The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Islamabad

A power struggle between Pakistan opposition parties is underway after courts ruled an ex-premier can return from exile and as the walls close in on President Pervez Musharraf, analysts say.

Nawaz Sharif-the sworn enemy of the embatled general, who toppled him in a coup in 1999 -- has vowed to be back within weeks to contest elections following the judgement that overturned his banishment from Pakistan.

The ruling was a blow to another former prime minister, Benazir Bhuto, who has been in secret talks with Musharraf on a power-sharing deal-yet her options also remain broad ahead of her own promised homecoming.

Musharraf, a key US ally in the "war on terror", now faces a double challenge to his authority amid widespread anger at his aim to be reelected next month, in defiance of the constitution, as the army chief-cum-president

General elections are also due by early 2008, causing further tension. If former commando Musharraf is backed into a corner, analysts say he could yet declare a state of emergency-which he rejected earlier this month under US pressure-or even martial law.

"Pakistan is heading towards a long period of confusion and uncertainty and the basic root is Musharraf's desire to hold on to power on his terms," political analyst Hasan Askari told AFP.

"The first three weeks of September will determine the direction of Musharraf's political future and the direction of Pakistani politics," said Askari, former head of political science at Lahore's Punjab University. Musharraf has been embroiled in crisis since a botched bid to fire Pakistan's chief justice backfired and sparked the biggest protests of his eight- year military rule.

The Supreme Court's reinstatement of top judge Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in July unleashed a torrent of rulings that weakened the government, including the one that permits Sharif and his brother Shahbaz to return.

Musharraf has also faced unprecedented pressure from Washington to crack down on Al-Qaeda militants in Pakistan's tribal zone bordering Afghanistan, as well as threats of unilateral US military action.

The United States has repeatedly urged Musharraf to allow free and fair elections-a further sign that it is losing its patience with the man who abandoned Pakistan's support for the Taliban post-9/11.

PTI adds: Refusing to abide by the recent Supreme Court judgement, President Pervez Musharraf has said that exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif would not be allowed to return to Pakistan to take part in the general elections slated for later this year.

"The government will neither allow the Sharif brothers to come back nor would they be given a free hand if they chose to return. If Nawaz Sharif is not honouring his 'exile' deal, the government will put him behind bars or send him back to Saudi Arabia," 'The News' quoted Musharraf as saying here.

Considering petitions filed by the deposed Premier and his brother Shahbaz Sharif, the apex court had ruled on Thursday that they were free to return to the Islamic nation after seven years in "forced" exile.