Pakistan court sets aside Musharraf's challenges
Anti-Musharraf protest: Pakistani journalists shouting slogans as they protest against the governments decision to shut down private news channels, in Islamabad as Pakistan's top court dismissed five of six challenges to Pervez Musharraf's re-election as president.Picture: AFP
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
PAKISTAN'S purged Supreme Court swatted away the main challenges to Pervez Musharraf's re-election as president yesterday, taking him a step closer to quitting as army chief and restoring civilian rule.
Stripped of hostile judges by Musharraf under a state of emergency after he feared it would rule he was ineligible for another five-year term, the new-look top court took just over two hours to throw out the cases.
Musharraf has promised to hang up his uniform - one of the key demands of the opposition and the international community - as soon as his victory in last month's presidential election is validated.
"There were five petitions, they have all been dismissed. There is only one left, and that will be heard on Thursday," attorney general Malik Mohammad Qayyum said after a hearing from which international media were banned.
The party of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto earlier said it was withdrawing its own challenge against Musharraf's presidency as it did not recognise the new court.
Earlier, military ruler Musharraf made a recommendation to the elections commission that long-promised parliamentary polls be held on January 8.
State media quoted him defending the emergency as "in the interest of the country" and hitting out at opposition parties mulling a boycott of the polls if they are held under emergency.
Musharraf is set to start today a visit to Saudi Arabia, the home in exile of Nawaz Sharif, another key opposition figure and the man the general ousted in October 1999.
Officials said Musharraf was going for talks with Saudi King Abdullah and said that "no meeting with Sharif is on the agenda ". Sharif was deported from Pakistan almost immediately after he tried to return on September 10.
There was no sign of a swift end to the emergency, despite a blunt message Sunday from US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who said it was "not compatible" with holding a free and fair vote.
Negroponte met Musharraf and urged him to free thousands of political opponents, lawyers and rights activists who have been flung into jail, and lift curbs that have shut down private TV news channels.
AFP
Stripped of hostile judges by Musharraf under a state of emergency after he feared it would rule he was ineligible for another five-year term, the new-look top court took just over two hours to throw out the cases.
Musharraf has promised to hang up his uniform - one of the key demands of the opposition and the international community - as soon as his victory in last month's presidential election is validated.
"There were five petitions, they have all been dismissed. There is only one left, and that will be heard on Thursday," attorney general Malik Mohammad Qayyum said after a hearing from which international media were banned.
The party of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto earlier said it was withdrawing its own challenge against Musharraf's presidency as it did not recognise the new court.
Earlier, military ruler Musharraf made a recommendation to the elections commission that long-promised parliamentary polls be held on January 8.
State media quoted him defending the emergency as "in the interest of the country" and hitting out at opposition parties mulling a boycott of the polls if they are held under emergency.
Musharraf is set to start today a visit to Saudi Arabia, the home in exile of Nawaz Sharif, another key opposition figure and the man the general ousted in October 1999.
Officials said Musharraf was going for talks with Saudi King Abdullah and said that "no meeting with Sharif is on the agenda ". Sharif was deported from Pakistan almost immediately after he tried to return on September 10.
There was no sign of a swift end to the emergency, despite a blunt message Sunday from US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who said it was "not compatible" with holding a free and fair vote.
Negroponte met Musharraf and urged him to free thousands of political opponents, lawyers and rights activists who have been flung into jail, and lift curbs that have shut down private TV news channels.
AFP
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