Pakistans's President Frees Thousands of Opponents

President Musharraf freed thousands of opponents from jails Tuesday in a sign he is rolling back a wave of repression under emergency rule and flew to Saudi Arabia to talk about the future of an exiled rival, Nawaz Sharif. Saudi officials said there were efforts to arrange a meeting between Musharraf and Sharif, who was ousted as prime minister by the general's l999 coup. However, a Pakistani official said Musharraf's goal was to prevent Sharif from returning before parliamentary elections January 8.