Pakistan enters political limbo

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan has entered a period of political limbo, caught between Gen. Pervez Musharraf's presidential election win and a future Supreme Court ruling on whether he was even eligible to run.

Musharraf scored an overwhelming victory Saturday in a vote by lawmakers that was boycotted by much of the opposition in protest against the U.S.-allied military leader.

The country must wait at least 10 days for the Supreme Court to either confirm the result or disqualify Musharraf, because he ran for re-election while retaining his position as army chief, which the constitution prohibits.

Although the court this year has issued rulings that have shaken Musharraf's dominance, analysts question whether it would dare deny him victory and potentially throw the country into chaos. On Sunday, The Nation newspaper printed a cartoon showing Musharraf frowning toward the Supreme Court, his fingers crossed behind his back.

"The government cannot afford to take the courts for granted," an editorial in the Lahore-based daily said. Watch what people at a weekend market were more concerned by »

Saturday's election has gone down among the most controversial in Pakistan's turbulent 60-year history. Musharraf won 671 votes, while a retired judge who was his main rival received just eight. In all, 1,170 federal and provincial lawmakers were eligible to vote.

Musharraf dismissed criticism that the boycott had 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. "A majority, a vast majority, have voted for me and therefore that result is the result."

But an opposition alliance -- including the party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whom Musharraf toppled in a 1999 coup -- said the vote was illegitimate.

"The election has no moral or constitutional value," Raja Zafarul Haq, a leader of the alliance, told The Associated Press on Sunday.

He said leaders of the All Parties Democratic Movement would meet in the coming days to plan protests against Musharraf, although their strike call on Saturday was widely ignored.

The Supreme Court has already dismissed several complaints that Musharraf was ineligible under a constitutional ban on public servants running for office. But it said Friday that the election results cannot be declared official until it has issued its verdict on fresh petitions.

The court has said it will resume hearing the petitions against Musharraf on October 17.

Still, Musharraf allies took heart that the court had allowed the vote to be held among lawmakers chosen in flawed 2002 polls rather than waiting for parliamentary elections due by January, where his allies may lose ground.

To shore up his support, Musharraf has held talks with Benazir Bhutto, another former prime minister, which could lead to their sharing power in the country's 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.

Bhutto's secular, liberal party has also snubbed the broader opposition alliance, which includes Islamist parties opposed to Pakistan's frontline role in Washington's war on terror.

Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup, has promised to vacate his army post before starting a new five-year term -- one of Bhutto's key demands.

Musharraf's standing and authority have crumbled since his clumsy attempt to fire the chief justice of the Supreme Court in March. His government has also received much blame for the widening gap between the rich and poor, which has occurred despite an economic boom.

While Musharraf argues that he should stay on to ensure that Pakistan enjoys a smooth transition to civilian rule and to strengthen its fight against extremism, prolonged political wrangling could dilute his focus.

"How many fronts can the government pursue simultaneously?" Hasan-Askari Rizvi, a prominent political analyst, wrote in Sunday's Daily Times newspaper. "If internal political conditions do not stabilize, the militants will get more space to carry out their activities."

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. E-mail to a friend

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