VOA常速英语2007年-Pakistan's PM Says No Date Set for National Ele

By Barry Newhouse
Islamabad
04 November 2007

One day after Pakistan's president declared a state of emergency, the country's prime minister says officials have not yet decided¹ when new national elections will be held. Meanwhile, Pakistan is bracing² for protests Monday against emergency rule and possible election delays. VOA's Barry Newhouse reports from Islamabad, where Shaukat Aziz also discussed whether President Pervez Musharraf will step down as chief of the army. 

Shaukat Aziz told reporters in a news conference that the government is still committed to holding elections, but he said the timing³ is now uncertain.

"When you have an emergency, the parliament could give itself more time - up to a year - and in terms of holding the next elections," Mr. Aziz said. "However, at this point, no decision has been made and we are deliberating.  When we decide what deliberations results in, we will certainly share it with you."

Before Mr. Musharraf suspended the constitution, elections were scheduled to be held in early January.

That timetable, as well as pending⁴ legal challenges to General Musharraf's unofficial re-election last month, has been thrown into disarray⁵ by the state of emergency.

Senior judges have been forced to sign an oath to uphold a new provisional constitution imposed by Mr. Musharraf.  State television reports 17 have now done so.  Other judges, including the Supreme⁶ Court Chief Justice, have refused to sign and have been placed under house arrest.

When asked if General Musharraf still plans to step down as army chief, the prime minister said officials are waiting to see how the courts rule on the legality of his re-election.

Mr. Aziz also discussed new media laws, which ban news coverage⁷ that officials believe ridicules⁸ or endangers the government.

"I think a code of conduct is a necessary development," Mr. Aziz said. "We will obviously discuss with the newspaper and electronic media community.  Which I think you are starting discussions very soon and then we will form a code of conduct."

Independent and foreign news broadcasts remain off the air in Pakistan.  Phone service has been restored.

Mr. Aziz also says up to 500 people have been detained across the country under the emergency laws.  The detentions⁹ include opposition¹⁰ leaders and human-rights activists¹¹.

Meanwhile, Pakistan's military says pro-Taliban militants¹² have freed 211 Pakistani troops held captive since late August in a tribal¹³ region near the Afghan border.

An army spokesman said the men were freed through the efforts of a tribal council, known as a jirga. 

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 bracing   

adj.令人振奋的

参考例句：

• The country is bracing itself for the threatened enemy invasion. 这个国家正准备奋起抵抗敌人的入侵威胁。
• The atmosphere in the new government was bracing. 新政府的气氛是令人振奋的。

3 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

4 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

5 disarray   

n.混乱，紊乱，凌乱

参考例句：

• His personal life fell into disarray when his wife left him.妻子离去后，他的个人生活一片混乱。
• Our plans were thrown into disarray by the rail strike.铁路罢工打乱了我们的计划。

6 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 ridicules   

n.嘲笑( ridicule的名词复数 )；奚落；嘲弄；戏弄v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

9 detentions   

拘留( detention的名词复数 )； 扣押； 监禁； 放学后留校

参考例句：

• Teachers may assign detention tasks as they wish and some detentions have been actually dangerous. 老师可能随心所欲指派关禁闭的形式，有些禁闭事实上很危险。
• Intimidation, beatings and administrative detentions are often enough to prevent them from trying again. 恐吓，拷打和行政拘留足以阻止请愿者二次进京的脚步。

10 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

11 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

13 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。