Opposition leaders to set joint demands for Pakistan elections, keep boycott option

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's brother faced possible arrest Tuesday over murder charges dating back to 1998 after both brothers were excluded from upcoming parliamentary elections.

An anti-terrorism court in Lahore issued contempt notices to two police officers for not arresting Shahbaz Sharif for having allegedly ordered security forces to kill suspected criminals in a shootout when he was chief minister of Punjab province, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported Tuesday.

The move against Shahbaz Sharif came after election officials on Monday rejected Nawaz Sharif's candidacy for Jan. 8 parliamentary elections because he was convicted in two cases stemming from a 1999 military coup in which current President Pervez Musharraf overthrew his government.

Since coming home last week after eight years in exile, Sharif has emerged as Musharraf's most vociferous opponent. He has called Musharraf's presidency illegal and refuses to deal with the newly retired army general. He also has demanded the reinstatement of Supreme Court judges fired by Musharraf after it appeared likely they would rule against his attempt to secure a new presidential term.

The candidacies of both Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif have now been rejected due to their past legal problems.

"Whatever Musharraf wants to do, let him do it," Nawaz Sharif told reporters in the northern town of Abbottabad. "We can face imprisonment, but our struggle will continue."

In a show of unity Monday, Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, another former prime minister who recently returned from exile, agreed that the upcoming elections would not be free and fair under the state of emergency that Musharraf proclaimed a month ago.

The meeting in Bhutto's residence in the capital was the first between the two since their return to the country.

Sharif said a committee consisting of four members from each of their parties would meet Tuesday to draw up demands for the government and set a deadline for compliance.

"The main (issue) will be how much time we should give to the government to accept our demands," Sharif said in Abbottabad. "Our main demand is all the actions in declaring emergency rule should be withdrawn."

That included the restitution of the Constitution and the release of former Supreme Court judges from house arrest, he said.

In the past month, Musharraf has filled the Supreme Court with loyalists and jailed hundreds of human rights workers, civic activists and lawyers. Most have been released. He has promised to lift the emergency Dec. 16.

Musharraf retired as army chief and took the oath as a civilian president last week. At his inauguration, he said there would be a level playing field in the elections for both Sharif and Bhutto.

Police clashed briefly with about 250 people taking part in a protest march in the capital, Islamabad. There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests.

Meanwhile, a female suicide bomber blew herself up Tuesday in the northwestern city of Peshawar, without causing any other casualties or damage. Police said they did not know her intended target.

Although there has been a rash of suicide bombings in Pakistan in recent months, this is the first known case in of a woman carrying out a such an attack.

In Bajur, a tribal region bordering Afghanistan, suspected Islamic militants abducted six police and blew up a roadside security post, a military statement said.

Bajur is a rugged region where security officials say al-Qaida and Taliban-linked militants operate. Militants have been blamed for attacks on security forces in the area.