More than 1,000 people were arrested in Pakistan today as lawyers, human rights activists and political moderates took to the streets to protest at the suspension of the country's democracy.

Riot police were forced to fire tear gas and wield batons to break up angry demonstrations in almost all of Pakistan's major towns and cities. More than 1,500 people have been arrested in the past 48 hours - some of them political opponents of President Pervez Musharraf who were rounded up on Sunday, and others lawyers and human rights activists held today.

David Miliband , Britain's Foreign Secretary, urged General Musharraf to reconsider his actions and warned that the "whole world will be watching".

"Decisions that have been taken in the past two days are not in the interests of Pakistan and not in the interests of the fight against terrorism," he said. “President Musharraf has the opportunity to be absolutely clear about election dates, about his own position as a civilian leader. That sort of clarity can only help. The next few weeks are going to be critical in determining the international community’s engagement with Pakistan across the whole range of issues.”

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There is a growing possibility that ultimately the army will intervene and force General Musharraf to step down

Zahid Hussain, Times correspondent in Islamabad

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He added that he had been in contact with Ms Bhutto and with Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan who was removed from office by General Musharraf in 1999 in a military coup. Mr Miliband praised Ms Bhutto for acting with "real statesmanship over the last 24 hours".

In a nightmare day for the Government, the Pakistan stock market has plummeted and America has suspended key defence talks which had been due to start tomorrow. It also sharply criticised its erstwhile ally, threatening to cut off its multi-billion dollar aid budget, while Islamic militants have exploited the chaos to set off more explosions in the lawless north of the country.

Benazir Bhutto, the former Prime Minister who returned recently to Pakistan to form an alliance with General Musharraf, has threatened to hold talks with other opposition leaders about supplanting him.

As the country appeared to be lurching towards becoming ungovernable, rumours flew this morning that the President himself had been placed under house arrest by his second in command at the head of the Pakistan army, forcing General Musharraf to issue a denial.

"It is a joke of the highest order," he told the Reuters news agency from the Presidency building in Islamabad, where he had just sworn in some new judges and met more than 80 foreign diplomats to explain his decision to suspend the constitution.

In response the beleaguered Government of General Musharraf tonight promised that parliamentary elections will be held on schedule in Pakistan in January despite the imposition of emergency rule.

The promise, in statements by the Prime Minister and Attorney General, appeared to be an attempt to stave off the breakdown of law and order, after General Musharraf's dramatic announcement on television on Saturday night that he was suspending the country's democracy in response to the threat from Islamic terror and interference by the courts.

"The next general elections will be held according to the schedule," Shaukat Aziz, the Prime Minister, told the official Associated Press of Pakistan news agency.

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