Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf [Images] on Friday asked the caretaker government to maintain law and order at any cost and demonstrate 'neutrality' to ensure that the general elections scheduled for January 8 take place in a "free and fair manner".

Addressing the caretaker Cabinet led by Prime Minister Mohammedmian Soomro at his camp office in Rawalpindi near Islamabad, Musharraf said the government's priority should be the holding of "free, fair and transparent elections and the peaceful transfer of power to the elected government."

Interim administration must also sustain economic growth and "maintain law and order, particularly in the provinces, at any cost and ensure that nothing disrupts the electoral process," state-run APP news agency quoted Musharraf as saying a day after he took oath as a civilian President.

Musharraf's comments follow announcement by All Parties Democratic Movement, an alliance of some 30 opposition parties, including former premier Nawaz Sharif's Paksitan Muslim League-N and the Jamaat-e-Islami that it would boycott the January 8 polls if deposed judges are not reinstated by December 15.

The President stressed that peace and security are 'vital in an environment where Pakistan was combating an upsurge in terrorism". He said "all situations of conflict must be avoided."

Musharraf advised the government to allow "full access to international observers and the national and foreign media by facilitating them during the electoral process." He said he expected the government to demonstrate neutrality in day-to-day affairs.

"Your neutrality will be of critical value and you must make every effort to demonstrate it through your actions," he said.

The gains of the past eight years need to be consolidated through continuity of policies and actions, Musharraf said, adding that Pakistan must keep moving on the development track.

Musharraf also said he was a "firm believer in freedom of the media", which was "free to criticise the policies and actions of the government, including himself." However, he urged the media to avoid "misreporting, sensationalism and defamation", which were not acceptable in any free and civilised society. Though most TV news channels were taken off the air after Musharraf imposed emergency on November 3, all of them except Geo TV have since returned to cable networks.

Geo resumed broadcasting from Dubai on Thursday, but is only available via satellite. The TV channels had to accept a government-mandated code of conduct to resume broadcasting.

Advising the caretaker administration to ensure that development projects, especially those related to water resource development, power generation and infrastructure, progressed smoothly, Musharraf said he would "continue to watch their progress with interest."