LONDON, Nov 3: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said here on Saturday his country was ‘gravely concerned’ at President Pervez Musharraf’s declaration of a state of emergency and urged him to act within the constitution.

Britain recognised the threats to peace and security in Pakistan, but its future lay in “harnessing the power of democracy and the rule of law to achieve the goals of stability, development and countering terrorism,” Mr Miliband said. “I am gravely concerned by the measures adopted today, which will take Pakistan further from these goals,” he said in a statement issued by his office.

“It is vital that the government acts in accordance with the constitution and abides by the commitment to hold free and fair elections on schedule which President Musharraf reiterated to the (British) Prime Minister (Gordon Brown) when they spoke on November 1,” he added.

Mr Miliband said London would raise its concerns with Islamabad ‘at the highest levels’. The foreign secretary said he would speak personally with his Pakistani counterpart, Khurshid Kasuri.

“We are working closely with friends of Pakistan across the international community to encourage all parties to show restraint and to work together for a peaceful and democratic resolution,” Mr Miliband said.

“We hope that the strong communities in the United Kingdom of Pakistani origin will also use their contacts through family and business to make the case for democracy and the rule of law,” Mr Miliband said.

In Brussels, spokesperson for EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana regretted the Islamabad decision.

“We regret the decision to declare the state of emergency.

“We recognise Pakistan’s current difficult political and security situation. We express support for Pakistan’s struggle against extremism.

“We urge a solution to be found within the constitution. We condemn any provisions of the state of emergency that are unconstitutional. In general, the rule of law must be respected.

The scheduled election must take place on the date that has been arranged. The democratic process should not be interrupted any further,” the spokesperson said.—Agencies

Masood Haider adds from New York: The Human Rights Watch has condemned the Provisional Constitution Order calling it a “shameless attempt to prevent Pakistanis from enjoying their basic rights under the law and a brazen attempt at muzzling the judiciary.”

“It is dishonest of the Pakistani government to refer to this extra-constitutional and illegal action as the imposition of a state of emergency,” the New York-based human rights watchdog group said in a statement. It urged the Bush administration to end its support for General Pervez Musharraf.

The HRW noted that the state of emergency could have been imposed within the framework of the constitution. Instead, the constitution is no longer in force.

“Unwilling to tolerate an independent judiciary that could possibly rule his election illegal, Gen Musharraf has sought to muzzle it through extra-constitutional means,” it said.