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Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, warning the country faced "great danger," appealed for calm and unity as his government delayed crucial parliamentary elections and sought outside help for a probe into the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

In a televised address, Mr. Musharraf expressed grief over the Dec. 27 death of Ms. Bhutto, who was killed at a campaign rally in Rawalpindi. But he also catalogued extensive damage caused by the rioting, looting and arson -- mostly in the Bhutto family stronghold of Sindh -- in the wake of the assassination. He said that Islamist terrorists, who he blamed for the attack, were seeking to take advantage of the country's political troubles.

Mr. Musharraf said that public disorder made holding elections, originally scheduled for Jan. 8, extremely difficult. Earlier in the day, the Pakistani government said it would delay a national vote until Feb. 18, more than six weeks later than originally scheduled, because of the country's "law and order" situation.