Presidential Election Alert:

President Gen Pervez Musharraf passed a Presidential Order in 2002 restricting the holder of the post of Prime Minister to 2 terms only. Both Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif have exhausted their terms in the 1990s.

If they are to contest the forthcoming general elections, then Musharraf must first rescind that Order. And Bhutto and Sharif fully understand that Musharraf will do that only if he is returned as President for another term.

The holder of the post of President is also restricted to 2 terms. That could have disqualified Musharraf too - he has held the office from 1999 to 2002 and from 2002 to the present. But the Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that Musharraf's first term was extra-constitutional - he took power in a coup - and therefore did not count as a term. This allows him to contest once again for the Presidency.

Both Bhutto and Sharif are threatening to block his election if he does not revoke the Order. The public expression of this is their political demand that Musharraf must shed his uniform before seeking re-election.

Musharraf is calling their bluff. The Islamabad grapevine has it that Musharraf has made it clear to both Bhutto and Sharif that if he is not re-elected, the Order would not be revoked and they too would go down with him.

In a bizarre twist, the same grapevine has it that Bhutto and Sharif are hoping the Supreme Court would rule in favour of Musharraf on the cases before it challenging Musharraf's candidacy for President. The two leaders may perhaps be applying some pressure on the Court. In a bizzare twist, the same grapevine has it that Bhutto and Sharif are hoping the supreme court would rule in favour of Musharraf on the cases before it challenging Musharraf's candidacy for President. Bhutto and Sharif know that power hungry politicians in their own parties do not want the restrictions removed. Allegedly, the two are putting pressure on the court to decide in Musharraf's favour.

Would Musharraf go along with this deal? Would he - after being elected as President while in uniform - revoke the Order and allow Bhutto and Sharif to contest the subsequent general elections?

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