General Pervez Musharraf is reported to have said that he considered resigning amid reports that the opposition politician Imran Khan has been arrested.
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8.40am
What's happened to Imran Khan? At this stage it's difficult to tell. Some reports say that he has been carted away in a police van. Others say he is being protected by protesting students in Lahore.
"He was on my shoulders when they [the police] grabbed him," Faisal Naim, a student told Associated Press.
But another student Faizal Sheikh told Reuters: "Jamaat-i-Islami students came and took him in there. They say they are keeping him for his safety but they basically hijacked our protest."
Meanwhile in an interview for Sky News Gen Musharraf says he feels betrayed by the media and that he nearly resigned.
Follow what happened yesterday, including the reaction to Benazir Bhutto's new hostile approach to Musharraf, here.
Gen Musharraf is still insisting that the elections will go ahead. There was a bizarre interview on BBC's Newsnight last night with Pakistan's information minister. He said it was perfectly acceptable for elections to be held under emergency rule even if this meant some of the candidates would be under house arrest. He said it was important that the elections were conducted on a "level playing field", thereby suggesting that all of the candidates should be under house arrest.
9.05am
The fate of Imran Khan is now clearer. He is now under arrest after being briefly protected at a student rally at Lahore University, according to Reuters.
"He was taken into custody at the gate of the campus," Malik Mohammad Iqbal, a police official told the news agency.
Imran was due to phone us for interview. Events today explain why he hasn't been in touch.
9.20am
Pakistan's parliament will be dissolved at midnight tomorrow to pave the way for elections by January 9, Dawn News says.
MB on Karachi Metroblogs is concerned by reports that the government is banning the import of satellite dishes. "Start searching some underground methods to access websites before it's too late," MB advises.
Gen Musharraf has responded to Bhutto's call for him to resign. In an interview for the New York Times he said she had "no right" to make such a demand. He also accused her of sending out "negative vibes".
9.40am
The Australian cricketer Andrew Symonds says he has qualms about a test tour of Pakistan in March. His worries seem focused on safety concerns rather than any political objections. "There do seem to be a lot of bombs going off there," he told Cricket 365.
Cricket Australia will make a decision about whether the tour goes ahead after the elections.
Sky News has replayed its interview with Musharraf. We must have elections and I must get out of uniform he said. Asked if he has thought about resigning he said: "I have considered every option."
He said: "I am not a dictator, I want a democracy. The day when there is no turmoil in Pakistan, I will step down."
On the media he said: "We may lose the battle on terror because of misreporting by some parts of the media in Pakistan and around the world."
10am
A video of protesting school children being arrested has been posted on YouTube. Commenting on the footage Teeth Maestro says: "The regime crossed a new threshold by shamelessly attacking, arresting and detaining schoolchildren in Islamabad."
10.05am
Imran Khan was arrested after students from a rival party colluded with the police, according to the latest from Teeth Maestro. In an interview with AFP, conducted while he was in custody, Khan said: "I came to the university to lead a rally of students against the dictator Musharraf and his illegal actions. The majority of the students were with me there but a group of them from Islami-Jamiat-Tuliba collaborated with the administration and police. They took me into the office and then forced me out into a van. They did not allow me to be arrested publicly."
10.20am
"Pakistan is now a bona fide Banana Republic," says KO, "with all the trappings which come with it - a military dictator, a muzzled press, cronies of the dictator busy hunting partridges, and lots more besides. They do not want Wikipedia editors to get confused and keep removing Pakistan from the Banana republic entry."
11.15am
The exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif says he is willing to work with Bhutto against Musharraf, according to Reuters.
"We are ready to set aside our differences with the People's Party and work for the return of democratic rule," he said.
11.50am
Sepoy reminds us of some important points: Tomorrow is "officially the end of Musharraf's current term as president. Which meant the general has to take the new oath - which he is prohibited to do by the house-arrested Supreme Court - and he has to do it as a civilian. The general wants new election for the dissolved assemblies by January 9. My bet is that Musharraf keeps that army uniform on for the while."
The post adds: "BB is getting tons of press. Our intrepid reporters should note that unlike virtually every other opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, seems to have direct access to all international and state media - including holding gloriously orchestrated press conferences."
"Benazir may have landed in Pakistan with deals but the democratic forces - those lawyers and college kids - are forcing her to play by new rules. And I say "forcing" because, trust me, she is no Aung San Suu Kyi."
Meanwhile, Bhutto will remain under house arrest for at least another day, a senior official has told AP.
12.45pm
Students in Lahore have started a hunger strike. The student protest blog Emergency Times has pictures.
2.10pm
Imran Khan has been charged under Pakstan's anti-terrorism laws, according to AP. "He created a law and order situation at the educational institution and caused a disruption in educational activities," Aftab Cheema, a senior police official said.
3.20pm
A cartoon on Pakistanuncut sums up the situation. It shows an emergency tiger drinking at the same river as a nervous looking election goat.
Musharraf has told AP that he plans to stand down as head of the army by the end of the month. He also claimed that it would spark chaos if he resigned.
In yet another interview today (this time with NBC) Musharraf said that the "common man" backs emergency rule.
"You go to the common man and talk to common man - go to the market, go to the villages - let me give you a pulse that I have taken. Believe me that the pulse is that you took the right decision," he said.
Defending censorship of the media, he said: "We are trying to bring responsibility into the media."
4pm
There is more on Imran's arrest, Jamaat-e-Islami's role in it, and allegations of what happened here.
