Twin blasts kill seven in Pakistan

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) -- Two explosions struck the southwestern Pakistan city of Quetta on Thursday, killing seven people -- three Pakistani security forces and four civilians -- government officials have said.

The army could not confirm reports that the blasts were caused by suicide bombers.

The attack came after President Pervez Musharraf said earlier this week that he will lift Pakistan's state of emergency Saturday, less than a month before general elections set for January 8. The emergency was declared on November 3.

But Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum has said that the president, who stepped down from his army chief role last month, will change the Pakistani charter to ensure that his decisions will not be subject to legal challenges, The Associated Press has reported.

Qayyum added that the alterations would be made public ahead of the lifting of emergency rule at the weekend.

"The president will lift the emergency to restore the constitution and the fundamental rights," Qayyum said in comments reported by AP.

Meanwhile, lawyers in Pakistan have continued to demonstrate emergency rule, despite Musharraf saying it will end shortly.

In Lahore, around 1,000 lawyers shouted anti-Musharraf slogans, the agency reported, and demanded that the president re-employ judges removed from power under the emergency rule.

And journalists have continued to protest against the government clampdown on media, after the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority told TV stations earlier this week to desist from airing live broadcasts which "contain baseless propaganda against Pakistan and incite people to violence" or else face three-year sentences and fines of up to $170,000, AP said.

Defending the warning, Information Minister Nisar Memon said: "Every one of us in Pakistan should share the responsibility and work for betterment of the country by keeping the environment conducive for the polls."

But the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists claimed Wednesday that the government was staging "an attempt to silence the free media" that would impact opposition leaders. E-mail to a friend

CNN's Mohsin Naqvi in Lahore contributed to this report

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