Pakistan’s president appealed for national unity after early unofficial returns showed the opposition heading towards victory today in parliamentary elections that could threaten his rule eight years after he seized power in a military coup.

AT LEAST four people were killed ahead of an election rally that Pakistan’s former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was preparing to attend.

Exiled former premier Benazir Bhutto’s party today met to decide whether to end talks with President Gen Pervez Musharraf over a pact that could see them share power and end military rule in Pakistan.

Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain announced his resignation today after just two months in office, as part of an orchestrated power transfer that will see the finance minister take his place by the end of the week.