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Pakistani parliamentary elections in early January - premier

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ISLAMABAD, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - Parliamentary elections in Pakistan are likely to take place early in January 2008, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Wednesday.

"The elections are to be transparent and fair, international observers will be invited," Aziz said.

No precise date for the elections has been set so far.

Acting President General Pervez Musharraf is reported to have won the presidential elections held on October 6. However, the name of the next president will be officially announced on October 17 following the Supreme Court ruling on a petition from opposition parties claiming that Musharraf, as the armed forces commander in chief, was not entitled to run for president.

Musharraf's current presidency term ends on November 15. If officially recognized as president, the military chief has promised to quit the army and become a civilian president.

The country is expected to be ruled by an interim government until the parliamentary elections take place.

Two exiled former prime ministers - Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto - have already expressed their intention to run for seats in the new parliament.

Bhutto, who leads Pakistan People's party, earlier said she was planning to return home on October 18, after more than eight years of self-imposed exile.

Sharif returned to Pakistan on September 10, but was deported to Saudi Arabia shortly after his plane had touched down at Islamabad airport.

General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless military coup in 1999. After the 2002 parliamentary election, Musharraf retained his presidential and military titles, as well as the right to dissolve parliament and dismiss the government.

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