Musharraf steps closer to another term

A Supreme Court hand-picked by President Pervez Musharraf swiftly dismissed legal challenges to his continued rule today, opening the way for him to serve another five-year term this time solely as a civilian president.

Opponents have denounced the new court, saying any decisions by a tribunal stripped of independent voices have no credibility.

Gen. Musharraf sacked all the judges who opposed him when he declared emergency rule earlier this month, days before the tribunal was expected to rule on his eligibility to serve as president.

The US has put immense pressure on him to restore the constitution and free thousands of political opponents jailed under the emergency before Pakistan’s critical parliamentary elections on January 8.

Today’s court ruling could hasten his decision to stand down as head of the military. The general has said he would quit as armed forces commander by the end of the month, assuming he was given the legal go-ahead by the court to remain as president.

Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar dismissed three opposition petitions challenging gen Musharraf's victory in a disputed presidential election last month, saying two had been “withdrawn” because opposition lawyers were not present in court.

The third was withdrawn by a lawyer for the party of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, who suggested the court was illegitimate.

“We asked for (the case) to be postponed because we said there is no constitution,” she said after a meeting with the US ambassador. She said she had no plans to revive power-sharing negotiations with gen. Musharraf, broken off after the his decision to declare emergency rule.

“We are not going back to the former track,” Ms Bhutto said. “We are interested in a road map for democracy, but we do not have the confidence that general Musharraf’s regime could give us that road map.”

The court said it would rule on Thursday on another petition from a man whose candidacy for the presidential election was rejected by the election commission. Only then can it authorise the election commission to announce gen. Musharraf the winner of the vote.