Court Rules Musharraf Can Stay on As President

Pakistan's supreme court today ruled against the final legal challenge blocking ratification of General Pervez Musharraf's election as president last month.

The decision, made by judges loyal to Musharraf, now clears the way for the general to remain in office as a civilian.

Musharraf replaced the supreme court with his supporters after declaring emergency rule in the country on November 3.

In doing so, he pre-empted the possibility the old court might declare his election invalid because he was head of the military at the time.

Earlier this week, the government claimed to have released about 5,000 jailed political opponents, including Imran Khan, who had been on hunger strike.

Today Khan spoke out, urging other parties to join a boycott of the parliamentary elections, set by Musharraf for January 8.

The former cricket star, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There are very important issues to decide, mainly whether to participate in this fraudulent election or not and how to persuade the genuine opposition parties to boycott these elections.

"Gen Musharraf's popularity is at an all-time low. He knows if he has even a semblance of free and fair elections, he is doomed. His whole party would disappear overnight."

Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister who leads the Pakistan People's party, has said it would be a "good sign" if Musharraf quit his army post and ruled as a civilian president.

She has continued to avoid criticising him directly, and says her party needs time to decide whether to boycott the elections.

A senior leader of a powerful religious alliance, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, or MMA, said his party was inclined to participate in the vote in January, although he also called on Musharraf to lift emergency rule.

Musharraf flew back to Pakistan from Saudi Arabia early yesterday after meeting King Abdullah. Saudi officials said there were efforts to arrange a meeting between Musharraf and Nawaz Sharif, who was deposed as the Pakistani prime minister by the general's coup in 1999.

As the supreme court rubber-stamped Musharraf's election victory, human rights groups called for the immediate release of the former chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, his family and other deposed supreme court judges held under house arrest under emergency rule.

"It's disgraceful that Musharraf is punishing chief justice Chaudhry, who challenged his power-grab, by keeping the judge's family under house arrest," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.

Chaudhry and his family have been under house arrest at Islamabad's Judges' Colony, where senior judges are provided state housing, since November 3, when he was dismissed.

Five other supreme court judges remain confined and at least another five are under house arrest in the central city of Lahore.