Pakistan ex-judge to stand against Musharraf

PAKISTAN: Pakistani lawyers announced Monday that they would field a former judge as a candidate against military ruler Pervez Musharraf in presidential elections due on October 6.

Wajih-udin Ahmad, who was previously a judge in the Supreme Court, is the only person so far standing against Musharraf as the Pakistani leader seeks a second five-year term in office.

The president is to be elected in a vote by parliament.

Pakistan's lawyers have opposed Musharraf since he suspended the country's chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, on March 9. Chaudhry was later reinstated by the Supreme Court.

"We have nominated Wajih-udin Ahmad, he is a very respected judge and he will be our candidate for president," Supreme Court bar association president Munir Malik told reporters outside the court. He said Ahmad would be proposed and seconded by other lawyers but did not disclose who they were. Ahmad would likely file his nomination papers on Thursday, the deadline for doing so, he added.

Musharraf, has said he will step down from the army soon after the election if he wins, a move that has sparked protests by the opposition. Meanwhile Riot police arrested dozens of protesters who were chanting slogans against President Gen. Musharraf on Monday as Pakistan's Supreme Court resumed on hearings on the legality of his re-election bid.

Opposition parties claimed hundreds of their members have been arrested after police began taking their leaders into preventive custody late Saturday for allegedly planning to foment unrest. Officials imposed a ban on gatherings of more than five people in the capital.

The decision by the court, which is considering a slew of legal actions, is expected within days, with the vote by federal and provincial legislators scheduled for Oct. 6. Attorney General Malik Mohammed Qayyum has expressed confidence that Musharraf will prevail, saying the government has a strong case.

Roads leading to the court were blocked with barbed wire. TV footage showed some would-be protesters sprinting away as riot police approached, but dozens began regrouping later, punching their fists in the air as they chanted slogans against the president.

Police arrested about 30 who congregated a few hundred meters (yards) from the court shouting anti-Musharraf slogans.

"The U.S. government hired a dog in uniform," protesters shouted, referring to Musharraf's alliance with Washington. Detainees were bundled into police vehicles. Others were chased off by police down the road, away from the court.

Some parties have asked the nine-judge Supreme Court panel to declare Musharraf ineligible to run as long as he retains his powerful dual role as army chief - a post that he has offered to resign if he is voted in.

The government threw a chill into the opposition movement with the crackdown. In addition to the leaders arrested in police sweeps in Islamabad, others who were targeted went into hiding, calling the detentions a sign of desperation by the president.

"The government has ordered the arrests of opposition leaders because they were threatening (to create) a law and order problem in the capital," Deputy Information Minister Sen. Tariq Azim told The Associated Press on Sunday, confirming the detention of "five or six" senior figures in the opposition coalition, the All Parties Democratic Movement.

Islamabad, Monday, AFP, AP