Pakistani Supreme Court dismisses challenges to Musharraf's rule

Pakistan's new government-selected Supreme Court judges dismissed legal challenges to President Gen. Pervez Musharraf's continued rule Monday.

Opposition figures denounced the court as lacking credibility because the tribunal was stripped of independent judges as one of the first acts by Musharraf after he established emergency rule on Nov. 3.

The judges struck down several challenges to Musharraf's right to have run for re-election while still army chief.

Opponents had argued that he ought to have been disqualified under a constitutional ban on public servants running for elected office, which they said applied because Musharraf was still army chief.

The move paves the way for Musharraf to step down as army chief. He had vowed earlier to remove his uniform and be sworn in as a civilian president for his next five-year term if the court cleared his Oct. 6 re-election.

Opposition petitions withdrawn

Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar dismissed three opposition petitions challenging Musharraf's victory. Two were "withdrawn" because opposition lawyers were not present in court, he said, and the third was withdrawn by a lawyer for the party of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, who suggested the court was illegitimate.