ISLAMABAD—Pakistani police detained opposition activists on Monday to stop them protesting in front of the Supreme Court as it resumed hearing petitions against President Pervez Musharraf's plans for re-election.
Musharraf, who is also army chief, plans to seek another term in office from an electoral college including the national and provincial assemblies on Oct. 6 despite opposition from an alliance of political parties demanding an end to military rule.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan faces months of tension as U.S. ally Musharraf tries to cement his rule over a country seen as vital to international efforts to stabilise Afghanistan, and which is often at odds with nuclear-armed neighbour India.
Police in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi launched a crackdown at the weekend on an opposition alliance led by the party of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif in a bid to thwart protests against Musharraf's plan.
Sharif, whom Musharraf ousted in 1999, was deported to Saudi Arabia hours after flying home on Sept. 10, hoping to mount a campaign against Musharraf.
A spokesman for Sharif's party said about 125 leaders and activists had been detained. Government spokesman were unavailable for comment but one official said on Sunday 14 people had been detained as a "preventive measure" to stop disturbances.
"This clearly shows that they are going to hold a sham presidential election at any cost," said Sharif party spokesman, Ahsan Iqbal.
Police with riot shields and batons blocked roads to the Supreme Court in central Islamabad. A Reuters photographer saw police detaining about a dozen activists of an Islamic opposition alliance as they tried to stage a protest.
COURT RULING AWAITED
Musharraf is waiting to hear whether the Supreme Court, regarded as hostile since his attempt to sack its top judge, will uphold challenges to his plan to get elected while army chief.
The court is hearing petitions challenging Musharraf's right to retain the posts of president and army chief, the legality of being elected in uniform, and whether he should be allowed to get a mandate from outgoing assemblies.
A court decision is expected on Tuesday or Wednesday. If the court blocks Musharraf' election, there is speculation he could dissolve parliament or declare emergency rule.
Sharif's party, an allied religious alliance and some other small parties have threatened to resign from assemblies on Sept. 29 when Musharraf's nomination is due to be accepted.
The opposition resignation threat will lack real bite unless the Pakistan People's Party, the largest party led by another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, joins in.
Bhutto has been negotiating a power-sharing pact with Musharraf but she has expressed her reservations over his plans to get himself re-elected while army chief. She had been insisting he quit the army before running for re-relection.
Bhutto, who plans to return home from more than eight years of self-exile on Oct. 18, has said her members might also give up their seats if Musharraf did not take steps to restore democracy.
But even if the whole opposition resigned ahead of the presidential election, Musharraf would still win as he only needs a majority of the votes cast. But a boycott would rob the process of credibility and detract from its legitimacy.
Opposition parties are not expected to nominate a presidential candidate although a group of lawyers opposed to Musharraf said they would put forward a candidate.
A general election is due by mid-January and Musharraf's ruling coalition is expected to suffer heavy losses.
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