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Central & South Asia
Musharraf cleared for re-election
Alliance of opposition parties says it will resign ahead of the presidential poll.
Last Modified: 04 Oct 2007 16:03 GMT
Musharraf says he will step down as
head of the army if re-elected [EPA]

The supreme court of Pakistan has ruled that General Pervez Musharraf, the country's existing president, is free to stand for re-election.
 
Friday's decision came as the court dismissed legal challenges calling for him to be prevented from standing again while still head of the army. Lawyers in the public gallery protested loudly at the ruling.
Judge Rana Bhagwandas, head of the nine-member bench which made the decision, said: "As per majority six-three, the petitions are not maintanable."
 
An alliance of opposition parties said on Thursday that its members would resign from assemblies on Tuesday if Musharraf was allowed to stand.
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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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 and agencies
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