SC to hear plea against Mush on holding two offices

New Delhi: Pakistan's Supreme Court will on Wednesday take up petitions that challenge President Pervez Musharraf's stand of holding two offices.

The Pakistan's Lawyer's Forum had filed a review petition with regard to the 17th constitutional amendment which allows Musharraf to continue in office though his term as president ended last April.

Another petition challenging Musharraf's re-election from the present assemblies was filed by the Islamist alliance. A bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry will take up the petitions on Wednesday.

In another development Musharraf and exiled rival Benazir Bhutto have moved closer to a deal that could see them share power and restore democracy but key sticking points remain, Bhutto's party and the government said.

The pact is also supposed to bolster Pakistan's fight against extremism _ a need underlined by twin suicide attacks that killed at least 25 people and wounded 68 near the capital on Tuesday.

The bombings tore through a high-security area of Rawalpindi, the city that hosts Pakistan's army headquarters. The deadliest blast devastated a Defense Ministry bus, killing 18 military and civilian employees.

Authorities suspected the attacks were linked to pro-Taliban militants near the volatile Afghan border. The violence deepened the sense of crisis in Pakistan, already roiled by political uncertainty ahead of elections as Musharraf maneuvers to extend his eight-year rule.

Bhutto, twice Pakistan's prime minister, met with two envoys of the military leader at her residence in the Arab emirate of Dubai on Tuesday, the latest round in a monthslong dialogue.

(with agency inputs)