The party of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto will support a candidate in the upcoming election if President Pervez Musharraf is not allowed to run for another five-year term, a Pakistan People's Party official said Wednesday.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim, the vice chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will submit his nomination papers on Wednesday or early Thursday, a party spokesman said. But the opposition member will withdraw his candidacy if the Supreme Court allows Musharraf to seek re-election on October 6.

Also, PPP members will pull out of the parliament if Musharraf doesn’t shed his uniform before the forthcoming election.

Several petitions challenging Musharraf eligibility to seek another term have been filed last week and the Supreme Court is expected to give its final verdict Thursday.

Fahim is the second candidate to compete against the military general who has enough support to remain at the country’s helm for five more years. Wajih ud Din Ahmad, a retired Supreme Court judge, announced his candidacy on Monday after being persuaded by lawyers.

Wednesday’s announcement represents a clear signal that exiled opposition leader Bhutto won’t back Musharraf in the election. Previously, both prominent figures held negotiations for a power-sharing deal but the talks seem to have struck a dead end.

Even so, Bhutto is determined to return to Pakistan on October 18 regardless of the corruption charges against her.

Musharraf came to power in 1999 and as an ally of the United States in the war against terrorism he led the country without facing serious challenges. But the opposition’s influence grew stronger over the years and now Musharraf has to overcome several hurdles raised in the path to another presidential term.

The general’s popularity plummeted dramatically in the past years, mostly because of political instability and raging Islamic militancy. He has been criticized for imposing abusive measures and failing to curb insurgency in the tribal regions, Washington and Kabul officials condemning Islamabad’s poor response to the repeated attacks carried out by pro-Taliban militants against security troops in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Musharraf’s dual role is the core of protests, but his lawyers said an amendment allow him to hold both offices until the presidential term ends on November 15.

However, senior advocate in the Supreme Court and parliamentarian Aitzaz Ahsan said the controversial alteration of the constitution offered several privileges only to the president.

“The submission of nomination papers as a presidential candidate by a military officer is an act liable to be punished by a lengthy sentence,” Ahsan said Wednesday. “Even a person who proposes an army officer as presidential candidate is liable to a sentence of 10 years.”

Musharraf vowed to step down from his post as army chief of staff if re-elected, but his promise didn’t convince opposition members who threatened to resign from parliament if he pushed forward his candidacy.

Meanwhile, the police continued to arrest opposition leaders and supporters as part of an operation aimed at preventing incidents, as police officials said. Around 1,000 All Parties Democratic Movement (APDM) members have been detained over the past four days, politicians claiming more than 1,500 people have been arrested.