Musharraf Promises Elections by Feb. 15

Bhutto, speaking to reporters and party members Thursday at a private compound outside the capital, dismissed Musharraf's announcement as "a little vague."

"In 2004, he said, 'I'll take the uniform off,' and he never did. Then he told the Supreme Court he would take the uniform off, and he never did. We want the uniform off by November 15 or before," she said. "We want a specific date" for elections.

Bhutto called the army "rudderless" and "leaderless" and said there was "no way to save Pakistan" except by restoring democracy.

Musharraf ostensibly imposed emergency rule to combat extremism. But critics say he has spent most of his time since then trying to consolidate power and neutralize the mainstream political opposition.

"State force is being used against civilians and not terrorists," Bhutto said. "Women are being dragged from their homes. We are returning to the dark days of martial law."

A Western diplomat said the West is encouraging Bhutto to work carefully in a volatile situation. "We don't want to totally disrupt the entire apple cart. Bhutto must slowly ratchet up the tensions so that elections can take place. She has made a carefully calibrated strategy, and she's a very astute politician," said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Bhutto's aides said they expected serious clashes with police and other security forces Friday. Her street was blocked off with barricades, rolls of barbed wire and police officers in riot gear. Police officials at the scene said she would not be allowed to leave Friday.

But the magistrate for the area said that Bhutto was not under house arrest and that the heavy police contingent in the area was for her own security. "So far, she's not under any restraint," said the magistrate, Kamran Cheema. If Bhutto tries to leave and travel to the rally, "we don't have any orders to stop her," he said.

Bhutto's return from exile last month was greeted by jubilation among her supporters but marred by a suicide-bomb assassination attempt that killed 140 people.

A senator from the Pakistan People's Party who was allowed to visit Bhutto on Friday morning, Mohammad Enver Baig, said: "This is an illegal detention. It's the illegal consignment of a political leader."

The park where the rally was to be held was surrounded by hundreds of police officers, and police presence in Rawalpindi was considerable. Shops were closed, and a protester who managed to penetrate security was quickly grabbed by a dozen police officers and shoved into the back of a van.

Elsewhere in Pakistan on Thursday, members of a conservative religious party protested against emergency rule in the northwestern city of Peshawar. At least eight people were injured when police used baton charges and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Most of the anti-Musharraf protests have been attended by members of the secular, liberal opposition. But a leader of the religious party Jamaat-e-Islami said religious groups would also participate.

"It's time to rise up and remove this tyrant regime," said Maulana Siraj-ul-Haq, a party provincial chief.

Constable reported from Islamabad. Correspondent Emily Wax in Lahore and special correspondent Imtiaz Ali in Peshawar contributed to this report.