By Kamran Haider
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani police detained opposition activists on Monday to stop them protesting in front of the Supreme Court as it resumed hearing challenges to President Pervez Musharraf's plans for re-election.
Musharraf, who is also army chief, plans to seek another term in office from an electoral college including parliament and provincial assemblies on October 6 despite opposition from an alliance of political parties demanding an end to military rule.
Nuclear-armed Pakistan faces months of tension as U.S. ally Musharraf tries to cement his rule over a country seen as vital to international efforts to stabilise Afghanistan, and which is often at odds with nuclear-armed neighbour India.
A former Supreme Court judge who resigned in 2000 after refusing to swear allegiance to Musharraf said on Monday he would run in the presidential election at the request of anti-government lawyers.
"It is our national duty to put up strong opposition to a dictator," Wajihuddin Ahmed told Reuters. Lawyers have been at the forefront of opposition to Musharraf since he tried unsuccessfully to sack the chief justice in March.
But with Musharraf's ruling coalition holding a majority in the out-going National Assembly, Ahmed is not expected to win.
Pakistani shares ended at a near seven-week high as investors, many of whom back Musharraf, saw Ahmed's participation adding credibility to a vote that many opposition politicians are likely to boycott, dealers said.
An opposition alliance led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's party has threatened to resign from assemblies should Musharraf's nomination be accepted.
However, the alliance said its upper house Senators would vote for Ahmed. A general election is due by mid-January and Musharraf's coalition is expected to suffer heavy losses.
ROAD BLOCKS, DETENTIONS
Police in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi launched a crackdown at the weekend on the opposition to thwart protests outside the Supreme Court against Musharraf, which some government officials say are meant to sway the court.
The court is expected to give a ruling on Wednesday.
A spokesman for Sharif, who Musharraf ousted in 1999 and deported to Saudi Arabia hours after flying home on September 10, said about 125 party leaders and activists had been detained. An Interior Ministry official said about 50 activists had been held.
Police with riot shields and batons blocked roads to the Supreme Court in central Islamabad and at least 12 opposition activists were detained, a Reuters witness said.
The U.S. embassy said the arrests were "extremely disturbing and confusing". It called for the release of those detained and urged free and fair elections.
The court is hearing petitions challenging Musharraf's right to retain the posts of president and army chief, the legality of being elected in uniform, and whether he should be allowed to get a mandate from outgoing assemblies.
Analysts say Musharraf might dissolve parliament or impose emergency rule if the court blocks his re-election bid.
Musharraf, whose main source of power is his military post, has said he will quit the army, but after winning another term.
The opposition's resignation threat will lack real bite unless the Pakistan People's Party, the largest party led by another former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto, joins in.
Bhutto has been negotiating a power-sharing pact with Musharraf but has been insisting he quit the army before running for re-election.
Bhutto, who plans to return home from self-exile on October 18, has said her members might also give up their seats if Musharraf did not take steps to restore democracy.
An opposition walk-out would not stop the vote -- Musharraf only needs a majority of votes cast -- but it would rob it of credibility and detract from its legitimacy.
(Additional reporting by Zeeshan Haider)
