Asking General Pervez Musharraf to move quickly to defuse the situation and restore the Constitution, former Pakistan premier Benazir Bhutto has said opposition parties will meet to decide on a "consensus plan of action".
"I'm very disappointed. He's said he's done this to stop extremism, but many people in Pakistan believe that this has actually been done to stop the Supreme Court from giving an adverse order against his eligibility to remain as army chief and president of the country," Bhutto said in an interview with National Public Radio.
The Pakistan People's Party chief, who returned to her country last month from an eight-year self-exile under a power-sharing deal with the General, warned that "subversion of democracy" could fuel further extremism.
Bhutto said the political parties would meet to share views and come up with a "consensus plan of action".
"Certainly, unless General Musharraf moves quickly to defuse the situation and restore the constitution," she said.
"It will be dangerous, but the dangers of not doing anything are far greater. We either acquiesce to the spread of extremism and terrorism in our country. And if we don't acquiesce, then we are termed controversial and polarising."
"But we feel that we cannot accept and acquiesce to the rise of militancy and extremism in our country, which threaten our people's lives and so although there are risks, we have to take those risks," Bhutto said. She also expressed fear that she might be arrested.
