the puppet Judges reject challanges to Musharraf(The Times)

Pakistan’s neutered Supreme Court dismissed the main challenges to the reelection of Pervez Musharraf as President yesterday, taking him a step closer to quitting as army chief and restoring civilian rule.
Stripped of hostile judges by General Musharraf under a state of emergency, because he feared that it would rule he was ineligible for another five-year term, the new-look court took just over two hours to throw out the cases.
General Musharraf has promised to hang up his uniform, one of the key demands of the opposition and the international community, as soon as his victory in last month’s presidential election is validated. The final legal challenge is expected to be considered, and dismissed, on Thursday.
“General Musharraf is likely to step down as army chief immediately after the court decision by the end of the week,” said Muhammed Ali Saif, a minister in Pakistan’s caretaker government.
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The ruling was handed down after Benazir Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party withdrew its own challenge, saying that it did not recognise the new court. Judges warned lawyers that they faced contempt charges and cancellation of their licences if they persisted in challenging the legality of the newly installed court.
General Musharraf won a controversial election last month but his victory was blocked by the Supreme Court until it decided on the legitimacy of his candidature. The court was purged of independent judges after General Musharraf imposed a state of emergency and suspended the Constitution on November 3.
General Musharraf has promised to retire as army chief once the court legitimises his victory. But analysts and opposition leaders said that the ruling by a handpicked court would not resolve the crisis over the legitimacy of his rule.
The former cricketer Imran Khan, the leader of one of Pakistan’s opposition parties who was arrested last week, went on hunger strike in a prison outside Lahore to demand the restoration of the independent judges.
The US continued its effort to restore power-sharing negotiations between General Musharraf and Ms Bhutto, which were broken off after the imposition of the state of emergency. Anne Patterson, the US Ambassador, held talks with Ms Bhutto in Karachi. On Sunday John Negroponte, the Deputy US Secretary of State, urged Ms Bhutto to resume talks with General Musharraf, underscoring America’s hopes of salvaging the fractious relationship between the two pro-Western leaders.