Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has been released from house arrest in the capital, Islamabad, officials say. The order had blocked Ms Bhutto's bid to lead a rally against the emergency rule declared by President Musharraf. The United States welcomed her release as positive and called for moderate forces to work to restore democracy. A three-day detention order was served on the former prime minister after she tried to cross the heavy police cordon set up outside her home on Friday.
Police had surrounded the house early in the morning with roadblocks and coils of barbed wire to prevent her from addressing a rally in the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi. Under emergency rule announced last week, such public gatherings have been banned.
Senior officials were later quoted as saying the detention order had been withdrawn. A spokeswoman for Ms Bhutto's party said she had no information about the move. Officials said that it was a temporary measure because of a fear of suicide bombers attacking the planned rally, and that it would be lifted by Saturday.
On Friday Ms Bhutto made several attempts to leave her home but was turned back. She finally emerged to address the media through a megaphone from behind the barricades. She repeated opposition demands that Gen Musharraf should lift the state of emergency, resign as army chief and hold elections by mid-January. "We are calling for General Musharraf to keep his commitment and retire as chief of army staff on 15 November."
The BBC's Chris Morris in Islamabad says that under emergency regulations the detention order could be re-imposed at short notice.
However, our correspondent says it has been a good day for Ms Bhutto, bolstering her democratic credentials at a time when other opposition parties still believe she plans to do a deal with Gen Musharraf. She is putting him under pressure at home while his Western allies are putting him under pressure abroad, our correspondent says.
Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said 5,000 of its activists had been arrested since the weekend, and that police detained about 100 people outside her residence on Friday.