Judges smooth way for Musharraf's new role

The last obstacle to Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf taking control as a civilian leader was cleared away today by a court run by judges loyal to his regime.

The Supreme Court, purged by Gen. Musharraf of his opponents earlier this month, threw out a final challenge to the legality of his election.

He is now in a position to carry out his promise to step down as head of the army, possibly as soon as this weekend, and partly defuse international criticism of his running of the country.

However, the party of former cricket star turned politician Imran Khan today led calls for an opposition boycott of January parliamentary elections that the West hopes will produce a moderate government able to turn a tide of Islamic militancy.

Today’s court ruling “means there is no challenge to his eligibility (to serve as president) and to the election,”, Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum said. He said the court will order election authorities to formally accept the result tomorrow.

After that, “the president will be free to take the oath” as a civilian president, he said.

Gen. Musharraf declared the emergency just before the Supreme Court was to rule on complaints that the constitution bars the head of the army from running for elected office.

Under the crackdown, independent TV news channels have been taken off the air and thousands of lawyers and opposition and human rights activists taken into custody. Journalists have been beaten for protesting over the media curbs.

The US has stood by gen. Musharraf, a key ally in its war on terrorism, but is the loudest voice in an international chorus calling for him to lift the emergency before the January 8 elections.

A meeting of Commonwealth foreign ministers in Africa is due to discuss suspending Pakistan’s membership.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Gen. Musharraf promised in a phone call to “do his utmost” to lift the emergency in time to allow free and fair elections and to quit the army as soon as possible.

“We have co-operated closely with Pakistan on economic and political reform, counter-radicalisation and vital regional issues, but President Musharraf has no doubt about the strength of feeling in the international community” over his decision to restrict civil liberties by declaring a state of emergency, Mr Brown said.

Washington, London and other capitals with troops in neighbouring Afghanistan have been hoping for a deal between gen. Musharraf and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who has echoed his calls for moderates to unite against militancy and extremism linked to the Taliban and al-Qaida.

Pakistan’s opposition parties appear split on whether to boycott the elections which will be a critical test of whether gen. Musharraf can weather the political storm.

Ms Bhutto’s party said that as well as lifting the emergency and quitting the military role, gen. Musharraf would have to reconstitute the Election Commission and suspend district mayors to ensure a fair ballot.

However, it said the opposition could take weeks to reach an agreement on a boycott, and Ms Bhutto said its candidates would file nomination papers “under protest” in the meantime.

“We don’t want to give a walkover to the opposition,” she said.

Khan took a harder line, saying that his small party had decided to boycott the balloting. However, he later said the final decision would depend on whether he can convince others to follow suit.

Khan ended a hunger strike begun in jail, from where he was freed yesterday.

The government says it is releasing all of the thousands of opposition activists rounded up since Musharraf imposed emergency rule.

However, it has yet to say whether the emergency will be lifted before the polls, despite the danger that it will undermine the legitimacy of the next government and deny Pakistan badly needed political stability.

It has also refused to let Nawaz Sharif, another former prime minister, return from exile in Saudi Arabia to compete in the elections.