Musharraf's Re-Election Cleared, Setting Up Army Exit

Nov. 22 -- Pakistan's Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 military coup, was cleared by the Supreme Court to serve a second term as president, paving the way for him to quit as army chief before parliamentary elections.

``The last of six petitions against the president was dismissed by the Supreme Court,'' Arshad Munir, the top court's spokesman said in a phone interview from Islamabad today. All the judges on the 10-member panel were appointed by Musharraf after he imposed emergency rule on Nov. 3.

Opposition leaders vowed to keep protesting against emergency rule and said they may boycott the election unless Musharraf quits as president and restores the constitution. U.S. President George W. Bush has said emergency rule must be lifted to allow parties to hold rallies and voters to make a free choice.

``We have asked our party members to go ahead and apply to be registered as candidates,'' former prime minister Benazir Bhutto's spokesman Farhatullah Babar said in a phone interview today. ``This does not mean we are participating in elections. We are yet to decide whether to boycott elections.''

Cricket captain turned lawmaker Imran Khan urged opposition parties today to boycott the elections, Dawn News reported. The alliance of religious parties will decide later tonight whether they plan to boycott elections, the television channel said.

Ballot contenders have until Nov. 26 to register with the Election Commission.

Ruling Tomorrow

The court will issue a ruling tomorrow allowing Musharraf to take an oath for a second term, state-run Pakistan Television reported, citing government lawyer Malik Mohammed Qayum. The court barred the Election Commission on Oct. 5 from announcing a winner in the presidential ballot until it ruled on legal challenges.

Musharraf is now likely to quit as the South Asian country's army chief, a post he has held since October 1998. He will probably take an oath as president next week, Dawn News reported, citing Qayum.

The 64-year-old, whose present term ended on Nov. 15, has said he will step down from the military before taking the presidential oath. Musharraf won a majority of votes from lawmakers in an Oct. 6 presidential vote.

The president has said he will hand over responsibility for the army to Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who was promoted to the post of vice army chief, on Oct. 2.

Lawyers Arrested

Since Nov. 3, police have arrested thousands of lawyers, supporters of political parties, human rights activists and journalists. The government said Nov. 20 it released more than 3,000 prisoners.

Musharraf rebuffed pressure from visiting U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte last weekend to restore the constitution, saying emergency rule is necessary to stop the nuclear-armed nation descending into chaos.

The All Parties Democratic Movement, a group of opposition parties including Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Islamic alliance of Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal, plans countrywide rallies on Nov. 23 to protest emergency rule.

Bhutto has said the government plans to rig the parliamentary ballot to help pro-Musharraf candidates win.

Bhutto was the target of Pakistan's worst terrorist attack last month when twin suicide bombers killed 178 people in her homecoming caravan.