Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today canvassed ruling party parliamentarians to support his bid for five more years in power.
Leaders of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's party Pakistan Muslim League (N) Raja Zafarul Haq (L) and Javed Hashami leave the Supreme Court building in Islamabad today. Pic: Reuters/Mian Khursheed
General Musharraf wants to be re-elected by sitting national and provincial assemblies between mid-September and mid-October before their dissolution for a general election due by the turn of the year.
His plans could come unstuck if the Supreme Court were to uphold constitutional challenges. The opposition is likely to mount those against both his being re-elected by the outgoing assemblies, and while still army chief.
Gen Musharraf flew to the central city of Faisalabad to rally support from legislators belonging to the ruling Pakistan Muslim League Quaid-e-Azam (PML-Q), a party he cobbled together after coming to power in a 1999 coup.
"The president told the parliamentarians that he is going to contest the election in uniform and it is fully according to the law and constitution," Minister for Textile Industries Mushtaq Ali Cheema said. "We assured full cooperation and support to him and told him we stand by him."
A government official said Musharraf, who popularity has plummeted, planned several more meetings to rally support in the PML-Q.