Musharraf cleared for re-election
Alliance of opposition parties says it will resign ahead of the presidential poll.
Published On 4 Oct 2007
Mass resignation
The All Parties Democratic Movement also said that the chief minister of North West Frontier Province would call for the dissolution of the provincial assembly the same day.
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“Pakistan needs a military leader who can control both civil and possible military extremism” Creative_person01, Islamabad, Pakistan |
The alliance does not include Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party.
The resignations would not derail the vote, Musharraf needs only to win most of the votes cast and his party holds a majority in parliament, but it would detract from its credibility.
Zahid Saeed, a former Pakistan ambassador, told Al Jazeera: “There will still be objections from the opposition as Musharraf still has these two offices. They can possibly raise the objections before the electoral commission.
Kamal Hyder, Al Jazeera’s correspondent in Islamabad, said: “Many analysts have told me the battle in the courts may be over, but the political battle is just beginning. That is going to be fought on the streets.”
Three other petitions against Musharraf standing for re-election had been dismissed earlier in the week.
Musharraf has already served two terms, coming to power in a coup in 1999.
Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies