Pakistan Opposition seizes early lead in polls

ISLAMABAD: Early results show Pakistani Opposition parties have made "big gains" in elections that could determine the future of President Pervez Musharraf, the former ruling party and officials said on Tuesday. (Watch: Setback for Mush in early poll trends) Key allies of Musharraf were ousted from their parliamentary seats in the violence-hit vote, while supporters of former premier Nawaz Sharif and slain politician Benazir Bhutto made gains in several cities. (Watch: Nawaz leads in Pak polls) The polls were the final step in Pakistan's transition to civilian democracy after eight years of military rule, and the results appeared to dispel Opposition fears that the elections would be rigged. "Early results show that there is a big gain for the Pakistan Muslim League of Nawaz Sharif," Tariq Azeem, a former minister and spokesman for the former ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, said. He also offered congratulations to Bhutto's widower Asif Ali Zardari, who took the helm of her Pakistan People's Party (PPP) after her assassination in a suicide attack at a political rally in December. "If the results are confirmed we will play the part of the Opposition as effectively as we can," Azeem said. PML(Q) president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, one of Musharraf's closest political allies, had lost both of his parliamentary seats, state television and a senior electoral official added. "The results are shocking," a party official said on condition of anonymity. Chief Election Commissioner Qazi Muhammad Farooq announced that Shaukatullah and Syed Akhuzada Chitan, both Independent candidates from the northwestern tribal regions, were elected to the National Assembly. Pakistan People's Party candidate Shafiq Ahmed Khan was elected to the provincial assembly of Balochistan from a seat in Quetta, Farooq told a news conference. An Opposition win would leave Musharraf's political fate in the balance, as a parliament packed with enemies of the key US ally in the "war on terror" could weaken him - or even leave him open to impeachment.