Court to rule on Musharraf election victory

PAKISTAN was in political limbo yesterday, caught between Gen Pervez Musharraf’s presidential election win and a future court ruling on whether he was even eligible to run.

President Musharraf on Saturday scored an overwhelming victory in a ballot of legislators — a poll boycotted by much of the opposition in protest against the US-allied leader.

The country must wait at least 10 days for the supreme court to either confirm the result or disqualify President Musharraf because of his retention of his powerful role as army chief. Many observers doubt the judges will dare to rule against the military strongman.

With parliamentary elections to follow by January, some analysts predict the government will be too busy trying to secure its survival to tackle spreading Islamic militancy. In a reminder of that threat, the army said it fought two battles with militants near the Afghan border on Sunday that left 50 militants and 20 soldiers dead.

President Musharraf rejected claims that the opposition boycott undermined the election’s legitimacy.

“Democracy means majority, whether there is opposition or no opposition,” he told reporters on the lawn of his official residence.

But an opposition alliance including the party of Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister Musharraf toppled in a 1999 coup, said the vote was illegitimate.

To shore up his support, President Musharraf has held talks with Benazir Bhutto, another former prime minister, which could lead to them sharing power in the next parliament.

On Friday, Musharraf signed into law an amnesty quashing corruption cases pending against Bhutto, paving the way for her planned return on Pakistan on October 18.