Pak Opposition to resign if General doesn't relent

Opposition lawmakers in Pakistan on Thursday threatened to resign en masse if President Pervez Musharraf seeks a second term in uniform, even as an influential minister said the General could consider imposing emergency if all avenues for re-election are blocked.

As the Election Commission announced October 6 as the date for presidential polls, opposition leaders, including from former premier Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party, said they will close ranks and quit the national and provincial assemblies, the electoral college of the polls, to deprive Musharraf's election of any credibility.

A strong reaction came from PPP of Bhutto, with whom Musharraf held talks during the past few months to work out a political rapprochement.

PPP spokesman Faratullah Babar said, "We have already made it clear. If he submits his nomination without removing his uniform, then we will consider resigning from assemblies along with other opposition parties."

He said the much-expected quid pro quo political deal between Bhutto and Musharraf has not materialised.

"As of now there is progress on the deal and no agreement has been reached," he said, amid reports that Musharraf's emissaries began talks with Bhutto in Dubai on Thursday.

Babar said there is still a week left for Musharraf to file his nomination and a compromise could still be worked out. But the General has to meet the party's demands, including removal of the rule barring Bhutto and former premier Nawaz Sharif from becoming prime minister for the third time, he said.

Raja Zafarul Haq from Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-N said, "The entire opposition is one on this. The PPP too has stated the same. We expect a united stand on the plans to resign."    

Leaders of Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal also said they will quit the assemblies if Musharraf sticks to his plan.

Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid admitted that if PPP too resigns, then Musharraf's re-election will suffer from a lack of credibility, especially in the international community and in that event Musharraf will be left with an option to impose emergency or martial law.

"If Bhutto's party resigns, it is going to affect credibility (of the election). We do not need her support for votes but need it for international credibility," he said, while reacting to the PPP's stand.

He declined to speculate on the likely judgment of Supreme Court on petitions challenging Musharraf's re-election plans but said if conditions are not conducive, declaration of emergency is an option.