Bhutto casts shadow over Musharraf's re-election

By Zeeshan Haider

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's hope of a smooth re-election was threatened on Wednesday as ex-prime minister Benazir Bhutto said her party would probably quit parliament to rob the vote of credibility.

"I think that the resignation of the Pakistan Peoples Party MPs will be a severe blow to the legitimacy of the presidential elections," Bhutto said in London, where her party began a two-day meeting to discuss a strategy for Saturday's vote.

There is still no certainty the election will take place.

The Supreme Court began hearing on Wednesday a last-ditch bid by opponents to block Musharraf's almost certain victory on grounds that as a serving soldier he shouldn't be allowed to stand, even though he's promised to quit as army chief and be sworn in as a civilian president before November 15.

The fate of U.S. ally Musharraf, and future of nuclear-armed Pakistan is being closely watched, especially by Western nations with troops in Afghanistan and threatened by al Qaeda militants hiding in tribal lands on the border between the two countries.

If the election goes ahead in parliament and the four provincial assemblies, Musharraf should easily beat two rivals thanks to the ruling coalition's parliamentary majority.

It will be a hollow victory, however, if Bhutto's party joins other opposition, led by her old rival Nawaz Sharif, by resigning from parliament.

Musharraf, who ousted and exiled Sharif in a 1999 coup, has been in negotiations with Bhutto for a possible post-election power sharing pact, but those talks had stalled, Bhutto said.