The government of Pakistani President Gen Pervez Musharraf said today it may impose a state of emergency because of "external and internal threats" and deteriorating law and order in the northwest near the Afghan border.
Tariq Azim, minister of state for information, said talk from the United States about the possibility of US military action against al-Qaeda in Pakistan "has started alarm bells ringing and has upset the Pakistani public".
He mentioned Democratic presidential hopeful Barak Obama as an example of someone who made such comments, saying his recent remarks were one reason the government was debating a state of emergency.
But it appeared the motivation for a declaration of an emergency would be the domestic political woes of Mr Musharraf, a key US ally in the war on terrorism who took power in a 1999 coup.
His popularity has dwindled and his standing has been badly shaken by a failed bid to oust the country's chief justice - an independent-minded judge likely to rule on expected legal challenges to Mr Musharraf's bid to seek a new five-year presidential term this autumn.
The Pakistani government's comments on a possible emergency declaration came hours after Mr Musharraf announced he was cancelling a planned trip to Kabul, Afghanistan, today to attend a US-backed tribal peace council aimed at curtailing cross-border militancy by the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
During a state of emergency, the government can restrict the freedom to move, rally, engage in political activities or form groups and impose other limits such as restricting the parliament's right to make laws or even dissolving parliament.
Exiled former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto - widely reported to have met with Mr Musharraf recently in the United Arab Emirates to discuss a power-sharing deal - said that imposition of emergency would be a "drastic" step that the government should not take.
An aide to the president said Mr Musharraf was due to meet with cabinet ministers, the attorney-general and leaders from the ruling party today to discuss whether an emergency should be declared.