional order issued by the President, and Mr Chaudhry has been told his "services are no longer required".
General Musharraf tried to sack Mr Chaudhry earlier this year.
Pakistani paramilitary troops and police have surrounded the Supreme Court in Islamabad.
Two trucks full of armed paramilitary soldiers from the Rangers force, who are under the control of the Interior Ministry, and several dozen policemen have cordoned off the building.
Mr Chaudhry and his fellow judges are still inside the court building on Constitution Avenue, the broad thoroughfare where the presidency and the National Assembly are also located.
The move throws general elections that are due in January into jeopardy. The vote, the first in five years, was seen as a key step in moving nuclear-armed Pakistan towards full civilian democracy.
General Musharraf, a key US ally, has been at loggerheads with the Supreme Court for months and ministers had hinted that a state of emergency could be imposed if it ruled against his election win.
The Supreme Court has ruled that the official result of the October presidential election, in which General Musharraf won another five-year term, cannot be declared until it rules whether the vote was legal.
Troubled times
General Musharraf is also confronting a wave of Islamic militancy that has claimed the lives of more than 400 civilians and security personnel since government troops stormed the Red Mosque in Islamabad in July.
Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who returned to Pakistan on October 18 and then flew to Dubai on Thursday, said earlier this week that she had heard speculation that General Musharraf could declare a state of emergency.
Ms Bhutto said on Wednesday she had decided to postpone her visit "due to rumours of the possible imposition of an emergency in view of the pending cases before the Supreme Court about General Musharraf's elections."
There are conflicting reports over Ms Bhutto's plans to return to Pakistan. A party spokesman said she would not return due to the state of emergency but her husband contradicted that statement and said Ms Bhutto would return immediately.
General Musharraf had pledged to step down as army chief by November 15 if he won the election, but has not said what he would do if the court overturns his victory.
The court said this week it would not be cowed by ministerial hints of emergency action.
The emergency will also likely shatter a proposed power-sharing deal between Ms Bhutto and General Musharraf, which has been pushed by the United States and Britain ahead of general elections.
Washington and London have been quietly pushing a scenario which would see General Musharraf as a civilian president and Ms Bhutto serving a third time as premier. © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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