2 pleas against Musharraf’s re-election bid dismisssed

Riot police arrested dozens of opposition activists protesting against Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf.

Riot police arrested dozens of opposition activists protesting against President General Pervez Musharraf on Monday as Pakistan’s Supreme Court dismissed two legal challenges to his re-election bid.

However, the court was still weighing five other petitions arguing that Musharraf’s dual role as army chief and president is illegal and that he is ineligible to seek another five-year term.

Opposition parties claimed hundreds of their members have been detained since police began taking their leaders into preventive custody late Saturday for allegedly planning to foment unrest.

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Roads leading to the court were blocked with barbed wire. Police arrested about 30 protesters who congregated a few hundred meters from the court shouting anti-Musharraf slogans as they punched their fists in the air.

Detainees were bundled into police vehicles.

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 wins the vote.

Presiding Judge Rana Bhagwandas dismissed, without explanation, a petition filed by a retired government official arguing that Musharraf should step down immediately as president.

He also rejected a complaint that the courts had failed to stop a constitutional amendment in 2003 that allowed Musharraf to serve as both president and head of the military.

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Bhagwandas said it was too late to address that grievance.