KARACHI, Pakistan - Gunbattles and attacks killed at least 18 people and wounded dozens Saturday as Pakistan's political crisis descended into violence between rival parties over President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's suspension of the chief justice.

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Pro-government and opposition activists fought street battles in at least four parts of the sprawling city, and traded assault rifle fire in a residential area of bungalows and concrete apartment blocks just a half mile from Karachi's international airport. A private TV network came under fire, but stayed on air as rioters torched vehicles outside.

The fighting broke out as Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry arrived for what organizers hoped would be the largest in two months of rallies by lawyers and opposition parties protesting his ouster. Pro-government parties were responding with their own shows of strength.

The judge refused an offer from authorities to travel to the planned downtown rally by helicopter and was stranded at the airport — as were hundreds of passengers from earlier flights — by the makeshift roadblocks surrounding it, as well as at least one gunfight a half-mile away.

Witnesses said that shipping containers, trucks and oil tankers, many with deflated tires, had been parked on key roads in Karachi overnight — apparently to obstruct Chaudhry's supporters from welcoming the judge at the airport. No planes were taking off or landing.

A few dozen lawyers walked to the airport anyway to greet Chaudhry, chanting, "We are with you! Down with Musharraf!"

"The chief justice will only go to the city by road," said Aitzaz Ahsan, an attorney for Chaudhry.

Musharraf on Saturday ruled out declaring a state of emergency in response to the turmoil sparked by his March 9 suspension of Chaudhry. In comments reported by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan news agency, the military leader urged the nation to stand united and remain peaceful.

Officials contacted at three hospitals in Karachi reported at least 18 people had died in the violence and 55 were wounded. Police reported more than 70 wounded, many from gunfire.

Opposition activists accused a pro-government party, the Mutahida Qami Movement (MQM), of attacking them with batons and gunfire as they attempted to greet the judge at Karachi airport. An AP reporter could see MQM supporters calling for ammunition and firing from buildings; opposition supporters were firing back.

Wasim Akhtar, an MQM official with the provincial government, urged the chief justice to go back to Islamabad to avoid further violence.

Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless coup in 1999 and is still army chief, was due to address a huge gathering in the capital Islamabad later Saturday that organizers expected would draw over 300,000 ruling party supporters.

Speaking earlier in the day, Musharraf made no explicit mention of the Karachi violence, but ruled out declaring a state of emergency — which some analysts have suggested would let him cling onto power if his efforts to seek a new presidential term flounder.

"There is absolutely no requirement and absolutely no environment for taking such drastic measure," Musharraf was quoted as saying.

But the government's failure to contain the unrest in Karachi, despite the presence of 15,000 security forces, will deepen the political turmoil gripping Pakistan.

Gunshots were heard across the city of 15 million, which has a history of militancy and political violence. Abdul Rahman Akhund, a leader of the opposition Awami National Party, said at least five of their supporters had been wounded in MQM firing.

Baton-wielding MQM supporters were also accused of attacking about 200 lawyers as they marched to Sindh High Court, where Chaudhry was due to make an address. Naeem Quereshi, a spokesman for the Karachi Bar Association, said dozens of lawyers were injured in attacks by MQM activists across the city.

Earlier, Pakistan's interior minister, Aftab Khan Sherpao, had offered assurances that no one would be allowed to "disrupt peace" in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial hub — although opposition parties accused the government of condoning the unrest.

"The government is providing all facilities to the MQM for its rally, and we are being harassed, attacked and humiliated," said Marajul Huda, Karachi chief of Jamaat-e-Islami.

In the 1990s, scores of MQM activists were arrested for allegedly kidnapping dozens of their rivals and attacking security forces. Party activists are still heavily armed, but critics say they enjoy impunity as part of Musharraf's government.

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