Pak president to be elected by existing Parliament, Assemblies

With the possibility of President Pervez Musharraf seeking re-election, a senior Pakistani minister has said the next president would be elected by the existing Parliament and Provincial Assemblies in September-October 2007, after which general elections would be held in January 2008.

Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sher Afgan Niazi has said the election to the post of president would be held between September 15 and October 15, 2007, and all members of the National Assembly, Senate and four provincial Assemblies would cast their votes.

The general election would be held in January 2008 and an interim government would be set up after the presidential elections, he was quoted as saying by The Nation.

Musharraf has already been elected by the current Assemblies in 2002 and opposition parties have threatened to resign if he tried to seek re-election by the same Assemblies, dubbing the move as unconstitutional.

"It is according to Constitution and there is no doubt about it," Afgan said.

Afgan said Musharraf would address the nation on Tuesday, which would be "very important" and an announcement on the construction of Kalabagh Dam in North West Frontier Province, which was opposed by the provincial government and political parties, was likely.

On the Women Protection Bill, the minsiter said the Council of Islamic Ideology also confirmed that there was nothing un-Islamic in it.

He claimed that the Muthahida Majlis Amal, which threatened to resign from Parliament over the passage of the bill, would break up after December 7 as there were serious differences among its partners.