Musharraf makes poll date he must keep

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani national elections will take place before February 15, President Pervez Musharraf said on Thursday, after Western allies and opponents had demanded polls be held on time and emergency rule scrapped.

"There is no doubt in my mind that elections should be held on time, as soon as possible," Musharraf told official media after chairing a meeting of the National Security Council.

"It was my commitment and I am fulfilling it."

General Musharraf, who took power in a bloodless 1999 coup, added he would quit the military and be sworn in as a civilian president once the Supreme Court rules whether he was eligible to stand for re-election last month while still army chief.

The announcement went some way to assuaging criticism from Musharraf's main overseas backer, the United States.

"We think it is a good thing that President Musharraf has clarified the election date for the Pakistani people," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Many Pakistanis remained skeptical.

"I don't trust him. Military rulers in Pakistan never fulfilled their promise," said Nighat Anis, a retired teacher in Islamabad. "It's our history. We have always been cheated."

It remains to be seen whether Musharraf can control events set in train by his shock decision last Saturday to declare emergency rule, suspend the constitution, sack most of the country's judges and round up the majority of the opposition leadership, and anyone else deemed troublesome.

Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, who has thrown down the gauntlet by threatening to lead mass protests, said Musharraf needed to do more.

"We don't want vague and generalized statements. We want upfront answers," she told a news conference, responding to Musharraf's comments.

FREE JUDGES

She said Musharraf should release detained judges and let "the real Supreme Court" decide on challenges to his re-election.

"We will accept the decision of that Supreme Court, which will be constitutional and includes those judges who are detained," she said.

Ousted chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry is being held incommunicado at his residence in Islamabad and several other judges who were hearing the challenges are under house arrest.