Musharraf asks hostile Pakistan assembly to convene

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday called for the National Assembly to convene on March 17, following the victory of his opponents in last month's parliamentary election.

Musharraf's allies were routed in the February 18 vote, and he is faced with the prospect of inviting the victors to form a government that could drive him from power.

The president, who came to power as a general in a coup 8-

years ago, said he wanted to convene the national and provincial assemblies at the earliest date possible.

"I've just signed the calling up of the National Assembly ... for Monday, the 17th of March," he said in comments telecast by state-run television during a seminar in Islamabad, a day after being notified of the official election results.

The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of assassinated opposition leader Benazir Bhutto won the most seats, followed by the party of Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister Musharraf deposed in 1999.

Both parties on Sunday signed a pact to form a coalition and, in a major challenge to the isolated president, they vowed to restore the judges he had sacked after imposing a six-week emergency rule in early November.

Party officials have said that Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower and her political successor, would announce the name of the PPP's candidate for the prime minister's slot after Musharraf called the session.

The pact between Zardari and Sharif drew battle lines for a confrontation with U.S. ally Musharraf. The judges, if reinstated, are likely to take up legal challenges to Musharraf's re-election in October while still army chief.

Western allies and Pakistan's neighbors fear a confrontation between the president and the incoming government will herald more upheavals in a nuclear-armed state reeling from a wave of suicide bombings carried out by al Qaeda-inspired militants.

Two suicide car bombs killed 22 people and wounded dozens in the eastern city of Lahore on Tuesday, as the toll from militant-related violence rose over 500 since the start of 2008.

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Sharif is adamant that Musharraf should step down, while Zardari has been less explicit.

Both leaders have promised to banish the military from politics in a country that has been ruled by generals for more than half the 60 years since it was founded following the partition of India in 1947.

Zardari's deputy, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, had widely been expected to be given the premiership, but his chances faded after Sharif's party objected to his contacts with Musharraf.