Morning Wrap

Pakistan: Pakistan’s president Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Sunday that declaring a state of emergency rule in his country earlier this month was “the most difficult decision” he’s ever made, but that it was necessary to “save the democratic process.” He announced that he plans to hold parliamentary elections by January, but declined to say when emergency rule in Pakistan would end, reports the WaPo. That could mean elections will be held while most of the nation’s civil liberties and its constitution are still suspended. Musharraf’s government has also inched closer to martial law by instating additional military powers that allow the court-martialing of civilians for offenses from treason to “giving statements conducive to public mischief.”

Dems in Iowa: The Democratic presidential candidates got fired up Saturday night at their party’s annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in Iowa. Sens. Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joseph Biden, and Christopher Dodd, Gov. Bill Richardson, and John Edwards all gave speeches at the event. But according to many in attendance, it was Obama who stole the show. “In the view of many in the audience, he emerged as the oratorical winner at the biggest Democratic political event in Iowa before the state’s January caucus,” said the WaPo. While Obama has taken criticism for not being tough enough on his opponents- namely frontrunner Clinton- the WaPo called his speech this weekend “one of his most focused and powerful.”

Asian markets fall: A drastic decline in Asian stock markets today reflected last Friday’s drop on Wall Street, reports the NYT. Some of the biggest sell-offs were in Japan, where the benchmark Topix index fell 2.5 percent- its lowest level in more than two years. In Hong Kong, the Hang Sang index fell 3.9 percent, and the Kospi index in South Korea dropped 3.4 percent. Today was the first day of trading in Asia since Wachovia and other American banks announced subprime-related losses Friday.