President Pervez Musharrraf issued a decree on Monday giving the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) extra powers after the media criticised his suspension of the country's chief justice.

The move sparked pandemonium in parliament on Wednesday with scuffles between slogan-chanting journalists and government officials. There were also several protests around the country earlier in the week.

An official statement said that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, after meeting with broadcasters and newspaper chiefs on Wednesday, had decided that the decree "would be reviewed in totality by a six-member committee."

The committee of three senior media members and three government officials will submit its report to the prime minister "within the shortest possible time," it said.

"Till such time the proceedings under the PEMRA Amendment Ordinance, 2007 will not be initiated against electronic media," it added.

The regulator had been empowered to seal the premises or confiscate the equipment of broadcasters and suspend their licenses. The government earlier blocked transmissions of three private television stations.

More than 6,000 Pakistani lawyers and opposition activists protested Thursday against tough media curbs imposed by President Pervez Musharraf amid a tense judicial crisis.

Demonstrators chanted "Go, Musharraf, go" in the eastern political hub of Lahore and other key cities, even though the government suspended the introduction of the restrictions on broadcasters a day earlier.