"I appeal to people to maintain peace and stability," said the president in a televised address to the nation.

Violence gripped many parts of the country after former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination on Dec. 27, leaving 58 people dead and causing tens of millions of US dollars in damage, including to many election and administrative offices.

Vested groups exploited the situation as the poor people suffered, and daily wage earners suffered the most, the president said.

The extent of damage in the Sindh province is unimaginable, he said.

He said it is necessary to deploy the army to deal with the situation.

"The deployment of the army and rangers is a necessity now," he said.

Musharraf said he was "sad and angry" as the public over the recent assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

"I condole the death of Benazir Bhutto," he said.

Vested groups exploited the situation as the poor suffered and daily wage earners suffered the most, the president said.

He also said that a Scotland Yard forensic team has been invited to help probe the assassination of Benazir Bhutto.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has agreed to send the team to help Pakistan in the investigations, he said.

His address came three hours after the decision by the election commission to postpone the Jan. 8 elections until Feb. 18.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said yesterday that his opposition party will take part in the Feb. 18 parliamentary elections, a party spokesman said.

Another major opposition party, Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), however, announced yesterday that it had not decided on what choices it would make on the postponement of parliamentary elections.