Bhutto amnesty no political cure

ISLAMABAD, -- Pakistan's Supreme Court decided a presidential election President Pervez Musharraf is sure of winning could go ahead today, but he cannot claim victory until it rules if he is eligible to serve.

U.S. ally General Musharraf is sure to win the vote in parliament and the country's four provincial assemblies.

However, the court's decision on Friday to keep open the possibility of disqualification deepened a sense of uncertainty in Pakistan, just as Musharraf appeared to secure his future with a potential alliance with opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

After frantic negotiations with former prime minister Bhutto, Musharraf appeared on the brink of an accord with a potential ally who could shore up his position after a general election due by mid-January.

Bhutto plans to end more than eight years of self-exile on Oct. 18, and lead her Pakistan People's Party in the election.

The first stage of a power-sharing deal appeared settled on Friday when Musharraf signed a so-called National Reconciliation Ordinance that will erase 11 pending corruption charges against Bhutto and her husband. Other politicians and civil servants were also cleared of graft charges levelled before October 1999.

The ordinance excluded Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister Musharraf ousted and exiled in 1999, and blocked from returning last month, as he has been convicted of corruption.

Delivering the election ruling, judge Javed Iqbal said the court wanted more time to consider the merits of last-gasp opposition objections to Musharraf standing for office while army chief.

"I am fully confident that the Supreme Court will give a balanced judgment," Musharraf said during a phone-in on Pakistan Television, adding that the court had now recognized his right to seek election by the current parliament.

His rivals were relieved that Musharraf would not be awarded victory today, even though they wanted the vote postponed.

"It is a partial relief for us. Today's order is the first step towards our victory," said Hamid Khan, a lawyer for Wajihuddin Ahmed, a retired judge standing against Musharraf.

The court has scheduled its next hearing for Oct. 17.

The case is being heard by a bench of 10 judges, who are believed to be less receptive to the government than a bench that dismissed challenges to Musharraf's candidacy a week ago.

Until this year there was little political threat to Musharraf, but an ill-judged attempt to oust the Supreme Court chief justice in March alienated a previously docile judiciary and sparked a pro-democracy lawyers' movement.

The fate of Musharraf and nuclear-armed Pakistan is being closely watched, especially by Western nations who have troops in Afghanistan and feel threatened by al Qaeda militants hiding on the Pakistani-Afghan border.

Musharraf's term is due to end on Nov. 15 and he has vowed to leave the army if elected and be sworn in as a civilian leader eight years after taking power in a coup that ended a decade of civilian rule with Pakistan virtually bankrupt.

The uniform is important to Musharraf because as long as he remains army chief he could declare emergency rule or martial law -- options he has said he will not take.

Musharraf suffered the setback after a week in which several pieces needed to secure his future appeared to fall into place.

Bhutto said on Thursday that once the reconciliation pact was in place, her party would not join others trying to ruin the credibility of the presidential election by quitting parliament. She said her party would abstain or vote for its own candidate.